2. Academic Dishonesty: Offences
4. Procedure for Departmental Resolution
5. Procedures for Resolution by the School of Graduate Studies
8. Disposition of Documentation
In the course of a graduate degree program students are expected to learn
those principles which constitute proper academic behaviour. Within the University
Community there is a collective responsibility to maintain a high level of
scholarly integrity. Dishonesty has no place in the academic community. Academic
misbehaviour cannot be condoned or even appear to be condoned. Students have
the responsibility to ascertain those actions which could be construed as
dishonest or improper. Certain flagrant violations are listed below under
Academic Dishonesty. Students are reminded that for guidance on proper scholarly
behaviour they should seek assistance from their instructors and supervisors.
The Graduate Students' Union will provide students with information on their
legal rights and the information that advice about acceptable writing standards
is available through the Writing Centre.
2. Academic Dishonesty: Offences
NOTE: In the following section the plural shall be deemed
to include the singular.
Academic offences shall be deemed to include, but shall not be limited to,
the following:
a) Cheating: Cheating on examinations, theses, assignments, work
term reports, projects, internship reports, or any other tests.
Cheating includes copying from another student's work or allowing another
student to copy from one's own work, consulting with any unauthorized person
during an examination or test, or using unauthorized aids; or knowingly recording
or reporting false empirical or statistical data. The work referred to includes
examinations, theses, assignments, work term reports, projects, internship
reports, or any other tests which are to be used in judging the student's
performance in a course or program of study, or on any special tests which
the University may offer.
b) Impersonation: Impersonating another student or allowing oneself
to be impersonated.
By impersonation is meant the imitation of a student or entrance into an
arrangement with another person to be impersonated for purposes of taking
examinations or tests or carrying out laboratory or other assignments.
c) Plagiarism: Plagiarism is the act of presenting the ideas or works
of another as one's own. This applies to all material such as theses, essays,
laboratory reports, work term reports, design projects, seminar presentations,
statistical data, computer programs and research results. The properly acknowledged
use of sources is an accepted and important part of scholarship. Use of such
material without acknowledgement, however, is contrary to accepted norms
of academic behaviour.
d) Theft of examination papers or other material: By theft is meant
obtaining by an improper means examination papers, tests, or any other such
material.
e) Use and/or distribution of stolen material: The use of material
which the student knows to have been improperly obtained and/or the distribution
of such material is considered to be an academic offence.
f) Submitting false information: This offence includes falsifying,
submitting or causing to submit false academic transcripts, forms or records,
credentials, medical or other certificates, or making a false or incomplete
declaration to the University.
g) Submitting work for one course which has been or is being submitted
to another course without express permission to do so: This includes
the presentation of an essay, report or assignment to satisfy some or all
of the requirements of a course when that essay, report, or assignment has
been previously submitted or is concurrently being submitted for another
course without the express permission of the professor(s) involved.
3. General Procedure
a) When a member of the University community has grounds for belief that
an academic offence has been committed, that person will report the matter
without delay to the Head of the Department or the appropriate academic officer
(i.e., Dean or Director) of the unit in which the offence occurred. In the
case of non-academic units, such as the Office of the Registrar, Library
and Computing Services, the matter shall be referred through the University
Officer in charge of that unit. The student should be informed of the suspicion
as soon as possible in an effort to avoid further improper behaviour. There
should then be an immediate direct attempt to resolve minor offences between
the instructor or supervisor and the student(s) concerned at the departmental
level. Only if resolution proves impossible, or one party is dissatisfied
with the resolution, should the Department Head or other appropriate academic
officer become further involved.
b) If, in the judgment of the Department Head or other appropriate academic
officer (in consultation with his Dean of Faculty) the alleged offence against
University regulations is such as to warrant resolution through the School
of Graduate Studies, the Department Head or other appropriate academic officer
will refer the matter to the Dean of Graduate Studies, and procedures for
resolution by the School of Graduate Studies will be implemented.
c) If, in the judgment of the Department Head or other appropriate academic
officer, the offence warrants resolution through departmental procedures,
the individuals involved will be advised to attempt to resolve the matter
without proceeding to a formal hearing. In the event that no resolution is
possible between the individual parties, the Department Head or other appropriate
academic officer will institute proceedings through the School of Graduate
Studies. In all cases, it is the responsibility of the Department Head or
other appropriate academic officer to ensure that fairness and impartiality
are achieved in the treatment of students.
d) The principle of anonymity shall apply. All written documents shall refer
to the student by number and the faculty member by letter.
4. Procedure for Departmental Resolution
If, upon receiving a report of an alleged academic offence the
Department Head or other appropriate academic officer, decide that an attempt
should be made to resolve that matter within the department the following
procedures shall apply:
a) The Department Head or other appropriate academic officer shall request
that the accusor and the accused meet with him (or her) and at the meeting
the Department Head or other appropriate academic officer shall state the
allegation, indicate the range of applicable penalties, and arrange a second
meeting between the accusor and the accused only.
b) At the second meeting the parties (accusor and accused) shall endeavour
to obtain a mutually satisfactory resolution of the matter.
c) The parties (accusor and accused) shall report jointly to the Department
Head or other appropriate academic officer on the result of their second
meeting.
d) If the report is of a resolution which the Department Head or other appropriate
officer considers to be fair and equitable the matter shall be considered
closed. If the Department Head or other appropriate academic Officer considers
the reported resolution to be unfair and/or inequitable he or she will endeavour
to obtain an alternative satisfactory resolution directly with the parties.
e) Should all reasonable efforts to obtain a Departmental resolution fail,
the Department Head or other appropriate academic officer will refer the
case to the Dean of Graduate Studies and shall inform the accusor and the
accused accordingly. From this stage onward procedures for resolution by
the School of Graduate Studies will apply.
NOTES: 1) The accused or accusor may request, during the procedures for
an informal resolution, that the case be referred to the Dean of Graduate
Studies and thereafter the procedures for resolution by the School of Graduate
Studies will apply.
2) Procedures for Departmental Resolution will not be applied to cases involving
alleged offences on final examinations.
3) If at any stage of the procedures for either Departmental or Graduate
Studies resolution, the accused fails to appear or to respond to a charge,
without reasonable cause, within two weeks of notification of an allegation,
action may be taken on the charge in the absence of the accused.
4) If at any stage of the procedures for either Departmental or Graduate
Studies resolution, the accusor fails to appear at a scheduled hearing to
defend an allegation, without reasonable cause, within two weeks of notification
by the Department Head or other appropriate academic officer, the action
will be dismissed.
5. Procedures for Resolution by the School of Graduate Studies
If the matter cannot be resolved following the Procedure for Departmental
Resolution as outlined above, or if the allegation involves a major breach
of University regulations, the following procedures shall apply:
a) If the Department Head or other appropriate academic officer (in consultation
with the Dean of his faculty) is satisfied that the student has a serious
case to answer, he or she shall inform the student in writing of the nature
of the case against him or her. In addition, the Department Head or other
appropriate academic officer shall report to the Dean of Graduate Studies
who shall immediately appoint a disinterested Investigator from the membership
of the Academic Council of Graduate Studies. The Investigator will interview
separately the accusor and accused and relevant witnesses. At these interviews,
the Investigator, the accusor, the accused and relevant witnesses all have
the right to be accompanied by a registered student or a member of the Faculty
or Staff of the University.
b) Upon completion of these interviews, the Investigator shall submit a
written report of all findings to the Dean of Graduate Studies.
c) The Dean of Graduate Studies shall present this report to both the accusor
and accused for perusal and comment. Once in receipt of this report, the
accusor and accused shall have two weeks in which to submit to the Dean of
Graduate Studies any additional comments on the report that he or she wishes
to be considered.
d) Upon receipt of all information from the Investigator as well as comments
from the accusor and accused, the Dean of Graduate Studies shall strike an
ad hoc committee to review the case and make recommendations to the Academic
Council of the School of Graduate Studies. The Investigator may be asked
to attend the meetings of the Ad hoc committee to answer questions
and provide information pertinent to the case, but shall be absent from the
formal discussion and voting.
e) The Academic Council of the School of Graduate Studies shall take appropriate
action in accordance with the section headed "Penalties".
NOTES: 1) If at any stage of the procedures for either Departmental or
Graduate Studies resolution, the accused fails to appear or to respond to
a charge, without reasonable cause, within two weeks of notification of an
allegation, action may be taken on the charge in the absence of the accused.
Action will proceed regardless of the current status of the student.
2) If at any stage of the procedures for either informal or formal resolution,
the accusor fails to appear at a scheduled hearing to defend an allegation
without reasonable cause, within 2 weeks of notification the action will
be dismissed.
6. Penalties
The imposition of any of the penalties listed below does not preclude
further action under the Criminal Code of Canada. A student who has been
found guilty of an academic offence will be subject to a penalty or penalties
commensurate with the offence. The range of penalties and their determination
is given below. Enforcement of penalties resulting from Procedures for Resolution
by the School of Graduate Studies will be overseen by the Registrar. Some
cases may warrant more than one penalty for the same offence, and previous
academic misconduct will be taken into account in determining penalties.
Penalties resulting from Department resolution shall be limited to 6.(a)
and 6.(b). Penalties shall be imposed on the basis of the student's status
at the time of the offence.
a) Reprimand: This shall be in the nature of a warning by the Department
Head, or appropriate academic officer or an appropriate Committee to the
student that his/her behaviour has been unacceptable to the University.
b) Reduction of grade: A reduction of grade will apply to an examination,
test, or assignment to which an offence is relevant, and will be decided
by the Academic Council of the School of Graduate Studies upon the recommendation
of the Department concerned in the case of a resolution by the School of
Graduate Studies, or by a Department Head, or appropriate academic officer
in the case of a Departmental resolution. Since graduate students must obtain
a B grade in required courses and a pass in additional courses a reduction
of grade could lead to termination of program.
c) Probation: The period of probation will be determined by the Academic
Council of the School of Graduate Studies. The impact of being placed on
probation is that the commission of any further academic offence during the
period of probation may lead to suspension or expulsion.
d) Suspension: Suspension will apply to a course, department, faculty,
school, or the University. The period of suspension will be determined by
the Academic Council of the School of Graduate Studies and shall not exceed
three consecutive semesters, and shall be part of the allowable time for
a graduate program.
e) Expulsion: The recommendation for expulsion from the University
will be made by the Academic Council of the School of Graduate Studies to
the President for his/her final decision. Prior to the President's decision,
the Secretary of the Academic Council will notify the accused, in writing,
of the recommendation for expulsion from the University. The accused will
be allowed a period of two weeks following the date of release of such notification
to lodge an appeal before the President's final decision concerning expulsion
from the University. Any such appeal should be made in writing to the Executive
Committee of Senate.
f) Revocation of Degree: The recommendation will be made by the Academic
Council of the School of Graduate Studies that the Senate rescind a degree
that has been obtained by submission of fraudulent or plagiarized work.
g) Rescinding of Admission and Degree Revocation: The submission
of false information (see General Regulation L.2.f) in support of an application
for admission to Memorial University of Newfoundland is an Academic Dishonesty
Offence. In the event that this offence is discovered after the granting
of a degree, the Academic Council of the School of Graduate Studies may recommend
to the Senate that the student’s admission be rescinded and that the degree(s)
granted to the student be revoked.
In the event that a student has been found guilty of an Academic Dishonesty
Offence and when a penalty has been determined, a notation on the student’s
transcript may be made by the Registrar as provided for in section 7 below.
Transcript entries shall relate to the penalty(ies) imposed as follows:
| Penalty | Transcript Entry |
| Reprimand | No transcript entry |
| Reduction of Grade | Entry of final grade for course |
| Probation | "On probation at the University for academic misconduct until Day, Month, Year"* |
| Suspension | "Suspended from the School of Graduate Studies for academic misconduct until Day, Month, Year"* |
| Expulsion | "Expelled from the University for academic misconduct" |
| Revocation of Degree | "Degree revoked for Academic Dishonesty" |
* These entries may be removed from the students' transcript on petition to the Senate but not before three years from the date the penalty was imposed
8. Disposition of Documentation
The disposition of documents relating to allegations under these procedures
shall be as follows:
a) The cases where the allegation was either found "not proven" or "unfounded"
no documentation shall be retained.
OTHERWISE
b) In the case of a resolution effected through the procedures for departmental
resolution, all documentation shall be retained in the office of the relevant
Department Head or other appropriate academic officer.
OR
c) In the case of a resolution effected through the procedures for resolution
by the School of Graduate Studies all documentation shall be forwarded to
the Office of the Registrar.
9. Right of Appeal
Appeals against decisions of the Academic Council of the School of Graduate
Studies made under Regulation L.5 shall be directed to the Executive Committee
of Senate.
NOTES: 1) These PROCEDURES shall apply to all academic offences relating
to graduate studies involving, but not limited to, those students who either
have been or who are enrolled at Memorial University of Newfoundland. Notification
of an allegation of academic dishonesty will be forwarded to the last known
mailing address of the student as noted on the files of the School of Graduate
Studies. The University reserves the right to implement action under these
PROCEDURES where an allegation has been made against a student but where
reasonable efforts to contact the student have failed.
2) While a student can continue in a program of studies, if eligible, while
an investigation under these PROCEDURES is being carried out, the University
does not accept liability for any consequences to the student's progress
including retroactive effect on grades and promotion within a program, arising
from an investigation and any negative decision rendered. However, the University
may take these consequences into account as appropriate, and to the extent
feasible, in cases where charges are dropped or the student is found not
guilty.
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