Campus Policies

Scope

This policy applies to all colleges and academic units at the University of Nebraska at Omaha (“UNO” or “University”).  Each college and academic unit, including its faculty members, have the responsibility to educate its students about this policy and any additional standards of conduct for academic integrity in a particular course. Students are responsible for understanding and adhering to the requirements of this policy and any additional academic integrity standards prescribed by a college and academic unit, including its faculty members.

For the purposes of this policy, references to “college” for graduate students and/or graduate courses shall refer to the UNO Graduate College

Policy Statement

The maintenance of academic honesty and integrity is a vital concern of the University community. Any student found responsible for violating this policy shall be subject to both academic and disciplinary sanctions. Violations of this policy include, but are not limited to, the following standards:

1. Cheating

1. Copying from another student’s exam, assignment, or project.
2. Using materials during an exam or for an assignment that are not authorized by the instructor.
3. Using devices during an exam that are not authorized by the instructor.
4. Taking any materials out of the exam room (for example, the exam itself or scratch paper) that the exam instructions prohibit students from taking.
5. Making an electronic copy of part or all of an exam, unless the instructions authorize making a copy.
6. Possessing a copy of an exam or assignment that the student knows or should have known that they are not authorized to have.
7. Working on an exam or assignment with someone else, unless group work has been authorized by the instructor.
8. Taking an exam for another student, or allowing their exam to be taken by someone else.
9. Taking all or part of work that someone else prepared and submitting it as one’s own.
10. Taking all or a substantial part of an assignment submitted for one course and submitting it in another course, without the authorization of the instructor for that course.

2.  Dishonesty, Falsification, and Fabrication, which includes, but is not limited to:

1. Making false statements to avoid taking an exam or submitting an assignment at the scheduled time.
2. Making false statements to avoid a penalty for failing to take an exam or submit an assignment at the scheduled time.
3. Making up or purposefully misstating information or sources in any assignment or research project.
4. Engaging in plagiarism by presenting the words or ideas of another person as one’s own.
5. Making changes to a graded exam or assignment and then representing that the changes were part of the original exam or assignment.

3. Harmful Academic Action Towards Others, which includes, but is not limited to:

1. Interfering with another person’s research or academic work.
2. Knowingly making false charges that another student violated these Standards.

4. Improperly Helping Others, which includes, but is not limited to:

1. Helping another student on an exam or an assignment when the student is not authorized to receive help.
2. Knowingly helping another student violate these Standards, including, but not limited to, sharing an instructor’s teaching materials without permission.
3. Unauthorized distribution, electronically or otherwise, of an instructor’s course materials.

5. Failing to Follow the Rules, which includes, but is not limited to:

1. Failing to follow the instructions of an exam proctor.
2. Failing to follow testing center rules.

6. Other:

1. Academic units and members of the faculty may prescribe and give students prior notice of additional standards of conduct for academic honesty in a particular course, and violation of any such standard of conduct shall constitute a violation of this policy.

Reason for Policy

To inform faculty, staff, and students of the University community’s standards of academic integrity and the process for adjudicating alleged violations of those standards.

Procedures

Under the Bylaws of the Board of Regents of the University of Nebraska [Sections 2.9 and 4.1(i)], the respective colleges of the University have jurisdiction over procedural matters concerning academic dishonesty. Just as the task of inculcating values of academic honesty resides with the faculty, the faculty is entrusted with the discretionary authority to decide how incidents of academic dishonesty are to be resolved. 

In cases where a faculty member finds that a student has committed any form of academic dishonesty, the faculty member may, in the exercise of their professional judgment, impose an academic sanction as severe as giving the student a failing grade in the course. In cases involving an academic sanction, the faculty member shall initiate the following procedures, starting at Step 1 and continuing only as necessary to Steps 2 or 3.

Step 1: Determination and Reporting of Offense and Sanctions

If a faculty member suspects that a student has violated this policy, the faculty member shall:

1. Compile all necessary information and supporting documentation related to the alleged violation;
2. Discuss the matter with the student, either in person or in writing, and explain to the student the basis for the suspicion of academic dishonesty;
   1. Faculty members are encouraged to note when this discussion occurred for the purposes of documenting the beginning of the timeline referenced in Step 1(4.) below. If the discussion occurred in person, faculty members are encouraged to follow that conversation with a written summary to be sent to the student for the purposes of documenting the discussion and the basis for the suspicion of academic dishonesty.
3. Give the student a reasonable opportunity to explain the matter.
4. If the student offers an unsatisfactory explanation, does not respond within seven University days (see ‘Definitions’) after first being notified (in person or in writing) of the suspected academic dishonesty, or if the faculty member otherwise concludes that the student has violated this policy, the faculty member shall provide written notification to the student of any sanction for the offense. The faculty member shall explain to the student their rights to mediation, as described in Step 2, and appeal, as described in Step 3.

Any sanction imposed by the faculty member, such as retaking a test or rewriting a paper, or failure in the entire course, shall be limited to the course. If the student does not respond or make a request for mediation or appeal within ten University days after the date of first being notified in writing of any sanction for academic dishonesty, then the student is considered to have accepted the sanction, and the faculty member shall make a written report of the facts of the case, including any pertinent materials related to the academic dishonesty.

At the discretion of the faculty member, cases involving lesser sanctions that do not result in a grade of ‘F’ in the entire course, such as retaking a quiz or rewriting a paper, may be reported to the department chair or director.  Although not required, faculty members are encouraged to report cases involving lesser sanctions that do not result in a grade of ‘F’ in the entire course to the UNO Office of Student Conduct & Community Standards.  The UNO Office of Student Conduct & Community Standards uses these reports to identify repeat offenders and to provide education to the student to ensure that they understand this policy and its requirements.  The faculty member shall inform the student in writing if a report is made to the department chair or director, the dean, and/or the UNO Office of Student Conduct & Community Standards. 

Whenever an academic sanction is imposed that directly results in a grade of ‘F’ in the entire course, the faculty member’s report shall be conveyed in writing to the department chair or director, and dean of the college in which the course is offered, and to the UNO Office of Student Conduct & Community Standards. The faculty member shall inform the student in writing that a report has been made. Student conduct proceedings shall be initiated, and students may be subject to disciplinary action up to and including expulsion under the UNO Student Code of Conduct. Students shall be informed of their right to appeal, in accordance with the procedures established by the UNO Student Code of Conduct.

All records shall be retained in accordance with the University of Nebraska records retention schedules.

Step 2: Mediation

If the faculty member and student cannot reach an agreement as to the matter of an alleged incident of academic dishonesty, then either party may request the departmental chair or director to serve as a confidential mediator, exploring the student's intentions, the gravity of the suspected offense, and the appropriateness of the sanction. This request must be made within ten University days after the date of the first written notification of any form of sanction imposed for academic dishonesty. If the matter is satisfactorily resolved among these three parties, then a written record of the resolution shall be prepared by the mediator,  and communicated to both the faculty member and student. Any form of sanction agreed to in mediation that directly results in a grade of ‘F’ in the entire course shall be reported to the UNO Office of Student Conduct & Community Standards as described in Step 1, and the mediator shall inform the student in writing that a report has been made.

Step 3: Appeal within the College

If the matter of an alleged incident of academic dishonesty cannot be resolved satisfactorily through mediation (Step 2), or if either the faculty member or the student do not wish the departmental chair or director to mediate, then either party may request the dean of the college to convene an appropriate college standing committee with student representation or impanel a committee with student representation to consider the matter of the alleged academic dishonesty. The request for appeal shall be made within ten University days after the date of the first written notification of any form of sanction for academic dishonesty or, if Step 2 is pursued, within ten University days after the date of any unsuccessful attempt to resolve the issue through mediation. The membership of the college committee shall be drawn from the college in which the course is taught. The college committee shall function in accordance with the procedural guarantees provided in Section 5.4 of the Bylaws of the Board of Regents of the University of Nebraska. 

If the committee finds the student did not violate this policy, the faculty member shall award a grade for the student's work and course without prejudice.  

If the committee finds that the student has violated the policy, it shall uphold the faculty member's sanction. The dean shall convey a report of the incident, including the sanction and the committee’s decision that the student has violated the policy, to the UNO Office of Student Conduct & Community Standards, the student, and the faculty member.

If the student disagrees with the grade awarded they may appeal the grade pursuant to the official grade appeal process established by the program/college in which the course is offered.

Withdrawals
The procedures described above still apply if a student who is suspected of violating this policy withdraws from the course at any point. 

Repeat Offenses 
Student conduct proceedings shall be initiated whenever a student is reported for violating this policy in more than one course. Students who are reported for violating this policy in more than one course are subject to disciplinary action up to and including expulsion under the UNO Student Code of Conduct. Students shall be informed of their right to appeal such disciplinary action, in accordance with the procedures established by the UNO Student Code of Conduct. The disposition of such cases shall be communicated to any faculty members who communicated a report to the UNO Office of Student Conduct & Community Standards concerning that student’s violation of the policy, and to the dean of the student’s college.

Student Record Privacy & FERPA
In accordance with the Family Educational Rights & Privacy Act (FERPA), access to student records will be granted only to those individuals who have been determined to have a legitimate educational interest. Officials of the University may be given access to student education records on a "need-to-know" basis and that such assessment be limited to legitimate, educational interests.

Records Retention
Records shall be retained in accordance with the records retention schedules of the University of Nebraska.  The retention requirements for student records are identified in Schedule 170-17.

Annual Report 
Each year near the beginning of the fall semester, the UNO Office of Student Conduct and Community Standards shall convey an anonymized report to the UNO Faculty Senate including the total number of academic integrity cases reported during the preceding academic year, the number that involved failure in the entire course, as well as the number and final disposition of any academic integrity cases adjudicated under the UNO Student Code of Conduct. 

Syllabus Language 
“UNO has an academic integrity policy and procedures available at ”, in addition to any other comments on academic integrity that may be included in the syllabus.

Definitions

The term “University Day” means a weekday on which the campus offices are open. Check the academic calendar on the campus website to determine the days on which the campus offices are closed.

Additional Contacts

Forms

UNO Academic Integrity Incident Report Form

University of Nebraska at Omaha Student Code of Conduct

University of Nebraska at Omaha’s Procedures Concerning Students Records 

University of Nebraska Records Retention Schedule 170-17 – Student Records

University of Nebraska Board of Regents Bylaw 2.9: The Colleges

University of Nebraska Board of Regents Bylaw 4.1: Academic Responsibility

University of Nebraska Board of Regents Bylaw 5.4: Student Disciplinary Procedures

History

Revised policy approved by the Chancellor’s Cabinet on April 6, 2021.