Academic Honesty

Manhattan Area Technical College - Academic Honesty Policy (Policy No.  4.3.2)

Academic honesty at Manhattan Area Technical College (MATC) is an important part of student success. Academic honesty is the advancement of knowledge requiring that all students and instructors respect the integrity of another’s work and recognize the importance of acknowledging and safeguarding that work. To ensure the highest level of service to the student, MATC provides the opportunity for a student to appeal any dispute arising from academic misconduct.

Academic misconduct is an action taken by a student that violates the college’s policy on academic honesty. MATC defines academic misconduct as the following: 

Cheating

• Giving or receiving unauthorized help on an individual or group assignment, paper, or exam
• Reusing an assignment written for another course without proper authorization
• Taking an exam for another student or having another student take an exam for a student
• Using unauthorized material on an exam
• Altering or fabricating academic data, records, or documents with the use of conventional or electronic devices 

Plagiarizing

• Using others’ ideas and/or words without correctly acknowledging the source of that information
• Copying someone else’s copyrighted material without written permission of the copyright owners
• Taking credit for an assignment or research project done by another student
• Doing work or research for another student

Falsification and Fabrication

• Altering, counterfeiting, or inventing information or material presented in an academic evaluation activity
• Presenting data in a piece of work that were not gathered in accordance with guidelines defining appropriate methods for collecting or generating data
• Including substantially inaccurate account of the method by which the data were gathered or collected

Abuse of Academic Materials

• Destroying, stealing, altering, or making inaccessible library, laboratory, or other academic resource materials, including computer data, or attempting to do so
• Stealing examinations, or other course materials, or attempting to do so

Complicity in Academic Dishonesty

• Helping, or attempting to help, another to commit an act of academic dishonesty
• Providing material or information to another person with knowledge that the material or information will be used deceitfully in an academic evaluation activity
• Permitting one’s own work to be submitted by another person as if it were that person’s original work

Falsification of Records and Official Documents

• Altering documents affecting academic records
• Forging signature of authorization or falsifying information on any official academic document, including a permission form, a petition or any other document designed to meet or exempt a student from an established academic regulation
• Failing to report previous academic records

Personal Misrepresentation and Proxy

• Participating in an academic evaluation activity in the place of another person either before or after enrollment
• Assisting in any arrangement whereby any work, placement or proficiency tests, classroom performance, examination or other academic evaluation activity is submitted or performed by a person other than the student in whose name the work is submitted or performed
• Having another person participate in an academic evaluation activity or evaluation in place of oneself
• Using artificial intelligence (AI) to produce and submit work as your own

Bribes, Favors, Threats

• Bribing or attempting to bribe, promising favors to, or making threats against any person, with the intention of affecting a record of a grade or evaluation of academic performance
• Conspiring with another person who then performs one of these acts on one’s behalf

Violations of academic misconduct must be documented. Consequences for students in violation of the MATC Academic Honesty and Misconduct Policy will be at the discretion of faculty and/or administration. Consequences include, but are not limited to: 

• Written warning.
• An “F” or zero points given for the assignment, paper, exam, etc.
• An “F” or zero points given for the course (administration approval required)
• Removal from the course and/or program by Executive Administration
• Expulsion from the college by Executive Administration/President

Any student accused of academic dishonesty may request written confirmation of the violation and consequence(s). If a claim of academic dishonesty is in dispute, the student may file a grievance, following the Student Grievance Appeal Procedure.