Academic Misconduct Subject to Disciplinary Action

Sampson Community College reserves the right to maintain a safe and orderly educational environment. Therefore, when in the judgment of College officials a student’s conduct disrupts or threatens to disrupt the sanctity of the community; appropriate disciplinary action will be taken. All students are expected to conduct themselves in accordance with generally accepted standards of scholarship and morality while on campus and when attending college-sponsored events or field trips. The purpose of this code is not to restrict student rights but to protect the rights of individuals and to ensure the integrity of the institution’s academic programs. The code of conduct applies to all currently enrolled students participating in any of the programs offered by the college. Officers of the Clinton Police Department will enforce criminal laws on the college campus.

Academic Misconduct Subject to Disciplinary Action

Academic misconduct is defined to include but is not limited to:

1. Plagiarism: The intentional theft or unacknowledged use of another's work or ideas. Plagiarism includes but is not limited to: a) paraphrasing or summarizing another's words or works without proper acknowledgment; b) using direct quotes of material without proper acknowledgement; c)  purchasing or using a paper or presentation, in whole or in part, written or produced by another person; or d) submitting a previously submitted assignment without permission (self-plagiarism). If a student is uncertain about what constitutes plagiarism, they should discuss with their instructor prior to the assignment deadline.
2. Cheating: Using notes or other material on an exam or class work without permission from the class instructor; receiving information from another student during an exam; obtaining a copy of an exam or questions from an exam prior to taking the exam; submitting someone else's work as one's own; submitting a written work, or other artistic work, or assignment that was created or generated, in whole or in part, by an artificial intelligence tool, platform, or software as one's own work; or having someone take one's exam and submitting it as their own.
3. Aiding Acts of Academic Dishonesty: Providing information to another student and knowing, or reasonably should have known, that the student intends to use the information for cheating or other deceptive purposes.

Disciplinary Procedures for Academic Misconduct

Faculty members will make a preliminary judgment about the seriousness of the incident and determine whether it is a possible violation of the Academic Code of Conduct. If the incident appears to be a violation, the faculty member will then decide whether the incident justifies a formal charge or whether a sanction on the test or assignment is appropriate. If the finding is that a violation rising to the level of a code of conduct charge has occurred, the faculty member may impose a variety of penalties for academic misconduct depending on the nature of the offense. Penalties include giving the student a grade of “F” or zero on the assignment or a grade of “F” in the course. Penalties will be included in the course syllabus.

In the event that the student wishes to appeal an individual grade resulting from alleged academic misconduct, including overcuts, the student must submit a written appeal within three (3) business days from the date they are informed of the penalty. Students may continue to attend class during the entire appeal process provided that they have initiated a written notice of appeal at each stage of the review process.

The student must present to the department or division chair supervising the faculty member a written notice of appeal outlining the grounds for the appeal. The department or division chair will provide the student with written notice of his or her finding as soon as practicable but not to exceed three (3) business days from notice of the appeal.

Other Misconduct Subject to Disciplinary Action

1. All forms of dishonesty including falsifying information to the College or another student and forgery, alteration, or use with intent to defraud the College’s documents or instruments of identification without the College’s permission.
2. Theft of, misuse of, or damage to College property; or theft of or damage to property of a member of the College community or a campus visitor on College premises or at College functions; trespassing which includes unauthorized entry upon the property of the College or into a College facility or a portion thereof that has been restricted in use and thereby placed off limits; unauthorized presence in a College facility after closing hours.
3. Possession of or use of alcoholic beverages or being in a state of intoxication on the College campus or at College-sponsored or College supervised functions off campus or in College-owned vehicles.
4. Possession, use or distribution of any illegal drugs, except as expressly permitted by law. Any influence that may be attributed to the use of drugs or of alcoholic beverages may not in any way limit the responsibility of the individual for the consequences of his or her actions.
5. Possession or use of an unauthorized firearm, incendiary device, or explosive, except in connection with a College-approved activity. This also includes unauthorized possession or use of any instrument that may be used to inflict serious bodily injury to any person.
6. Lewd or indecent conduct, including public, physical, or verbal action or distribution of or wearing clothes bearing obscene or libelous written material.
7. Intimidating, threatening, or mentally or physically abusing any person on College premises or at a College-sponsored or College-supervised functions, including verbal or physical actions that threaten or endanger the health or safety of any such persons or that promote hatred or racial prejudice.
8. Violation of College regulations regarding the operation and parking of motor vehicles.
9. Setting off a fire alarm or using or tampering with any fire safety equipment, except with reasonable belief in the need for such alarm or equipment.
10. Engaging in any conduct that causes or is likely to result in any material disruption of any lawful function or activity of the College including the intentional obstruction or disruption of teaching, research, administration or disciplinary proceedings or other College activities including public service functions and other duly authorized activities on College premises.
11. Participating in or conducting an assembly, demonstration, or gathering in a manner that threatens or causes injury to person or property; that interferes with free access to, ingress or egress of College facilities; which is harmful, obstructive or disruptive to the educational process or institutional functions of the College; remaining at the scene of such an assembly after being asked to leave by a representative of the College staff.
12. Occupation or seizure in any manner of College property, a College facility or any portion thereof for a use inconsistent with prescribed, customary, or authorized use.
13. Unauthorized use, or misuse, of the College’s computing resources including:
    • Logging on an account without the knowledge and permission of the account owner.
    • Changing, deleting, or adding to the programs, files, and data without authorization of the account owner.
    • Theft of program data and machine resources.
    • Attempts to thwart security of any College computer or computer system.
    • Attempts to disrupt the normal operations of any College computer system(s) including hardware and software.
14. Smoking or the use of other forms of tobacco products, in classrooms, shops, labs or any unauthorized areas.
15. Fiscal irresponsibility such as failure to pay College-levied fines, failure to repay College-funded loans, or the passing of worthless checks to College officials.
16. Failure to comply with instructions of College officials acting in performance of their duties.
17. Violation of a local, state, or federal criminal law on the College campus.
18. Violation of the terms of a disciplinary action or any College regulation during the period of probation, suspension or expulsion.