Student Conduct & Support

Academic Integrity Policy & Reporting

The Academic Integrity reporting form is used to file reports of alleged academic misconduct for investigations and/or remediation through the Office of Student Conduct.

Academic Integrity Form

About This Policy

Students at Community College of Denver are expected to behave as responsible members of the college community and to be honest and ethical in their academic work. CCD strives to provide students with the knowledge, skills, judgment and critical thinking needed to function in society. To falsify or fabricate the results of one’s research; to present the words, ideas, data, or work of another as one’s own; or to cheat on an examination corrupts the essential process of higher education and is a disservice to the student, faculty, and staff community. All members of Community College of Denver's community share the responsibility and authority to challenge and report acts of academic dishonesty. Guidelines for Academic Integrity students assume full responsibility for the content and integrity of the coursework they submit.

Plagiarizing, cheating, or committing any other form of academic misconduct including, but not limited to, unauthorized collaboration, falsification of information, and/or helping someone else violate reasonable standards for academic behavior. Students who engage in any type of academic dishonesty are subject to both academic consequences as determined by the instructor and to outcomes as set forth in the Student Behavioral Expectations and Responsibilities Resolution Procedure.

For your convenience, information about what Academic Misconduct can look like, as well as the process for investigating and adjudicating Academic Misconduct, is below.  The entire Academic Integrity Policy can also be found on CCD's catalog.

Guidelines for Academic Integrity

The following are guidelines to assist students in observing academic integrity:

  • Students must do their own work and submit only their own work on examinations, reports, and projects; unless otherwise permitted by the instructor.
  • Students are encouraged to contact their instructor about appropriate citation guidelines.
  • Students may benefit from working in groups. However, students must not collaborate or cooperate with others on graded assignments, examinations, or other academic exercises unless clearly directed to do so by the instructor.
  • Students must follow all written and/or verbal instructions given by instructors or designated college representatives prior to taking examinations, placement assessments, tests, quizzes, and evaluations.
  • Students are responsible for adhering to course requirements as specified by the instructor in the course syllabus.

There are multiple forms of Academic Misconduct, below are examples of behaviors that violate Academic Integrity. For the full policy please see the CCD Catalog :

Cheating:

The act of using or attempting to use an examination or other academic work, material, information, or study aids that are not permitted by the instructor. Cheating includes, but is not limited to:

  • Using books, notes, or calculators or copying from or conversing with others during examinations (unless such external aids are permitted by the instructor).
  • Having someone else do research, write papers, or take examinations for someone else.
  • Submitting work completed in one class to fulfill an assignment in another class without prior approval from the instructor(s).
  • Stealing, distributing, selling, and buying tests or having someone take an exam on someone else’s behalf.

Fabrication

The invention of material or its source and its use as an authority in academic work. Fabrication includes, but is not limited to:

  • the inventing of data for a scientific experiment
  • Inventing the title and author of a publication in order to use the invented publication as a source.
  • Knowingly attributing material to an incorrect source.

Plagiarism

The act of using someone else’s work without giving proper credit to the original source. The work can be written, artistic, musical, language, symbols, or media. Reusing one’s own work without proper citation (or approval of instructor) is also plagiarism.

Academic integrity is a foundational value of CCD. If there is an allegation of any academic misconduct, a report needs to be filed with the Office of Student Conduct as academic misconduct is considered a violation of the Student Code of Conduct.

When an incident of Academic Misconduct occurs, the faculty member has the autonomy to address the incident directly and immediately. This includes any grade implications. The faculty will then file an Academic Misconduct report with the Office of Student Conduct. The Office of Student Conduct will send out official communication, process the incident, investigate when necessary, and respond with appropriate institutional sanctions; including but not limited to probation, suspension, or expulsion; in addition to possible educational sanctions which will be added to a student’s conduct file.

When an incident of Academic Misconduct occurs outside of class or is reported after the fact, the Office of Student Conduct will investigate the situation. Once a finding has been determined, the Office of Student Conduct will relay information to the responsible faculty member for any academic grade determinations.

A student has a right to appeal all proceedings. Similar to the investigatory process, the student has a two-pronged appeal opportunity (grade and/or conduct sanctions).

In order to appeal the grade, the student must follow the Grade Appeal Process. All grade decisions by the supervising dean are final. If the student wants to appeal the institutional sanction(s), the student may appeal the conduct decision with the vice president of Enrollment Administration and Student Success or designee through the conduct appeal process. All conduct sanction appeal decisions by the vice president of Enrollment Administration and Student Success or designee are final. Information can be found at CCD.edu/StudentCode.