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Academic Integrity policy

Integrity and honesty are essential to Lynn University’s mission and community standards. As an academic community, honor, integrity and truthfulness are essential to the pursuit of knowledge and to the establishment of mutual respect and trust among faculty, staff and students. Personal and professional integrity are also essential to our mission to educate students to become responsible and ethical citizens within a global community. Violations of the academic honesty policy undermine the fundamental values and standards of our community, and therefore, faculty, staff and students must accept their responsibility to uphold and abide by the highest standards of integrity and honesty.

Definitions

  1. Violations of the academic integrity policy include, but are not limited to, the following:
  2. Cheating: Intentionally using or attempting to use unauthorized materials, information or study aids in any academic exercise. Infringing on the academic rights of others, such as defacement or theft of library material.
  3. Fabrication: The intentional and unauthorized invention or falsification of any information or citation in an academic exercise.
  4. Plagiarism: Intentionally or unintentionally representing the words or ideas of another person or Generative Artificial Intelligence (AI) as one’s own in any academic exercise, or reusing one’s own work in another academic exercise without proper citation. Plagiarism includes, but is not limited to: replacing key words and phrases with synonyms while retaining the meaning of the original source; and using or altering graphic images without attribution.
  5. Generative Artifical Intelligence (AI): Websites, programs, or applications that generate original output such as text, images, or videos. Using syllabus statements, assignment instructions, and/or in-class directions, instructors may allow, regulate, or prohibit the use of Generative AI.
  6. Facilitation: Intentionally or knowingly helping or attempting to help another to commit an act of academic dishonesty, including unauthorized collaboration on academic assignments.
  7. Falsification of Injury: The intentional fabrication or distortion of an injury used as an excuse to miss conservatory rehearsals or concerts.
  8. Misrepresentation of external performances/commitments: The intentional embellishment of outside commitments used as an excuse to miss conservatory rehearsals, concerts or classes.

Procedures

Faculty members who have evidence of a possible violation of the academic integrity policy must formally report the incident to the Office of the Academic Dean. Under no circumstances is the faculty member permitted to resolve the alleged incident on a unilateral basis. The Academic Dean will review the faculty member’s report, and if sufficient evidence exists, notify the student(s) of the alleged infraction(s). The allegation can be adjudicated by either the informal or formal process. The formal process must be used if a finding of guilt might result in the suspension of the student.

Disability accommodations: Any student with a university registered disability, as documented by Accessibility Services, may request reasonable accommodations during the resolution process by notifying the Academic Dean at the earliest opportunity .

Informal resolutions

The Academic Dean will send the student a formal written notification of the allegations and the possible sanctions, and an academic hold will be placed on the student's account. The student will then have ten (10) days to respond in one of the following ways:

• Sign the form and request a meeting with the Academic Dean to discuss the allegations and or proposed sanctions.

• Sign and return the form to the Academic Dean accepting responsibility for the violation and agreeing to the recommended sanction(s).

If the student fails to respond within thirty (30) days, a hold will be placed on the student’s account and the right to participate in the resolution of the allegation will be forfeited.

Formal Resolutions

If the alleged violation could result in the suspension or dismissal from the university, or if the student or faculty member requests a formal resolution, the Academic Dean will notify the faculty member and the student(s) that a formal hearing of the Academic Dishonesty Committee will be convened. The committee will be comprised of at least seven (7) full time faculty members to be appointed by the Academic Dean, as needed. The Academic Dean will serve as chair and will not have voting privileges. The vice-president for Student Affairs, or designee, will serve as an ex officio member of the committee.

The Academic Dean will schedule a hearing in a timely manner and all parties will be notified of the time and location. If the accused student(s) requests, the Academic Dean will assist the student in securing a member of the university community to advise and assist the student in preparing for the hearing.

All parties will have the opportunity to present his/her evidence to the committee. The documents, testimony and record of the hearings will be confidential. Upon completion of the testimony, the committee will meet in closed chambers and vote on the disposition of the student’s status at the university.

Penalties

Depending upon the intent and severity of the violation, a student found responsible for any act of academic dishonesty will be placed on academic honor probation, and can be subject to one or more of the following penalties:

• a grade of “F” (zero points) on the assignment or test;

• an “F” in the course;

• suspension or dismissal from the university.

No provision will be made for the student to receive a “W” regardless of whether the professor or student initiates said request.

If the student receives a grade of “F” for the course, the transcript will indicate the grade with “HF”. If the student is suspended or dismissed from the university, the transcript will indicate the grade with “HF” and/or the notation “Academic Honor Suspension (Dismissal).”

Appeals

A student may submit a written appeal of a guilty finding to the Vice President for Academic Affairs within ten days of receipt of the original decision. Appeals must be based on new evidence, additional information or procedural errors or misconduct. The vice president’s decision is final.

A student can petition the Academic Dean to have the grade of “HF” removed during their last semester as long as there are no further violations of the academic integrity policy.