Academic Honesty

Academic honesty is expected of all students at Trevecca Nazarene University. It is an integral part of the educational process where learning takes place in an atmosphere of mutual trust and respect. Each student is responsible to maintain high standards of academic ethics, personal honesty, and moral integrity. Dishonest academic behavior will be dealt with fairly and firmly.

The following are types of infractions that may result in course failure and/or program termination. These include, but are not limited to:

  1. Plagiarism, using another’s statements or thoughts without giving the source appropriate credit; this includes patchwork plagiarism; generally, no more than 20% of any paper should be direct quotes;
  2. Cheating on an exam; this not only encompasses copying from another student but includes receiving help in completing an exam from any unauthorized source or in any unauthorized manner;
  3. Resubmitting graded assignments; self-plagiarism;
  4. Submitting for credit a borrowed or purchased paper (e.g., life learning paper, prior-learning documentation worksheet, summary paper, etc.);
  5. Defacing or unauthorized removal of course materials either from the classroom or library;
  6. Falsifying documentation in regard to the reporting of course reading;
  7. Signing the roll for someone who is not present in class;
  8. Falsifying documentation;
  9. Submitting and using instructional materials, instructor resources, and faculty guides as your own work;
  10. Identity Fraud
Penalties
All instances of academic dishonesty should be reported first by the faculty member to their respective program director and then to the student involved. The faculty member should then follow-up by submitting the Report-Violation of Academic Honesty Form to the Student Success and Advising Office by completing and submitting to GRAEAdvising@trevecca.edu for recording in the student’s permanent file. The Director of Academic Advising will receive all email notifications that are sent to the GRAEAdvising@trevecca.edu email and will submit to the proper Advisor.

Please note that these procedures will be followed based on the actions of academic dishonesty regardless of the intentions of the student. This policy is not intended to address discrepancies in APA formatting or writing errors. Additionally, penalties accrue throughout a student’s academic program. If the second offense occurs in another course, the student will receive a failing grade for that particular course. If a third offense should occur, the student will be immediately suspended from the program.

The following will serve as penalties and accrue during a student’s matriculation at Trevecca:
  1. For the first offense, he/she will earn a zero grade on the assignment. Please be reminded that many times failing a final assignment will result in the failure of the entire course. 
  2. For the second offense, the student will fail the course and be placed on academic probation. 
  3. For the third offense, the student will fail the course and be suspended from the program. 
A student who has been suspended for academic reasons may petition for readmission after six months. Returned students receiving another academic dishonesty offense will receive permanent expulsion.