Academic Integrity

Each college and school at Adelphi University may establish its own detailed supplemental guidelines for academic integrity, consistent with its own culture, and consistent with the University-wide general guidelines described in this document. Each college and school is encouraged to promulgate academic integrity in a manner tailored to the needs of their faculty and students. Deans will be notified annually of violation totals reported for students in undergraduate programs of their college or school.

Reason for Policy

The purpose of the policy on Academic Integrity is to clearly identify Adelphi University’s stance and requirements on academic integrity.

Who is Governed by This Policy?

Faculty, staff and students.

Policy

Honor Code

“The University is an academic community devoted to the pursuit of knowledge. Fundamental to this pursuit is academic integrity. In joining the Adelphi community I accept the University’s Statement of Academic Integrity and pledge to uphold the principles of honesty and civility embodied in it. I will conduct myself in accordance with ideals of truth and honesty and I will forthrightly oppose actions that would violate these ideals.”

All members of the University community are responsible to familiarize themselves and abide by all rules and procedures related to academic integrity at Adelphi.

Any professor (full-time or part-time), or campus administrator administering educational content on behalf of a professor, who believes that an undergraduate student has violated Adelphi’s Code of Academic Integrity should complete an Academic Integrity Violation Report. This report, along with copies of any supporting evidence pertaining to the violation, are sent to the Office of the Provost and maintained by the University in accordance with applicable laws and regulations.

Students who disagree with the findings of the report should meet with the reporting professor or reporting administrator as soon as possible. If after meeting with the reporting professor or reporting administrator the student is still not satisfied with the outcome, the student may appeal to the University’s Academic Integrity Officer appointed by the Provost.

If an undergraduate student is reported for a repeat academic integrity violation while at Adelphi, they will be referred to the Office of Student Conduct and Community Standards for additional investigation and adjudication as necessary and prescribed by the Code of Conduct. All previous academic integrity violations will be considered in determining an appropriate sanction(s) if the student is found responsible. Sanctions for additional violations may include academic probation, suspension for one or more semesters, or expulsion from the University. The Code of Conduct can be found at operations.adelphi.edu/policies/code-of-conduct.

Any professor or campus administrator who believes that a graduate student has violated Adelphi’s Code of Academic Integrity should report it to the Office of the Dean of the student’s graduate program. Each graduate College or School will have a written policy stating their procedures for addressing alleged academic integrity violations, including a mechanism for student appeal. The Dean of the student’s graduate program will have the authority to investigate the reported violation and levy a sanction, including immediate expulsion from the program.

Definitions

Code of Academic Integrity: The Code of Academic Integrity prohibits any behavior, whether in-person or remote, that can broadly be described as lying, cheating, or stealing. Violations of the Code of Academic Integrity will include, but not be limited to, the following:

• Fabricating data or citations
• Collaborating in areas not approved by the professor
• Unauthorized multiple submission of one’s own work
• Sabotage of others’ work, including library vandalism or manipulation
• Plagiarism
• The creation of unfair advantage
• The facilitation of dishonesty
• Tampering with or falsifying records
• Cheating
• Other forms of academic dishonesty

University Committee for Academic Integrity:

The Committee will have the responsibility to promote an atmosphere of academic integrity, working to educate the entire Adelphi Community. The Committee will develop and distribute materials including guidelines for promulgating the Code of Academic Integrity through course syllabi, class discussion, and written guidelines to students and faculty on matters such as plagiarism.

The Committee will be made up of students, faculty members, the Academic Integrity Officer, and representatives from the Writing Center, the Faculty Center for Professional Excellence, and the Division of Student Affairs. Students will normally serve terms of one year but may be reappointed at the discretion of the Division of Student Affairs and/or the Committee Chair. Faculty and Administrative Members will normally serve for terms of two years to help ensure continuity on the Committee. Members will normally be chosen in the spring for the coming year. Faculty will be chosen from names submitted to the Office of the Provost, with the goal of ensuring representation from all Schools and Colleges at the University. One of the Faculty members on the Committee will serve along with the Academic Integrity Officer as co-Chairpersons charged with scheduling meetings, coordinating with the Office of the Provost, and assisting members of the University community on matters of academic integrity. Student vacancies that occur during the year will be filled by the Division of Student Affairs with the assistance of the Student Government Association, faculty vacancies will be filled by the Office of the Provost and administrative member vacancies will be filled by their respective department heads. The Provost will have the authority to supplement the Committee for Academic Integrity with additional members to make up the full complement.

Procedures

Violations are reported online by accessing the Academic Integrity Violation Report within the eCampus services. Please note that data gathered from Adelphi systems, including IP addresses and other information available to instructors via Moodle, will not be accepted as evidence to support a violation given the problematic nature of such inquiries and potential conclusions.

Please reach out to the Academic Integrity Officer, Dr. Michael LaCombe with further investigative inquiries.

Forms

This policy does not have forms associated with it at this time. Upon periodic policy review, this area will be evaluated to determine if additional information is needed to supplement the policy.

Related Information

To promote academic integrity, the University utilizes Turnitin, a web-based plagiarism detection tool. For information and training on Turnitin, please contact the Faculty Center for Professional Excellence at 516.877.4221 and visit the Academic Integrity website.

Document History

• Last Reviewed Date: January 6, 2024
• Last Revised Date: January 6, 2024
• Policy Origination Date: January 1, 2001

Who Approved This Policy?

• Approved by the Faculty Senate on April 25, 2022
• Approved by the Student Government Association on May 3, 2022
• Approved by the Provost’s Academic Integrity Committee April 21, 2023