Academic Integrity

Mid-Plains Community College is committed to academic integrity and honesty as essential components of its mission. All members of the academic community share responsibility for maintaining these standards.

Students are responsible for understanding and adhering to academic integrity expectations at both the institutional and course level. Ignorance of these expectations does not excuse violations.

The Academic Integrity policy will be referenced on all MPCC course syllabi. The reference will include information regarding the location of this policy. Students who have questions about Academic Integrity or the MPCC Academic Integrity policy may direct their questions to any faculty member, Academic Dean, or the Vice President for Academic Affairs. Contact for these individuals is available on the MPCC website under faculty and staff contact.

Definitions of Academic Integrity Violations

  • Cheating – Using, attempting to use, or aiding others in the use of unauthorized materials, information, or assistance.

  • Fabrication or Falsification – Altering or inventing information, data, or citations to be used in any academically related effort.

  • Plagiarism – Presenting another’s work as one’s own without proper acknowledgement. This includes misuse of artificial intelligence (AI). Use of AI generated content is considered plagiarism, cheating, or use of unauthorized materials when not expressly permitted by the instructor or when used inconsistently with the course use policy

  • Complicity – Assisting another in committing a violation of the Academic Integrity policy.

  • Impermissible Collaboration – Working with others when not authorized. See Cheating above.

  • Misrepresentation – Fabrication of an otherwise justifiable excuse such as illness, injury, or accident, to avoid academic responsibility.

  • Additional Standards – Faculty may establish additional expectations, including AI use policies and policies regarding self-plagiarism.

Sanctions for Academic Integrity Violations

All violations are reported to the academic clearinghouse and are maintained for two years.

Course-Level Sanctions

The following sanctions may be imposed by an instructor when a student has an academic integrity violation in the instructor’s course. The instructor will report each violation to the academic clearinghouse and let the student know what their course-level sanction is as well as how they are expected to proceed in the course.

  • Written warning.

  • Resubmission or additional work to provide evidence of academic performance and understanding of the academic integrity policy.

  • Instructor of Record Mentoring for up to 10 hours.

  • Instructor mentoring for up to 10 hours.

  • Reduced or failing grade on the assignment or work in question.

If a student commits multiple violations, the course-level sanctions may increase in severity, up to earning a failing grade in the course.

College-Level Sanctions

First Violation 

  • Student must complete academic integrity training course within 30 calendar days of sanction.
    • Letter/notification from the Academic Integrity Clearinghouse cc’d to the dean of the course that initiated the report
    • Registration hold placed on student account until academic integrity training has been completed.
    • Academic Integrity Clearinghouse staff will mentor student during training period. Mentoring includes:
      • Communication regarding the importance of training
      • Answering student questions
      • Communication of training deadlines

Second Violation 

  • Student is placed on academic suspension for a period of 12 months beginning at the end of the current term.
    • Email from the Academic Integrity Clearinghouse and letter/notification from the Vice President of Academic Affairs.

Third Violation

  • Student is placed on academic suspension for a period of 12 months beginning at the end of the current term.
    • Letter/notification from the Vice President of Academic Affairs.

Fourth Violation

  • Email from the Academic Integrity Clearinghouse and student is expelled from the college.
    • Letter/notification from the President

Process

At any step in this process, the student has a right to a college employee advocate of their choice to be present. If the student does not have an advocate, the student may ask the course Academic Dean to appoint one.

The student may appeal decisions by following the steps outlined in the appeals process section below.

Step 1

Within 10 instructional days of becoming aware of a potential violation, the course instructor shall:

  • Compile documentation related to the suspected violation.
  • Report violation to the Academic Integrity Clearinghouse.
  • Using approved college communication channels (campus email, LMS, etc.), notify student of the suspected violation, the report made to the Academic Integrity Clearinghouse, any course level sanctions being imposed, and the students right to due process under these guidelines.
  • The student has 5 instructional days to respond to the faculty, seeking a meeting to resolve the complaint.

Step 2

Within 5 instructional days of the student request for a meeting, the faculty and student meet to discuss the complaint.

  • If the issue is resolved between the course instructor and student, and it is determined that no violation occurred the process is complete and the faculty notifies the Academic Integrity Clearinghouse of the resolution. No record is made in the Clearinghouse, and no notification is sent by the Academic Dean.
  • If the student does not accept responsibility for the violation and no resolution is reached, the student may appeal following the appeal process listed below.

Step 3

Students being reported to the Academic Integrity Clearinghouse will be given the following communications depending upon whether the student has had prior violations. These communications will be sent to the student with 5 instructional days of the Clearinghouse being notified of nonresolution.

  • First Report: Academic Integrity Clearinghouse
  • Second Report: Vice President of Academic Affairs
  • Third Report: Vice President of Academic Affairs
  • Fourth Report: President

Each office listed above will notify the student in writing of the college-level sanctions to be imposed and ramifications of further violations.

Note: "Days" refer to instructional weekdays (Monday-Friday).

Appeal Process

To file an Academic Integrity Violation Appeal, the following steps must be completed in the order as described below:

Step 1

Within five (5) instructional weekdays following notification that an Academic Integrity Violation sanction the student must first consult with the instructor in an effort to provide a satisfactory resolution of the contested violation. If the instructor reviews the violation and evidence presented by the student, he/she may reverse the violation and sanctions. If the violation was previously reported to the clearinghouse, the instructor will notify the clearinghouse that the decision was reversed, and the instance will be removed from the student’s record. 

Step 2

If, however, the matter is not resolved in Step 1, the student may present the complaint in writing (e.g. email, written documentation, etc.) within five (5) instructional weekdays following the meeting with the instructor to the Academic Dean of the division in which the course was offered. Included in the petition are the appropriate documentation, and if available, the instructor’s written explanation of the Academic Integrity Violation. The Academic Dean will attempt to resolve the complaint in consultation with the instructor and the student. The Academic Dean will provide a written response to the student (e.g. email) within ten (10) instructional weekdays after he/she received the written complaint. If the Academic Dean was the instructor of the course, the student may proceed directly to Step 3.

Step 3

If the complaint is not resolved at the division level, the student may appeal further by presenting a written petition to the Vice President for Academic Affairs, along with a copy of the materials presented at the previous step and any written responses received from the program. The student’s petition must be submitted within five (5) instructional weekdays following the Academic Dean’s response. The Vice President for Academic Affairs may use any resources available to resolve the conflict and will provide the results of their finding in writing to the student within ten (10) instructional weekdays of the date the complaint was received by him/her.