Mercer County Community College is committed to Academic Integrity -- the honest, fair and continuing pursuit of knowledge, free from fraud or deception.

This implies that students are expected to be responsible for their own work, and that faculty and academic support services staff members will take reasonable precautions to prevent the opportunity for academic dishonesty. The college recognizes the following general categories of violations of Academic Integrity,

with representative examples of each. Academic Integrity is violated whenever a student:

A. Uses or obtains unauthorized assistance in any academic work.
 
B. Gives fraudulent assistance to another student.
 
C. Knowingly represents the work of others as his/her own, or represents previously

    completed academic work as current.
 
D. Fabricates data in support of an academic assignment.
 
E. Inappropriately or unethically uses technological means to gain academic advantage.

Each instructor and academic support service area is authorized to establish specific guidelines consistent with this policy.

Consequences

For a single violation, the faculty member will determine the course of action to be followed. This may include assigning a lower grade on the assignment, assigning a lower final course grade, failing the student in the course, or other penalty appropriate to the violation. In all cases, the instructor shall notify the Chair of the Academic
Integrity Committee of the violation and the penalty imposed. When two (or more) violations of academic integrity are reported on a student, the Academic Integrity Committee (AIC) may impose disciplinary penalties beyond those imposed by the course instructors. The student shall have the right to a hearing before the AIC or a designated AIC subcommittee.

To find out more details about the Academic Integrity Policy, please visit the MCCC web site at www.mcccc.edu.