Plagiarism Guidelines and Procedures

Salish Kootenai College places a high value on academic honesty within its campus community. It is expected that students, faculty, staff, and administration work to uphold academic integrity by avoiding acts of plagiarism, as defined within the SKC Plagiarism Guidelines and Procedures. Plagiarism is defined as presenting the work of others, whether it be direct quotes, phrases, ideas, or a body of work, such as visual or audio media, as one’s own work, without proper acknowledgement of the original source. This includes presenting one’s own previous work, whether submitted for academic purposes or other informal or formal publication, without proper citation.

Students must strive to meet the expectations of honesty in their academic work. SKC employees, faculty in particular, must strive to create an educational atmosphere that fosters academic integrity through the communication of clear expectations, maintaining the values of honesty in the classroom, and reporting violations of the Plagiarism Guidelines and Procedures.

The SKC Plagiarism Guidelines and Procedures defines levels of plagiarism, possible consequences, and procedures used by the College in cases of alleged plagiarism. Students and SKC employees are encouraged to utilize the SKC Writing Center in regard to questions, support, and further education to avoid plagiarism.

Course-Level Review, Decision, and Action

Incidents of alleged violations of Salish Kootenai College’s Plagiarism Guidelines and Procedures will be initially reviewed and adjudicated at the course level or the equivalent academic level for projects that involve research or creative inquiry. Investigations may be managed by the course instructor(s) or departmental designee. In all cases involving alleged violations of the Plagiarism Guidelines and Procedures, the following procedures apply:

Gathering Information

Suspected violations should be investigated within a reasonable timeframe, ideally within one week of discovering the alleged violation.
Instructors should notify the involved student(s) of the alleged violation(s) and provide the student(s) the opportunity to respond in an in person meeting or videoconference as circumstances warrant.
Course instructors may receive information from other individuals (e.g., students, staff, faculty) who possess direct information related to the alleged violation(s) under review. For example, someone may have observed the suspected incident or interacted directly with the involved student(s) before, during, or after the incident in question.
If a student does not respond within one week of notification of an alleged violation(s) of the Plagiarism Guidelines and Procedures, the matter may be reviewed in their absence by the course instructor. In these circumstances, the course instructor may proceed with determination of responsibility and outcome.

Determining Responsibility and Course-Level Action

The course instructor will decide whether the suspected violation(s) occurred based on available evidence. At this stage, instructors are encouraged to consult with the department’s Chair and/or Dean regarding the nature of the suspected violation(s), the nature of the evidence related to the alleged violation(s), and the range of outcomes under consideration. See the Plagiarism Guidelines and Procedures Severity Scale.
When assessing responsibility for an academic integrity violation, the course instructor should apply a preponderance of evidence. A preponderance of the evidence means that the course instructor has determined that it is more likely than not that the student has violated the Plagiarism Guidelines and Procedures.
If the course instructor concludes that the student is responsible for the alleged violation(s), the course instructor should determine an outcome based on the consequence options listed on the SKC Plagiarism Guidelines and Procedures document. The most severe outcome that can be assessed at this level of review and action is course failure although the instructors and/or department heads may recommend additional outcomes for consideration during second-level review, decision, and action. Further discipline would be determined by the Vice President of Academic Affairs.
If a student who has a pending or documented academic disciplinary action withdraws from the course in question, and if the student is found to have a violation of the SKC Plagiarism Guidelines and Procedures, the write up will be processed and the student will be required to complete all designated consequences established by the instructor/department administrator.

Documenting and Reporting the Course-Level Decision

After determining responsibility and outcomes for a violation(s), the instructor should immediately and in writing via email notify the involved student(s) of the decision. If found responsible, the rationale for the determination of responsibility should be included in that notification. The outcome(s) that the course instructor has assessed should be noted as well. Students should also be informed of the opportunity to request an appeal and the procedures for doing so.
All documented violations of the Plagiarism Guidelines and Procedures will be reported to the Vice President of Academic Affairs upon completion of the investigation and student notification. Reports will be submitted using the Plagiarism Guidelines and Procedures Reporting Form.
A copy of the email communication to the student should be included with the report. Course instructors are also encouraged to submit all evidence and supporting documentation.
Upon receipt of the violation report, the Vice President of Academic Affairs will notify the following individuals of the course-level decision and action:

The notification to the student will include an option to discuss the case, review the appeal process, and prepare for second-level review (if needed).
In addition to the above notifications, the Vice President of Academic Affairs will be responsible for coordinating all #5 steps and the second-level review decision, and documenting the violation in the student’s college conduct record.

MILD LEVEL

Has not completed plagiarism module
Misuse of sources: word-for-word copying or patchwork copying (no quotation marks) , 5-10% of borrowed material
Genuine mistake / misunderstanding (e.g. poor use of citations or incorrect paraphrase)
Presenting borrowed translated ideas without citation - 1st offense
Procrastination - in a hurry and/or forgetting to complete citations

POSSIBLE CONSEQUENCES

Rewrite assignment to correct plagiarism errors; otherwise, failure of assignment.
Schedule one-on-one tutoring with a Writing Center tutor and/or attend a plagiarism and/ or citation workshop to practice proper techniques depending on instructor and Department Chair consensus.
Written explanation, by the student, reflecting on what led to the plagiarism and the steps necessary to avoid future plagiarism issues, submitted to the instructor.
If the student misses a scheduled meeting or workshop, or refuses to participate in any step of the process, the student will immediately be referred to the Vice President of Enrollment Management and Student Affairs.

PROCEDURES

Mild incidences of plagiarism may be resolved between the class instructor and the student. Formal write up optional depending upon the situation.
The instructor shall notify their Department Chair of the name of the student, the nature of the violation, the substance of the conversation between the instructor and the student, and the action taken.
The Department Chair of the student’s major shall also be notified. In the case of a formal write up, a copy of the incident report and the student explanation will be placed in the student's file with the office of the Vice President of Academic Affairs.

MODERATE LEVEL

Definition and Examples

Completed plagiarism module
Student demonstrates awareness of citation requirements, but the work reflects a need for further understanding of related expectations and skill development
Failure to correct poor use of citations and/or embedded material after instructor warning
Misuse of Sources: word-for-word, or patchwork copying (no quotation marks) 11-15% of borrowed material.
Presenting borrowed translated ideas without citation - 2nd offense
Copying ideas or word-for-word segments from another student—1st offense.
Procrastination—not having resources properly cited.
Knowingly supplying work to another student —1st offense
●urning in work completed by someone else or co-authoring class work that is meant to be individual work, such as, but not limited to purchasing a paper (contract cheating) or through misuse or inappropriate use of, including but not limited to, generative Artificial Intelligence Chatbots such as ChatGPT, etc., 1st offense
Submission of work from another course and/or quarter, without instructor permission -1st offense.
Repeatedly ignoring or not attending to correction of details when edit/citations problems have been pointed out

POSSIBLE CONSEQUENCES

Rewrite assignment, correcting plagiarism errors; otherwise receive a lower grade or failure of course.
Mandatory participation in plagiarism and citation workshops and/or tutoring from Writing Center tutor depending on Department Chair and Academic Vice President consensus.
Mentoring by a Writing Center tutor
If the student misses a scheduled meeting or workshop, or refuses to participate in any step of the process, the student will immediately be referred to the Vice President of Enrollment Management and Student Affairs.

PROCEDURES

If the violation is of moderate seriousness, the student will receive a formal write up. The instructor shall inform the student and refer the incident to the Department Chair and/or Division Dean for resolution.

The Department Chair/ Division Dean shall notify the Vice President of Academic Affairs of the name of the student, the nature of the violation, the substance of the conversation between the Department Chair and the student, and the action taken.
The Department Chair of the student’s major shall also be notified. A copy of the formal write up will be placed in the student's file with the Vice President of Academic Affairs office.
If a 2nd moderate offense, the student is required to meet with the Vice President of Academic Affairs to discuss implications on academic progress.

SEVERE LEVEL

Definitions and Examples

Completed plagiarism module.
Moderate level plagiarism - 3rd documented offense.
Failure to correct poor use of citations and/or embedded material after instructor warning - 2nd offense
Large amount of word-for-word copying or patchwork copying; 16% or more.
Copying ideas or word for word segments from another student—2nd offense.
Presenting translated borrowed ideas without citation
Turning in work not composed by one's self, such as, but not limited to purchasing a paper (contract cheating) or through misue or inappropriate use of generative Artificial Intelligence Chatbots such as ChatGPT, Etc., - 2nd offense.

POSSIBLE CONSEQUENCES

Failure of class
Monitoring by a faculty member within the student’s major, as agreed to by the Department Chair and Division Dean.
Suspension/expulsion unless mitigating circumstances are present.
If the student misses a scheduled meeting, workshop, or refuses to participate in any step of the process, the student will immediately be referred to the Vice President of Enrollment Management and Student Affairs.

PROCEDURES

Severe violations shall be referred to the Vice President of Academic Affairs for resolution. The Department Chair and/or Division Dean may include in the referral any relevant information including previous violations, the results of any conversations with the student, and any recommended consequences.
The Department Chair of the student’s major shall also be notified. A copy of the formal write up will be placed in the student's file with the Vice President of Academic Affairs office.

Up one level

Student Code of Conduct and Misconduct Procedures