Definitions
Student work: Student work covered by rules regarding academic honesty includes papers, research, tests, examinations and all forms of studio and production work as practised within the School of the Arts, Media, Performance and Design (AMPD).
Breaches of academic honesty: Please consult the York library resource on academic honesty for a discussion of academic honesty and definitions of breach of academic honesty. Among other issues, the Senate policy discusses offences such as cheating; submission of one piece of work in satisfaction of two assignments without prior informed consent; impersonation; plagiarism and other misappropriation of the work of another; abuse of confidentiality; falsification or forgery of documents; obstruction of the academic activities of another; aiding or abetting academic misconduct; failure to divulge previous attendance at another postsecondary educational institution on an admissions application etc. In particular, students taking courses in the School of the Arts, Media, Performance and Design should be mindful of the dangers of misappropriation and misrepresentation which are breaches of academic honesty.
Misappropriation of another’s work: In the creation and presentation of all studio and performance work, and all other artistic and technical works, students who use the work of others must clearly state the extent and nature of the appropriation to their instructor. Failure to do so shall constitute a breach of academic honesty.
Misrepresentation of collaborative projects: Failure to give appropriate credit to collaborators, or the listing of others as collaborators who have not contributed to the work, shall constitute a breach of academic honesty.
Procedures
The Senate Policy on Academic Honesty governs the procedure of the Faculty in cases of alleged breaches of academic honesty.
If an instructor believes an offence has occurred, they should bring the matter to the attention of their department Chair, who will consult with the Manager, Faculty Governance & Policy on an appropriate course of action. If the case is minor in nature (i.e. where it is small in extent, could reasonably be construed as an error, and where there seems to be no intent to deceive), the matter may be handled in an exploratory meeting with the student, instructor, and Chair. In more serious cases, an exploratory meeting in the Dean’s office will be called, attended by the instructor, the student, and their representatives, and chaired by the Manager, Faculty Governance & Policy. In this meeting, where it found that an infraction has occurred, an agreed-upon penalty may be imposed not exceeding failure in the course.
From the exploratory meeting, the matter will proceed to a formal hearing by the Academic/Administrative Policy and Planning Committee (AAPPC) in cases where:
- It is not the student’s first offense.
- The student does not attend the exploratory meeting.
- The student does not admit to a breach of academic honesty.
- The student admits to a breach of academic honesty, but no penalty is agreed upon.
Penalties
When a student has been found to have committed a breach of academic honesty, without limiting the ultimate discretion of the Faculty committee to impose any or all of the penalties set out in the Senate policy as may be warranted in the circumstances, the committee may impose any or all of the following penalties:
- a failure in the course
- failure in the course and a notation of breach of academic honesty on the transcript
- suspension
- expulsion with transcript notation
View the full AMPD policy on academic honesty.
View a brief overview of the policy.
For any questions regarding the policy, please contact:
James Pratt
Manager, Faculty Governance & Policy
jpratt@yorku.ca
(416) 736-2100, ext. 22875
