Download a Behavioral and Academic Conduct Report form here.
Oregon State University (OSU) has clearly communicated policies and procedures regarding Student Conduct: http://oregonstate.edu/studentconduct/home/. The full Student Conduct Code document, including definitions of terms, is also available on the website: http://oregonstate.edu/studentconduct/code/index.php.
One element of Student Conduct is “Academic or Scholarly Dishonesty”. OSU takes Student Conduct issues and instances of Academic or Scholarly Dishonesty very seriously and the consequences and penalties can be severe. Another element of Student Conduct is Behavioral Conduct and this is also addressed by this document and reporting mechanism.
OSU and INTO OSU understand that the programs delivered by INTO OSU (e.g. Pathways, Academic English, General English and CAP) do not solely teach language skills. These programs are also designed to prepare students for University study by developing the necessary skills to ensure that instances of Behavioral, Academic or Scholarly Dishonesty do not occur when students enter full degree-seeking programs.
INTO OSU does not condone Academic or Scholarly Dishonesty in any form, but it does understand that instances may occur as part of the learning process. For this reason, these guidelines have been developed to clarify how instances of Academic or Scholarly Dishonesty will be addressed in INTO OSU classes and programs.
Students studying on programs (e.g. Pathways, SAWE, Academic English) that involve attendance of mainstream credit-bearing OSU classes in OSU academic departments may find that the Student Conduct procedures of those academic departments may differ.
Behavioral and Academic Conduct descriptions and examples
Please note that the following descriptors are not an exhaustive list of possible violations.
Behavioral Conduct
Obstruction or disruption of teaching and learning in the classroom. This includes but is not limited to:
a) leaving or entering the classroom without authorization;
b) making loud or distracting noises;
c) arriving late or leaving early;
d) speaking or acting in a way that causes disruption or annoyance;
e) misuse of an electronic device;
f) persisting in speaking without being recognized;
f) serious obstruction or disruption of teaching and or learning. This includes but is not limited to behavior that would cause a reasonable person to fear for his or her safety
Obstruction or disruption of testing or assessment. This includes but is not limited to:
a) leaving or entering the room without authorization;
b) making loud or distracting noises;
c) arriving late;
d) speaking or acting in a way that causes disruption or annoyance;
e) misuse of an electronic device;
f) contravention of the rules and procedures for assessment
g) Serious obstruction or disruption of testing or assessment. This includes but is not limited to behavior that would cause a reasonable person to fear for his or her safety.
Behavioral conduct issues may also occur outside the classroom and these should also be reported to the Student Care and Conduct Coordinator if necessary. For example:
“Harassment, defined as conduct of any sort directed at another that is severe, pervasive or persistent, and is of a nature that would cause a reasonable person in the victim’s position substantial emotional distress and undermine his or her ability to work, study or participate in his or her regular life activities or participate in the activities of the University, and actually does cause the victim substantial emotional distress and undermines the victim’s ability to work, study, or participate in the victim’s regular life activities or participate in the activities of the University. Stalking behavior that meets this definition constitutes Harassment within the meaning of this rule.” (OSU Student Conduct Code)
Academic Conduct
Plagiarism: representing the words or ideas of another person or presenting someone else’s words, ideas, artistry or data as one’s own, or using one’s own previously submitted work. Examples:
a) copying another person’s work (including unpublished material) without appropriate referencing;
b) copying another person’s homework;
c) presenting someone else’s opinions and theories as one’s own, or working jointly on a project and then submitting it as one’s own;
d) incorrect use of paraphrases and summaries;
e) incorrect in-text citations;
f) errors with reference lists and references.
g) unauthorized collaboration or copying on a test or assignment
Cheating i.e. using any deceptive means to gain academic credit.
Using or accidentally using prohibited materials and texts
Assisting – helping another commit an act of academic dishonesty. This includes but is not limited to paying someone to acquire a test or assignment; doing work for someone else; offering your own work to other students that may give the opportunity to use or copy it.
Fabricating – falsification or invention of any information including but not limited to inventing or exaggerating data, or listing incorrect or fictitious references.
Tampering – deliberately altering or interfering with evaluation instruments or documents.
(The full Student Conduct Code document, including definitions of terms, is also available on the website: http://oregonstate.edu/studentconduct/code/index.php.)
As an instructor, what do I report and why?
Instructors should report all instances of behavioral and academic conduct regardless of the severity of the violation using the ‘INTO OSU Behavioral and Academic Conduct Report Form’. All instances of conduct violations are logged centrally by the Student Care and Conduct Coordinator.
The INTO OSU Behavioral and Academic Conduct Report Form is for reporting all violations of behavioral or academic conduct. If the violation results in a verbal warning, the instructor only completes page 1 of the form. It is likely that all violations that only result in a verbal warning will be dealt with in class by the instructor or on a one-on-one basis between the instructor and the student. If the violation results in a penalty, the instructor completes pages 1 and 2 of the form.
Reporting violations that result in verbal warning is necessary. It allows us to maintain a central log of instances that will help us to identify, counsel and support students who may commit the same violations in different classes or across different programs over an extended period of time. It may also inform course and curriculum development and serve as evidence of our commitment to tackling these issues. Page 1 of the INTO OSU Behavioral and Academic Conduct Report Form is simple and brief to assist with this reporting.
Reporting a violation that results in penalties for the offender requires both pages of the INTO OSU Behavioral and Academic Conduct Report Form to be completed. This is essential in order for us to maintain a central log of conduct violations. This log will assist the Student Care and Conduct Coordinator in working with students to provide them with the advice, help and support that may be needed. The log will also assist the Center by helping us to identify common conduct issues and thereby inform course and program development. Such oversight will also help with standardization and consistency. Finally, the log will also serve as evidence of our commitment to tackling these issues.
The procedure
The procedure for reporting instances of behavioral or academic conduct issues in INTO OSU academic programs mirrors the procedure at OSU.
If the violation results in a verbal warning only:
- The instructor observes or suspects the behavioral or academic conduct issue.
- The instructor discusses the conduct issue with the student.
- The student has the opportunity to explain.
- The instructor and student discuss that there will be no penalty other than the verbal warning.
- The instructor ensures that the student understands the importance of the issue and the potential consequences of repeat occurrences.
- The instructor informs the student that it will be recorded in a log that is kept by the Student Care and Conduct Coordinator.
- The instructor completes page 1 of the INTO OSU Behavioral and Academic Conduct Report Form either by hand or electronically.
- The instructor has the student sign page 1 of the INTO OSU Behavioral and Academic Conduct Report Form to confirm that the student understands that he/she has received a verbal warning.
- The instructor submits the form electronically or as a hard copy to the Student Care and Conduct Coordinator.
If an Instructor determines that a student is responsible for Academic or Scholarly Dishonesty or Disruptive Behavior they should follow these steps:
- Fill out the Academic and Behavior Misconduct Report Form
- If the behavior/academic issue only resulted in a verbal warning, complete page one and send the form to the Program Manager, copying the Care and Conduct Coordinator
- If the behavior/academic issue resulted in a penalty from the instructor, or there is a recommendation for a penalty from the Care and Conduct Coordinator, then fill out both pages of the form and send it to the Program Manager, copying the Care and Conduct Coordinator.
- If the behavior is disruptive to the learning environment, the instructor and/or program manager can recommend a behavior contract. The Program Manager and the Care and Conduct Coordinator will then meet with the student and have them sign a behavioral contract if necessary.
- The Care and Conduct Coordinator will log all instances reported and notify the Program Managers if there are any trends or students of concern. The Program Managers will then work with the instructors to resolve the issues.
- The Care and Conduct Coordinator will follow up with any students who have appealed their penalty or need additional penalties or support.
Where are these records kept and for how long?
A record of violations of Student Behavioral Conduct and Academic Dishonesty rules is kept by the INTO OSU Student Care and Conduct Coordinator in the INTO OSU Center. Some conduct violations may be forwarded to the OSU Student Conduct and Community Standards Office by the Student Care and Conduct Coordinator
These records are kept for a period of 5 years which is standard OSU policy. The purpose of this record is to pull all instances and examples into one location and ensure consistency in the Center. Records of conduct issues could affect future studies.
What are the penalties?
Penalties are recommended by the instructor reporting the conduct violation. Instructors should consult with the program coordinator team and/or the Student Care and Conduct Coordinator to ensure that penalties are applied consistently across the program.
It is expected that conduct issues that result in a verbal warning but do not result in a further penalty will be dealt by the instructor in class or on a one-to-one basis with the student. Such instances will, however, still be recorded internally with the INTO OSU Behavioral and Academic Conduct Report Form.
The penalty for the student committing the violation will be affected by several factors:
- the severity of the conduct issue
- the previous conduct record of the student
- the academic history of the student i.e. is the student new and may not have known about this or should the student have known better?
Members of the academic team do not have the right to request information regarding the previous conduct of a student as all related information is confidential. The INTO OSU academic team’s responsibility is simply to report conduct violations. If students have a previous record or pattern of issues, it will be the Student Care and Conduct Coordinator’s responsibility to take that into account when reviewing the proposed penalty.
The appropriate penalty will be confirmed by the INTO OSU Student Care and Conduct Coordinator and the Program Manager. Penalties are recommended by instructors and confirmed by the Student Care and Conduct Coordinator in order to ensure consistency across the Center and to allow past history to be taken into account.
Possible penalties include but are not limited to:
- Official Written Warning
- Behavior/Expectations Agreement
- No Contact Order
- Penalty on a piece of academic work e.g. a reduced grade on an assignment; automatic F grade
- Penalty for class/course/program e.g. reduced grade on a course (by %); automatic F grade
- Required Educational Activities e.g. attendance of a course in Academic Honesty and Student Conduct (AISS Seminar)
- Student asked to leave the class
- Submission of a full Academic Dishonesty Report Form (ADRF) to OSU to represent a permanent record on the student file
- Suspension from INTO OSU and OSU
FAQs
This section contains some questions from instructors regarding the implementation of these guidelines.
- May instructors ask students to leave the class for the day?
Yes, for example, if the Student’s behavior disrupts the teaching or learning environment. This should be reported to the Student Care and Conduct Coordinator using the process for reporting verbal warnings. You may have to wait until the situation has calmed down to talk to the student about the severity of the issue and have him/her sign the form to confirm the receipt of the verbal warning. If the Student refuses to leave, the instructor may call the Department of Public Safety for assistance. (includes extracts from OSU Student Conduct Code).
- What should I do if I suspect a student has special needs?
Work with the Student Care and Conduct Coordinator who will also work with OSU Disability Access Services (DAS).
- Do I report all instances including minor ones that can be handled by the teacher (i.e. tardiness, cellphone use etc.)? Or even those should be reported?
As an instructor, you will have to make a judgment regarding the point at which a learning moment becomes a conduct issue. It is likely that the first time these things happen, you will not be reporting them. However, in order to identify common patterns of behavior and conduct issues, anything of concern to you should at least receive a verbal warning and be passed on to the Student Care and Conduct Coordinator. This process will allow the Student Care and Conduct Coordinator to give feedback to instructors if they are being too severe or too lenient and help to develop consistency.
- For OSU credit classes, do instructors fill out INTO OSU or OSU forms?
Check with the Coordinator and/or the Student Care and Conduct Coordinator. Normally, the first step will be the INTO OSU report form. If the issue needs to move to a full OSU Academic Dishonesty Report Form (ADRF), the Coordinator or Student Care and Conduct Coordinator will advise.
Download a Behavioral and Academic Conduct Report form here.
Further Questions?
Any further questions should be addressed to the INTO OSU Student Care and Conduct Coordinator (INTOOSU.CareandConduct@oregonstate.edu).
