Part I. Academic Life

1. Academic Dishonesty: Cheating and Plagiarism
   • College of Arts and Sciences
   • Zimpleman College of Business
   • College of Pharmacy and Health Sciences
   • School of Journalism and Mass Communication
   • School of Education
   • Law School
2. Registration Procedures
3. Withdrawal from the University
4. Class Attendance

The Academic Life section of the Student Handbook explains only information absent from or more complete than that in the Drake University General Bulletin. Consult the General Bulletin or deans' offices for official University policies concerning academic life.

A. Academic Dishonesty: Cheating and Plagiarism

Definitions
A student who cheats or plagiarizes commits an offense against the entire University community. Cheating, plagiarism or dishonesty in academic work is cause for dismissal from the University. Cheating is defined as an act or attempted act of giving or obtaining aid and/or information by illicit means in meeting any academic requirements, including examinations. Plagiarism is defined as misrepresenting other's ideas, phrases or discourse as one's own.

Penalties
The penalty for cheating or plagiarism will vary from incident to incident. Initiation of action that can lead to a penalty is primarily the prerogative of the faculty member involved. The possible penalties include a reprimand, grade penalty, dismissal from the course and a recommendation for dismissal from the University.

Appeals
A student may appeal a charge of cheating or plagiarism in accordance with the appeal procedure of the appropriate college.

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College of Arts and Sciences

Academic Dishonesty Policy Statement

Definitions
Academic dishonesty is an all-encompassing term involving any activity that seeks to gain credit for work one has not done or to deliberately damage or destroy the work of others. It includes plagiarism (the misrepresentation, either by intent or negligence, of another’s ideas, phrases, discourse, or works as one’s own); cheating (the act, or attempted act, of giving or obtaining aid and/or information by illicit means in meeting any academic requirement, including examinations); fabrication (intentional and unauthorized falsification or invention of any information or citation in an academic sense in any academic exercise); and facilitating academic dishonesty (intentionally or knowingly helping or attempting to help another to commit an act of academic dishonesty). Examples of such cases include, but are not limited to:

1. copying from the Internet and representing it as one’s own thoughts or work;
2. copying from another student’s paper, laboratory report, or other report, or computer files or listing and representing it as one’s own thoughts or work;
3. using, during a test or laboratory experiment, material and/or devices not authorized by the instructor in charge;
4. without the instructor's permission, collaborating with another, knowingly assisting another or knowingly receiving the assistance of another in writing an examination or in satisfying any other course requirements;
5. incorporating into written assignments materials written by others without giving them credit, or otherwise improperly using information written by others (including that which might be stored on computer disks or other technological devices), or submitting commercially prepared papers as one’s own;
6. submission of multiple copies of the same or similar papers without prior approval of the several instructors involved;
7. claiming as one's own work that which was done by tutors or others with no mention of credit to or the assistance of those persons;
8. deliberately damaging or destroying another's laboratory experiments, computer work or studio work;
9. knowingly obtaining access to, using, buying, selling, stealing, transporting, or soliciting in its entirety or in part, the contents of a test or other assignment unauthorized for release;
10. substituting for another student, or permitting another student to substitute for oneself, to take a test or other assignment or to make a presentation;
11. intentional and unauthorized falsification or invention of any information or citation in an academic exercise;
12. forgery, alterations, or misuse of University documents;
13. falsifying information submitted or failure to reveal relevant information in any University application form or offering any false information in any University disciplinary proceeding.

Each instructor reserves the right to further clarify and define his/her expectations of academic integrity orally or in written form, such as through the course syllabus.

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Penalties
The penalty for cheating or plagiarism will vary from incident to incident, depending upon the scope and magnitude of the offense and the circumstances in which it occurred; upon the prior record of the person being penalized; and upon evidence suggesting the existence or absence of a pattern of academic dishonesty in the academic performance of the person committing the offense. Possible penalties include a reprimand, grade penalty, dismissal from the course and a recommendation for dismissal from the University. Responsibility for dealing with cases of academic dishonesty begins with the faculty member who identifies an instance of academic dishonesty.

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Appeals
Not later than fourteen (14) days after an alleged Academic Integrity Policy violation comes to his/her attention, the instructor shall (1) provide the student with written notice describing the alleged violation and (2) make a good faith effort (normally, both an e-mail and a phone mail message during the academic year; and an e-mail and a regular U.S. letter during the summer or winter break) to meet with the student to discuss the alleged violation. After the meeting, or after it becomes clear that the student refuses to meet, the instructor shall exercise professional judgment in selecting his or her course of action. A student may appeal an instructor’s decision regarding a violation of the Academic Integrity Policy by notifying the Dean or the Associate Dean within ten (10) working days of notification of the penalty(s) imposed by the instructor. The Dean’s office will refer the issue to the Chair of the Academic Integrity and Appeals Committee to schedule a hearing. The Chair of the Academic Integrity and Appeals Committee will notify the student and the instructor in writing at least ten (10) working days prior to the hearing date. The notification shall include the alleged Academic Integrity Policy violation giving rise to the hearing, hearing procedures, the date, time, and location of the hearing, copies of documents that the Committee intends to use at the hearing and the name of the Chair. Specific details regarding the hearing process and rights therein will be provided to the student when he or she notifies the Dean or the Associate Dean of a potential appeal. The Academic Integrity and Appeals Committee will present a verdict. The student or the instructor may appeal the decision(s) of the Academic Integrity and Appeals Committee to the Dean. A written notice of appeal must be delivered to the office of the Dean within ten (10) working days from the receipt of the hearing report from the Committee. Written details pertaining to this final appeal process are available in the College office. The Dean's decision on appeal is final.

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A complete version of the Academic Integrity Policy is available in the Dean's office. The complete version – which the above summarizes – is the official one.

Appeals of Academic Evaluations

A student who wishes to challenge the grading practices of an instructor of the College may appeal for a change of grade. The student must initiate the appeals procedure with the instructor on or before the third Wednesday of the semester following the issuance of the grade in question (excluding summer terms). First, the student must meet with the instructor involved in an attempt to resolve the problem. If the matter remains unresolved, the student must request a meeting at which the Department Chair (or the Program Director), the instructor, and the student are present. The student must make this request to the Department Chair (or Program Director) by the fifth Wednesday of the semester following issuance of the grade in question (excluding summer terms). The student shall be given the opportunity to explain his/her position and present relevant documentation to the Department Chair (or Program Director). The Department Chair (or Program Director) shall prepare a written summary of the issues, his or her findings of fact, and a proposed resolution to be presented to the student and the instructor. If the proposed resolution of the Chair or Director is not satisfactory to the student, he or she may appeal in writing to the Dean or Associate Dean, who will refer the appeal to the Academic Integrity and Appeals Committee. All appeals must be delivered to the College office within ten (10) working days of presentation of the proposed resolution to the student and instructor. Absent a timely appeal by the student, the proposed resolution of the Chair or Director becomes final. Upon receipt of the appeal, the Committee shall invite the instructor to submit a written response to the appeal. The Committee will decide whether a hearing is or is not necessary. Written details pertaining to the hearing process are available in the College office.

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Zimpleman College of Business

A business professional's credibility depends on trust and the highest ethical standards.  Academic integrity becomes the foundation on which a business career is built. Therefore, academic dishonesty (in any form) harms the reputation of the university, the college, and the Zimpleman College of Business faculty/student family.

Academic dishonesty is an encompassing term involving any activity that seeks to gain credit for work one has not done or to deliberately damage or destroy the work of others. Plagiarism is defined as misrepresenting another's ideas, phrases, discourse or works as one's own. Cheating is defined as the act, or attempted act, of giving or obtaining aid and/or information by illicit means in meeting any academic requirements, including examinations.

If it is determined by an instructor that a student is guilty of academic dishonesty, it is the prerogative of the instructor to assign a penalty.  In addition, all such actions must be reported in writing to the Associate Dean of Student Affairs within the Zimpleman College of Business, with a copy of the report supplied to the student. Further sanctions from the college are possible depending on the nature of the offense and the prior record of the individual(s) involved.

If a student wishes to appeal the instructor's determination of academic misconduct, the student must file a written notice of appeal, which shall include the basis of the appeal with the Associate Dean.  This notice of appeal must be filed within four weeks of receipt of the report of the instructor’s determination.

Copies of the entire policy and procedures statement can be obtained from the Associate Dean’s office or on the Zimpleman College of Business home page.

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College of Pharmacy and Health Sciences

An Honor Code defining responsibilities of students regarding academic and professional conduct is located on the College of Pharmacy website

As described in the Honor codes, students may appeal charges by notifying the associate dean for academic and student affairs.

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School of Journalism and Mass Communication

Cheating, plagiarism and all other forms of academic dishonesty will not be tolerated. They are grounds for suspension from the School of Journalism and Mass Communication and dismissal from the University. A student who cheats, plagiarizes or is dishonest in any way in his or her academic work commits a serious offense against the faculty and the students of the School and will be disciplined to the full extent allowed.

The faculty member who determines that a student has cheated or plagiarized is entitled to assign the penalty that he or she deems appropriate, including a grade of "F" for the course. The faculty will report all incidents of academic dishonesty and the attendant penalties to the dean, and the dean will determine whether additional disciplinary action shall be taken.

A student wishing to appeal an instructor’s determination and/or penalty for academic dishonesty must write a letter to the dean explaining the grounds for appeal. The appeal must be filed within one month of being notified of the instructor’s decision. The dean will conduct such investigation as might be necessary for the case and issue the final decision.

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School of Education

Academic Honesty
The School of Education expects intellectual integrity on the part of undergraduate and graduate students who participate in professional preparation and enhancement programs offered by the School. As future practitioners, students of the Drake University School of Education must maintain high ethical standards and academic honesty.

Academic Dishonesty
Academic dishonesty is an encompassing term that includes not only plagiarism and cheating but also involves any activity that seeks to gain credit for work one has not done or deliberately damages or destroys the work of others.

Appeal of Penalties
The following sequence should be used by students who wish to appeal penalties associated with alleged academic dishonesty:

Instructor. The student should express concern/complaint about the penalty to the instructor involved.

Department Chair. In the event that satisfactory resolution to the penalty situation is not achieved through the expression of the student’s concern/complaint to the instructor who is involved, the student may submit the concern/complaint in writing to the department chair.

Department and/or Program Faculty. Should the penalty situation not be satisfactorily resolved by submitting the concern/complaint in writing to the department chair, the student may request an appeal hearing before the department and/or program faculty.

School of Education Grievance Committee. If a student’s request for an appeal hearing before the department and/or program faculty does not resolve the situation, the student may file a complaint regarding the penalty with the School of Education Grievance Committee.

Dean of the School of Education. Students’ complaints/concerns about dishonesty, which are not resolved by the School of Education Grievance Committee, should be taken to the dean of the School of Education.

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Law School

As future members of the legal profession, the students of the Drake Law School bear a special responsibility to maintain high ethical standards for the profession. Accordingly, it is expected that each student will scrupulously regard the rights of others and will observe high ethical standards of both personal and professional conduct.

The Drake Law School Code of Student Conduct is concerned with discipline in a professional society, with special emphasis on examinations, preparation of required coursework, preservation of property and relationships with fellow students, faculty and staff. All Drake law students are bound by the Conduct Code. Violations of the Conduct Code are brought before the Honor Board, a panel of elected student justices and law professors. The Conduct Code is not the exclusive basis or manner for discipline of students, and the Drake Law School reserves the right to dismiss any student at any time, should it be in the interest of the law school or the student to do so.

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B. Registration Procedures

The exact dates for registration can be found on the Web and campus email.

Students register from highest to lowest classification (graduate and law students, seniors, juniors, sophomores, first-year class). The classification is based on the students' current number of earned hours.

During the last part of each semester, every student planning to return to Drake will meet with his or her academic adviser to plan a schedule of courses for the next semester. Students must make appointments with their advisers. If a student does not know his or her adviser, he or she should contact the dean's office.

With the help of advisers, students should select classes which they determine will most contribute to their education at that time. Students should review registration materials with care.

All students who complete early registration will be billed prior to the beginning of the next term.

Students who are not planning to return for the next semester are asked at this time to inform their dean's office of their decision.

Undergraduate students may add courses up to 5 days after the semester begins and drop courses up to the midpoint of a semester.

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C. Withdrawal from the University

Students who want to withdraw from Drake University should begin the withdrawal process on the Web through MYDUSIS (secure area). A student who withdraws will be allowed a credit on tuition if withdrawing within a certain period of time. Information outlining the withdrawal and tuition charge schedule for specific academic periods can be found on the Web.

A student living in a University residence hall should notify the resident assistant or hall director of intentions to withdraw. A student may remain in the residence hall for only 24 hours after the withdrawal process is complete unless there are extenuating circumstances. A student living in a University residence hall who withdraws from the University is entitled to a prorated refund for room and board beginning Monday of the week following approved withdrawal.

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D. Class Attendance

Class attendance policies are determined by the student's college or school. Faculty of instruction may stipulate additional expectations in course syllabi. Contact the dean's office of the appropriate college or school for the specific class attendance policy.

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