Faculty who suspect violation of academic honesty, cheating, plagiarism, collusion, or abuse of resource materials may assign an academic penalty. Students must be notified of their right to appeal before the academic penalty is imposed.
Students subject to penalty due to academic honesty have the right to appeal the decision. Refer to the current LSCO Catalog for details on the appeal process.
Faculty who suspect violation of academic honesty, cheating, plagiarism, collusion, or abuse of resource materials may assign an academic penalty.
Incidents of academic dishonesty are a violation of the Student Code of Conduct. An academic appeal process is afforded to students who desire to dispute a grade or any decision that affects the student's ability to complete and earn a grade for the course, provided it is not related to a violation outlined in the LSCO Student Code of Conduct, including academic dishonesty.
Nursing students are held accountable for any form of academic dishonesty and will be withdrawn from the Nursing Program in the face of substantial evidence of said action. Students who are withdrawn under this Policy are not eligible for readmission to the Program.
• Academic dishonesty is defined as:any form of fraudulence, cheating, lying or deceitfulness in connection with the responsibility of a nursing student in the classroom, clinical, or simulation lab setting
• any act that attempts to deceive or misrepresent the student's behaviors, abilities, and/ or knowledge in order to affect or improve the student's standing in the RN Transition Program.
• Academic dishonesty includes, but is not limited to the
following:Cheating -
• Using unauthorized resources during exams, including but not limited to cheat sheets, cell phones, internet sites, talking with other students about or during an exam or looking at another students' exam.
• Purchasing a paper or test information from an online course or another person.
• Use of any electronic devices including but not limited to cell phones, smart watches, headphones, earbuds, cameras, internet access, text messaging, crib sheets, hidden notes, markings on body, or other resources during exams or exam review.
• Submitting false or forged documents, including health history, medications, immunizations, CPR certification or absenteeism excuses.
• Plagiarism - to take and use as one's own the ideas or writings of another without giving that person credit. Plagiarism can be intentional or unintentional and includes copying someone else's work wordfor-word and claiming that it is yours as well as summarizing, paraphrasing, or quoting and not providing the proper documentation and credit to the author. This includes "cut, paste and copy" of work that is not your own. This includes information from any source: printed, verbal (such as an interview), electronic (the Internet or any electronic source), even if the site/author specifically states that you are allowed to download and use any portion and claim it as your own. Plagiarism can result in a grade of "F" for the paper, classwork, or exam and may result in failure of the course.
• Collusion - lending assistance or failing to report witnessed acts of academic misconduct. This includes discussing an examination with students who have not taken the exam, having a copy of the examination outside the time and place of test administration. If you observe cheating during an exam, or know of students who have an unfair advantage, it is your obligation to report these occurrences to the Nursing Division Chair who will investigate the allegations while maintaining your confidentiality.
• Willful lying or deceitfulness -
• falsifying data in a patient health record, nursing care plan or any form on which data is reported
• lying about or misrepresenting nursing care given, clinical errors, or any action related to the clinical experience
• unauthorized entry (hacking) into test banks or examinations
Flagrant or repeated violation of academic honesty may be referred to the Dean of Student Services for further action. Students subject to penalty or dismissal due to academic dishonesty have the right to appeal, following the chain of command (See LSCO Student Catalog, Academic Integrity).
• Examples of substantial evidence of academic dishonesty may include but are not limited to the following:word of a reliable witness to such action
• direct comparison of documents
• possession of knowledge that could not have been obtained except by
• fraudulent means
• self-incrimination