Group of Students

Office of Student Affairs & Activities

Faculty Academic Integrity Resources

Academic Integrity Reporting Process

Use the Academic Integrity Reporting Form to report all potential violations of academic dishonesty (cheating and plagiarism)

If you suspect a student has violated the Academic Integrity Policy, follow the steps below:

Faculty Steps

Inform Student

Inform the student that you have concerns with the assignment and you would like to discuss it. If more than one student is involved, meet with each student individually.  If you are unable to meet with the student notify the student of the finidngs and report the incident through the Maxient reporting form.

Assess Incident

If you meet with the student, the instructor should get a sense of how the student constructed the assignment or that he/she did violate the academic integrity policy.

Submit Maxient Incident Report

Fill out the online reporting form for violations to the Academic Integrity Policy. 

  • Attach all supporting documentation to Maxient report
  • Report must be submitted as soon as incident occurred
  • Report only facts of incident (please leave out opinions or comments that may sound bias against student)

Faculty Grading

Grading: Faculty may grade the student's assignment based on their grading and academic integrity policy as stated in their syllabi. The student may receive a grade reduction or a zero for the assignment they allegedly plagiarized. Please note that according to Title V, students cannot be automatically failleg for the entire course for academic integrity violations.

Office of Student Affairs Steps

Case Creation

Once a report is received: Office staff will create a file through Maxient to keep all documentation, communication, statuses.

Notice of Concern Letter to Student

Notice of Concern: Written notice must be provided to the student within 10 days of the date on which the conduct took place; in the case of continuous, repeated or ongoing conduct, the notice must be provided within 10 days of the date on which conduct occurred which led to the decision to take disciplinary action.

Notice of Receipt Letter to Faculty

Notice of Receipt: Written notice will be sent to the faculty that submitted the report.

Conduct Process

Office of Student Affairs and Activitees will work with student through student conduct process.

Please note: 

Our office cannot move forward with the disciplinary process until your student responds to our communication. 

Sanctions: If this is the student’s first offense, the student will receive a written warning, depending on the gravity of the offense (minor, moderate, major). In cases of repeated or major offenses, sanctions may vary from extended disciplinary probation to suspension from the Foothill-DeAnza District.

Student Educational Records in Accordance with the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA): Foothill College makes every effort to comply with FERPA, a federal law that protects the privacy of a student's educational record. Accordingly, we keep the student's conduct process outcomes confidential.

Status Updates: You will receive a notification from our office once a disciplinary resolution has been reached with your student.  As stated above, the outcome of the case, including sanctions, will not be disclosed in accordance with FERPA. However, our office will notify you once a resolution is reached and the case is closed.

 

Check this out! Helping Students Avoid Plagiarism

Many students arrive at the college uncertain of expectations. This uncertainty may have multiple origins.

Plagiarism is not an easy concept to fully grasp without considerable experience working with sources.

While the general principle of “not cheating” is easily understood and recognized in some forms of academic dishonesty (copying answers on a test, bringing a “cheat sheet” to an exam, etc.), knowing how to adequately cite the sources of one's expanding knowledge base is not easy.

Even expert writers can be found to have misquoted or misdated/paged the ideas and words of others (Pennycook, 1989). Additionally, the concept of paraphrase while not difficult in principle is extremely difficult to execute when the academic language resources of the writer are limited.

Within the context of avoiding plagiarism as a developing skill, there are a number of principles and practices faculty can use to help their students avoid the problem.

Why Students May Plagiarize

  • May not have received explicit, thorough, or effective instruction about plagiarism in high school;
  • May have been trained in a different national or cultural tradition, which can result in very different expectations about citation and textual ownership (Ballard & Clanchy, 1991, adapted in Hyland, 2003, p. 39);
  • May have difficulty understanding variations among disciplines—for example, that an acceptable paraphrase in their psychology class may look like plagiarism to their English professor (Jamieson, 2008).

General Principles

Some widely shared ideas for effectively addressing academic honesty are summarized below.

  • Be fully aware of the College's policy on plagiarism including all the consequences for the student and obligations of the instructor.
  • Devote class time throughout the quarter to supporting students as they learn the conventions of your field.
  • Be clear and explicit in your expectations (account for a learning curve with novice writers; decide whether to have a warning stage or not and inform the students).
  • Provide a definition that distinguishes weak use of citation format from plagiarism.
  • Design assignments to be very specific to course content, to synthesize ideas, to apply knowledge, and to require drafts.
  • Change assignments from quarter to quarter.
  • Require drafts of major assignments (treat misuse of sources differently on final drafts than on intermediate drafts).
  • Be consistent from student to student in enacting your policies.
  • When grading, hold firm in your commitment to promoting academic honesty and in holding students accountable for their actions and coursework; reward originality and proper citation

 

 

 

Upcoming Events

Black Lives Student Services Services Statement

In Student Services, we acknowledge our role in not serving our Black students adequately. Please read full statement of our commitment to alter our course of action with a quarterly updated public plan. 

Black Lives Matter Action Plan April 2022 Updates

Campus Center Upper Level

Questions?
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Student Affairs & Activities Division Office

650.949.7241


studentaffairs@fhda.edu


Campus Center, Building 2000, Room 2002

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Jan. 16 – Jan. 19

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Jan. 22 – Mar. 29

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HOLIDAYS & EXCEPTIONS

  • Nov. 23: Thanksgiving
  • Nov. 24: Thanksgiving
  • Dec. 22: Christmas Eve
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  • Dec.26: Day After Christmas
  • Dec. 27: December Holiday #1
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