The Chief Academic Officer is responsible for implementing student discipline procedures for academic-related violations. The College is committed to providing an excellent educational experience for all students. Academic integrity is an essential component to this level of education. The academic penalty for academic-related violations should be clearly stated by the instructor in each course syllabus and review at the beginning of the first-class meeting.
These procedures only apply to academic-related violations, outlined herein and defined in standards of Student Code of Conduct Policy. For non-academic violations, see Discipline and Appeal for Non-Academic Violations Procedure.
SANCTIONS FOR VIOLATIONS
Sanctions for academic-related violations are outlined in all instructors’ syllabi. Be aware that some divisions, such as Health Sciences, have a standard approach to sanctions across all divisional courses.
Potential sanctions include the following:
- Warning and resubmission requirement
- 0 (letter grade of “F”) for the assignment
- 0 (letter grade of “F”) for the course and removal from the course
- 0 (letter grade of “F”) for the course, removal from the course, and removal from the program
Penalties may vary based on the severity of the dishonesty, repeated incidents of dishonesty, and such other aggravating or mitigating factors that may be present in an individual case.
INSTRUCTOR’S INVESTIGATION AND DETERMINATION
Instructor’s Investigation
An instructor suspecting an incident of an academic-related violation shall follow these steps to address the concern:
1. The instructor suspecting the alleged violation shall first present concerns to the student and provide an opportunity for the student to explain or refute the concerns.
2. The student will be allowed to comment on the evidence or to present evidence to clarify the issue in question.
3. Based on the evidence presented and the student’s comments, the instructor shall determine whether or not an academic violation has occurred. This determination will result in one of the following findings:
a. An academic-related violation did not take place and the issue is resolved.
b. An act of academic dishonesty did occur in the instructor’s opinion.
Instructor’s Determination
The instructor will communicate his/her findings via email to the student’s official College email address within five (5) business days of the initial meeting with the student. If an email address is not available, the instructor shall send his/her written findings to the student’s mailing address on record with the College. The findings must contain, with specificity, the evidence supporting the instructor’s determination. The instructor shall also inform the student of the imposed academic sanctions. The sanction will remain in place unless modified or overturned on appeal.
PLAGIARISM
Any case of student writing which takes the ideas, facts, phrases, or sentences of another author without acknowledging the original source through appropriate citation methods.
Examples of Plagiarism (this list is not exhaustive):
- Including a full References, Works Cited, etc. page with no in-text citations.
- Putting a single citation at the end of a full paragraph when other sentences in the paragraph are clearly from the cited author.
- Using verbatim quote but failing to use quotations marks.
- Including a proper in-text citation but failing to list the source on the citations page.
Surry Community College considers two types of plagiarism:
1. Documentation Errors/Unintentional Plagiarism: Phrases, sentences, concepts, or facts presented without proper citation but to a limited degree. These errors are usually not intentional but are often careless mistakes and are less serious to the degree that they appear in Flagrant Plagiarism.
Examples of Documentation Errors/Unintentional Plagiarism (this list is not exhaustive):
- Including a full References, Works Cited, etc. page with no in-text citations.
- Putting a single citation at the end of a full paragraph when other sentences in the paragraph are clearly from the cited author.
- Using verbatim quotes but failing to use quotations marks.
- Including a proper in-text citation but failing to list the source on the citations page.
2. Flagrant: Complete ideas, sentences, paragraphs, or whole papers submitted without giving credit to the original source/sources with the intent to conceal the origin of the writing. Students commit this type of plagiarism to avoid the work of writing.
Examples of Flagrant Plagiarism (this list is not exhaustive):
- Resubmitting another student’s paper.
- Copying large sections from another author with no attempt at citation and no References, Works Cited, etc.
- Resubmitting the student’s own paper previously submitted in another class without asking the faculty member’s approval.
Plagiarism Sanctions
Plagiarism is a serious offense for academic writers, including student writers.
Flagrant Plagiarism:
1. If student writing contains flagrant plagiarism, the student receives a zero or failing grade for the assignment and an academic early alert will be submitted. The instructor will discuss with the student why the assignment contained plagiarism and direct the student to campus resources (in the course or in the library) about avoiding plagiarism.
2. If a student commits flagrant plagiarism a second time, the student will be withdrawn from the course with a WF, and another early alert will be submitted.
Instructors have discretion in identifying whether a failing grade is “D,” “69”, etc. Students should see individual syllabi for specifics.
Documentation Error:
1. If student writing is determined to contain documentation errors, the student will be allowed to revise the writing for a lower grade. The grade and time given to revise the writing is at the discretion of the instructor.
2. If a student commits serious documentation errors a second time the student may receive a zero for the assignment or be allowed to revise the assignment a second time at the instructor’s discretion.
Identifying Plagiarism
Instructors may use several tools to identify plagiarism, including digital plagiarism detection programs (SafeAssign, Turnitin, etc.), internet searches for exact word matches, and assistance from the SCC Library Specialists. An instructor may also identify plagiarism on their own by observing when the student’s abilities and writing styles do not match their submitted work.
Type of Assignment
Plagiarism can occur in all types of assignments, including low-stakes discussion forum posts and high stakes final papers. Instructors may adjust the policy to fit the type of assignment.
APPEAL PROCEDURES - Students should follow the Grade Appeal Policy .
Adopted by Board of Trustees June 14, 1976
Amended by the Board of Trustees August 19, 1996
Revised by the Board of Trustees November 30, 2009; March 8, 2010; March 11, 2014, Amended November 13, 2023