Code of Academic Honesty

Illinois Tech expects students to maintain high standards of academic integrity. Students preparing for the practice of a profession are expected to conform to a code of integrity and ethical standards commensurate with the high expectations society places upon the practitioners of a learned profession. In sum, no student may seek to gain an unfair advantage over another.

It shall be a violation of this Code of Academic Honesty for a student to engage in conduct that violates the established standards of their major academic discipline, the established standards of the academic discipline in which they are engaged, the established standards of the profession for which they are training, or the standards of Illinois Tech set forth herein.  In addition, it is a violation of this Code of Academic Honesty for a student knowingly to engage or attempt to engage in any of the following or to engage or to attempt to engage in a course of action that would cause a reasonable person to conclude a violation of any of the following:

1. The misrepresentation of any work submitted for credit or otherwise as other than the product of a student’s sole independent effort, such as using the ideas of others without attribution and other forms of plagiarism;
2. The use of any unauthorized assistance in taking quizzes, tests or examinations;
3. The acquisition, without permission, of tests, answer sheets, problem solutions or other academic material when such material has been withheld from distribution by the instructor;
4. Deliberate and harmful obstruction of the studies, research or academic work of any member of the Illinois Tech community;
5. Making a material misrepresentation in any submission to or through any office of Illinois Tech to a potential employer, agency, professional society, meeting, or organization, which includes, without limitation, any unauthorized access to Illinois Tech’s digital or electronic systems for the purposes of altering or seeking to alter or submitting or seeking to submit false, misleading or inaccurate information; or
6. The intentional assistance of others in the violation of the standards set forth in this Code of Academic Honesty.

1. General

Any member of the Illinois Tech community who is aware of a violation of the Code of Academic Honesty, or who has evidence that a violation has occurred, is urged to inform the appropriate course instructor, academic unit head or dean or send an email to academichonesty@iit.edu. Faculty members or administrators who are aware of a violation, or who have good faith evidence of a violation, must report the infraction to the Designated Dean of Academic Discipline (DDAD) via  

www.iit.edu/ugaa/academic-honesty (both graduate and undergraduate) or at   

academichonesty@iit.edu. As discussed below, punitive actions on the part of the course instructor in relation to academic honesty must also be reported to the DDAD.

For the Mies Campus, the Rice Campus, the Moffett Campus, and Institute of Design, the DDAD is the Vice Provost for Academic Affairs. For Chicago-Kent College of Law, the DDAD is the Assistant Dean of Students, and for the Stuart School of Business, it is the Dean.

2. Action by a Course Instructor

If a course instructor believes that a violation described in Section A.1, A.2 or A.3, or that is otherwise prohibited by this Code of Academic Dishonesty and directly relates to a course has occurred, they are advised to meet with the student. During the meeting, the instructor must inform the student of the nature of the infraction and explain why it is an issue of academic honesty. After that allowance, the student has an opportunity to respond to the alleged violation. Following the meeting, if the course instructor determines the violation occurred, they are required to report the violation, a summary of the facts evidencing the violation (including the course syllabus and or course materials that explain or point to sources that explain academic honesty and plagiarism appropriate to the discipline) and the sanction to the DDAD. Appropriate sanctions include:

• Reduction in grade. A reduction in grade for the assignment or exam involved or for the course may be applied.
• Expulsion from a course.  The student is assigned a punitive failing grade of ‘E’ for the course and can no longer participate in the course or receive further evaluation of coursework from the instructor; provided, however, the course instructor may only impose this sanction after discussing it with and securing the written agreement of the DADD.

A course instructor may consult with the unit head or dean for the appropriate unit or faculty colleague during the process so long as they do not disclose personally identifiable information about the student. This consultation is expected to be for the sole purpose of seeking input to assist in making an equitable decision based on the infraction and supporting evidence.

3. Duties of and Actions by the DADD

The DDAD will provide a record of all incidents to the Office of Student Affairs. A student who believes that their record is factually inaccurate must inform the Dean of Students (dos@iit.edu) within seven calendar days of the date they become aware or should have become aware of such inaccuracy. Assuming timely notification, the Dean of Students or designee will investigate, as they deem appropriate, and, if they determine necessary, in their sole discretion, will correct any factual inaccuracies in the record. The decision of the Dean of Students as to such matters shall be final.

In addition to any punitive action taken by a course instructor pursuant to Section B, if a student has been found to have committed one or more prior violations under this Code of Academic Honesty or if the DDAD is made aware of a violation set forth in Section A.4, A.5 or A.6 or that is otherwise prohibited by this Code of Conduct and has occurred outside of a particular course, the DDAD will consult with the Chair of the Academic Grievance Committee of the University Faculty Council to determine whether the matter should be referred to a hearing before the Academic Grievance Committee for further sanctions.  The DDAD’s decision to refer a matter to the Academic Grievance Committee shall be made in their sole discretion and shall be final.  If the matter is referred for a hearing, the Academic Grievance Committee shall supplement its membership as necessary so that said Committee includes at least one faculty member from the Academic Honesty Committee of the academic unit where the violation occurred, one faculty member from the student’s major, one other faculty member, two students, and the Dean of Students or their designee. The Academic Grievance Committee so supplemented will form an academic disciplinary committee for the purpose of investigating the matter and making findings and a recommendation to the DDAD.  The chair of the Academic Grievance Committee shall chair this academic disciplinary committee.

A student who is to appear before such an academic disciplinary committee shall be notified in writing of the charges placed against them and the time and place of the hearing. This notice will come from the Office of the Vice Provost of Student Affairs and shall be delivered to the student at least five calendar days before the hearing. A student appearing before the academic disciplinary committee has the right to be accompanied by an advisor of their choosing, witnesses on their behalf, and/or their parents/guardians. The advisor and parents/guardians are limited to advising the student and may not participate in presenting the case, question witnesses, or make statements during the hearing.  A student shall have the right to make an oral statement both at the start and the conclusion of the hearing and to submit written evidence to the academic disciplinary committee.  Further, as a general rule, a student shall have the right (i) to present and to question any witnesses of their choosing that have information relevant to the charges against them; provided that the chair may, in their sole discretion, disallow witnesses whose testimony the chair determines would be redundant or not germane to the charges; and (ii) to cross-examine any witness that is called to testify in support of the charges; provided that the chair may, in their sole discretion, limit such cross-examination to the extent it is not germane to the charges, is redundant or becomes abusive or harassing.  Members of the academic disciplinary committee may, as each deems appropriate, ask questions of anyone providing testimony to the committee or regarding any evidence submitted.  To the extent deemed necessary to maintain decorum or to protect students from harassment or to ensure the integrity of the process, the chair may require a student to direct questions to the chair who will then ask them of a witness or witnesses.

An electronic recording of the hearing will be made.  The recording will remain the sole property of Illinois Tech.  No other record of the hearing may be made.

Once proper notification has been given, Illinois Tech reserves the right to hold the hearing whether or not the student elects to participate.  Email correspondence sent to the student’s registered iit.edu e-mail address will be considered, and will be deemed for all purposes, sufficient delivery of written notification in any and all instances where written notification is required by or under this Code of Academic Honesty.  It is the student’s sole responsibility to monitor their email.  The date any such notification is emailed will serve as the start date for any time period within which or after which any subsequent action or proceeding is to commence.

Upon receipt of the findings of the academic disciplinary committee, which findings may include recommended sanctions, the DDAD shall determine the appropriate action to be taken and shall notify the student. The academic disciplinary committee may recommend, and the DDAD may impose, any of the following sanctions:

• Expulsion from a course. The student is assigned a punitive failing grade of ‘E’ for the course and can no longer participate in the course or receive an evaluation of coursework from the instructor.
• Corrective action. Action that aims to remedy the academic honesty violation and, to the extent feasible, rectify any consequence of the violation, while deterring future violations, which actions could include a disciplinary warning, conduct probation, fine and/or education sanctions, all as defined in Article II, Section C of this Handbook.
• Suspension. Suspension is a status assigned for a specific period of time in which a student’s enrollment is interrupted. A suspended student may not attend day or evening classes, participate in student activities, or live in campus housing.  A suspended student may apply for reinstatement at the end of the period of suspension. If reinstated, the student may be placed on disciplinary probation for a period of time designated by the DDAD.
• Expulsion. Expulsion is the complete severance of association with Illinois Tech.  Notation of the violation of the Code of Academic Honesty is generally made on the student’s transcript.

In any matter where the DDAD’s determination is to impose a sanction of suspension or expulsion, the DDAD’s determination shall automatically be stayed and the matter referred to the Provost for review. With respect to such a proposed determination by the DDAD, the Provost may make any of the determinations set forth under the Appeals Procedures heading immediately following. Once the Provost’s review has been completed, the DDAD’s determination, as it may have been modified by the Provost, shall become effective. Notwithstanding any other provision of this Student Handbook, no matter so referred to the Provost shall be subject to any further appeals on the basis that the sanction imposed was inappropriate to the offense.

With respect to any and all proceedings noted above, an individual accused of violating the Code of Academic Honesty will be notified of the decision of such proceeding via electronic notification.  The decision will be sent to their registered iit.edu e-mail address. Such notification will serve as the individual’s formal and official notification of the decision in the relevant proceeding.  It is the individual’s sole responsibility to monitor their email for the decision.  The date any such decision is e-mailed will serve as the start date for any time period within which a student must take action to commence any subsequent action, proceeding, or appeal.

An appeal of a decision regarding academic honesty made pursuant to Sections B.2 or B.3 must be submitted in writing to the Dean of Students (dos@iit.edu) within five calendar days of notification of the decision. Supporting information must be submitted with the appeal. An appeal or submission made after this deadline will not be considered, and issues not raised in a timely submitted appeal will also be deemed to have been waived.  In both cases, this means that any decision(s) and sanction(s), as the case may be, shall be final.

Decisions rendered by the DDAD without referral to the University Faculty Council’s Academic Grievance Committee and sanctions (excluding non-punitive grades) imposed by a course instructor may be appealed to the Academic Grievance Committee, which in the latter instance only may either affirm or overturn the finding of academic dishonesty. Upon such an appeal, the Academic Grievance Committee will supplement its membership to form an academic disciplinary committee that is composed as described above and that follows hearing procedures as described above. The decision of such committee with respect to these matters shall be final.

Decisions of the DDAD following an academic disciplinary committee hearing may be appealed to the Provost, whose decision shall be final. An appeal to the Provost is limited to the following reasons:

• The procedures outlined above were not substantially followed and such occurrence reasonably could be deemed to have impacted the outcome;
• Subject to the limitation noted in Section B.3 above relative to sanctions of suspension and expulsion, the sanction imposed was inappropriate for the offense; and
• New evidence that was not available at the time of the original decision, not due to the fault or lack of diligence of the student, has become available.

Within 30 calendar days of receipt of the appeal, the Provost may make one of the following determinations:

• Uphold the decision and the sanction;
• Reverse the decision and/or modify, enhance or lessen, the sanction; or
• Uphold the decision, but return the matter to the DDAD to reconsider the sanction.