Atlantic Cape expects unwavering integrity from students in submitted work. Acts of cheating or plagiarism will not be tolerated. Students are expected to cite all individuals and/or artificial intelligence (AI) tools that contributed to the completion of a project or paper; to cite the specific source of all information, ideas and quotations not original to the author; to honestly follow procedures established by instructors for examinations, laboratory experiments, reports and projects; to honestly abide by instructor policies on the scope of use (no use, limited, or full use) for AI tools or content for any and all course work. All computer software is the property of Atlantic Cape and is bought under license from the manufacturer. Students may not make copies of software for personal use without the authorization of the ITS Helpdesk Manager.
It should be noted that persons facilitating plagiarism or cheating by another student are equally culpable and such persons may also be subject to penalties similar to those stipulated below. Examples of such facilitation include, but are not limited to, the following:
- A student gives a copy of a past assignment, such as a term paper, to a second student with the understanding that the second student may use the assignment as his/her own work.
- A student observes or has other first-hand knowledge of cheating or plagiarism and fails to report this to the instructor.
All students are reminded that they have an ethical responsibility to guard the academic process against corruption by such acts of dishonesty. In addition to the above, students must follow all course-specific or instructor-specific procedures established for examinations, laboratory experiments, studio work, reports and projects.
The following penalties apply in cases of cheating or plagiarism:
- The instructor may assign a grade of “F” or a zero for an assignment. OR the instructor may assign a grade of “F” for the course in cases of repeated dishonesty or in such cases where the assignment in question is so central to the evaluation process that failure in the assignment would preclude any reasonable possibility of the student passing the course.
- All confirmed breaches of academic honesty become part of the student’s permanent academic record. Two such offenses will constitute grounds for Academic Dismissal. Said dismissal will be for a duration of no less than two years. After two years, the student may apply for readmission, but this may be attempted only once. Upon readmission, any further act of dishonesty will result in permanent dismissal.
If the student is not in agreement with the action taken by the faculty member, the student is encouraged to meet and discuss the issue with the faculty as the first step. If the student is not satisfied with the outcome, the student requests a meeting with the Academic Dean or Testing Director.