Last year the university saw an increase in the number of cases submitted for plagiarism, submitting another’s work as your own, and unauthorized collaboration on homework assignments. Considering this trend, the Faculty Senate approved an update to the academic integrity sanction rubric. New guidelines about plagiarism and collaboration have been instituted as well as a new Level 0 violation.

If a student is found responsible for plagiarism or submitting another’s work as their own, a Level 0 sanction will be applied only if the plagiarized/copied material constitutes less than 10 percent of the assignment and it is a student’s first academic integrity violation. A Level 1 sanction will be applied if the plagiarized/copied material constitutes 10 percent or more of the assignment or if it is a student’s second offense regardless of the percentage.

If a student is found responsible for unauthorized collaboration on homework assignments a Level 0 sanction will be applied only if evidence of collaborating/copying constitutes less than 10 percent of the assignment and it is a student’s first academic integrity violation. A Level 1 sanction will be applied if evidence of collaborating/copying constitutes 10 percent or more of the assignment or if it is a student’s second offense regardless of the percentage.

What happens if a student receives a Level 0 sanction? A Letter of Reprimand will be issued, but no sanction points or grade sanction will be applied. However, instructors must still submit the case through the reporting process to the Academic Integrity Monitor, after which the normal process will ensue. Further, if a student is found responsible or accepts responsibility for the violation, it will be noted for any future instances of academic dishonesty.

A new online system has also been implemented for reporting and managing academic integrity referrals. If faculty members need to report an incident they can do so by submitting an Allegation Reporting Form on honesty.uark.edu.