Academic Honesty at NECI

Do the Right Thing

The community of New England Culinary Institute is strongly committed to the integrity of the learning process; students are expected to uphold the standards of academic honesty at all times.

Academic Dishonesty includes acts that compromise the integrity of the educational process at NECI. Any member of the academic community is encouraged to bring concerns regarding academic honesty to the Instructor, Department Chair, Academic Advisor, Director of Academic Services or appointed designee. Academic dishonesty includes, but is not limited to, the following:

Plagiarism 

Plagiarism is defined as "intentionally or knowingly representing the words or ideas of another as one’s own without providing proper documentation of source in a footnote, endnote, or intra-textual note". Plagiarism may occur in the use of written or electronic resources.

Examples include:

• Inadequate citation
• Copying portions of someone else’s work with only minor changes or paraphrasing
• Submitting another student’s work as one’s own – including homework assignments, essays, logbooks or project work – and taking any part of another students work
• Submitting work previously submitted for another assignment without the consent of the course instructor. This is considered a form of self plagiarism.
• Unauthorized or extensive use of templates with minimal original work without the consent of the course instructor

Cheating 

Cheating is defined as "intentionally using, or attempting to use, unauthorized materials, information, teaching notes, or study aids in any academic exercise".

Examples include:

• Unauthorized use of notes, text, or other aids during an examination
• Copying from another student’s examination, research paper, case write-up, or homework
• Sharing answers during an examination
• Incorrectly reporting hours of activities for self-documented requirements such as internship verification, production journals, or service learning assignments
• Communicating in any way with another student during an exam or using comparable aids during a test
• Handing in the same paper for more than one course without the explicit permission of the instructor
• Perusing a test before it is given

Fabrication

Fabrication is defined as "intentional and unauthorized falsification, misrepresentation, or invention of any information, data, or citation in an academic exercise".

Examples include:

• Making up the data for a research paper
• Altering the results of a lab experiment or survey
• Listing a citation for a source not used
• Stating an opinion as a scientifically proven fact

Unauthorized Collaboration 

This refers to instances in which students – each claiming sole authorship – submit separate reports that are substantially similar to one another. Specific faculty instructions regarding the need to do individual or group work must be followed. Participation in Academically Dishonest Activities: Participating or assisting in any manner in acts constituting academic dishonesty.

Examples include:

• Unapproved use of translators for language courses
• Stealing an examination
• Purchasing a pre-written paper through a mail-order or other service, including via the internet
• Selling, loaning, or otherwise distributing materials for the purpose of cheating, plagiarism, or other academically dishonest acts
• Alteration, theft, forgery, or destruction of academic work of other students, library materials, laboratory materials or academic records including transcripts, course registration cards, course syllabi, and examination
• Intentionally missing an examination or assignment deadline to gain an unfair advantage

Academic Honesty and the Online Environment

Honesty in any college class is critical to your success as a student, whether on ground or online. New England Culinary Institute is committed to maintaining the highest ethical standards possible related to student academic performance in our online and face-to-face classes and the Academic Honesty policy published in the Student Handbook applies in the online environment. Additionally, the following guidelines apply to the use of the learning management system to ensure that academic credit is awarded only to the student enrolled in the course. Use of the learning platform constitutes understanding of these guidelines. As a NECI student, when you are given access to Moodle, certain behaviors are expected:

• Keep your username and password confidential.
• Never allow anyone else to login to your account.
• Sharing access or passwords to Moodle is considered a breach of academic integrity and could result in you being removed from your class.
• All course work must be your own. While you may work collaboratively at certain times, the class work you submit (including discussion posts, quizzes, tests, exams, papers, or projects) must reflect your own original work or be properly cited.
• Do not display work in an open environment where others could view your work.
• Take course exams, tests, or quizzes without the assistance of others.
• Respect copyright at all times and with all forms of work, including the use of images, film, sound, and other digital media.
• If you have questions or concerns about maintaining the integrity of your work, please contact your instructor immediately.

Instructors who suspect academic dishonesty will speak to the student to seek resolution, document the meeting, and report the incident to the Academic Advising Office. If the dishonesty requires a more formal response, the Academic Advisor will promptly call an academic review consisting of faculty, the program Department Chair, and/or other academic personnel. The Committee will make a recommendation regarding further disciplinary action. The student will receive the findings of that committee in writing from the Academic Advising Office. The Director of Academic Services will handle any appeals from that decision.

Depending on the severity of the offense, sanctions may include, but are not limited to, any combination of the following:

• Written warning
• Required resubmission of questionable work
• Incomplete or zero grade on an assignment or in the course
• Academic probation
• Required retake of the class
• Suspension for one or more terms
• Dismissal

All incidents of Academic Dishonesty are considered to be disciplinary violations and are recorded in the student’s academic file. At the discretion of the Department Chair, Academic Advisor, or Director of Academic Services, repeat offenses will result in elevated consequences, up to and including suspension and dismissal.

To promote a culture of Academic Honesty throughout the institution, students will develop and review an Academic Honor code specific to their incoming class as an exercise at orientation. Each student will sign and submit the Honor Code.

The following MLA style guides are used by both faculty and student to help avoid academic dishonesty:

• MLA Citation Style - Long Island University - Color coded examples of correct bibliographic entries.
• Reference Resources: Citation Guide, MLA Style - University of Arizona Library Very clear simple samples of bibliographic entries.

Judiciary Committee

The Academic Advising Office convenes this group on an as-needed basis. Each time a Judiciary Committee review is required, a representative of the Academics Department will select among members of the administration, faculty, and student population. Students selected for this committee will receive training specific to maintaining confidentiality related to issues they are involved with. Students will be nominated and selected for participation each term. The Judiciary Committee is designed to review specific disciplinary or academic honesty concerns with students, and their role is advisory. Recommendations of the Committee are submitted to the Academics Department, which in conjunction with the Department Chair, makes a final decision on resolving issues.

Rules of the Judiciary Committee:

• The Committee will be guided by the guidelines for proper behavior that are contained in this handbook.
• The Committee will not involve itself in matters related to the student’s specific academic record.
• In those instances where Committee members have personal connections to the situation, they will excuse themselves from the proceedings.
• The Committee’s work and discussions are confidential.

Disciplinary reviews are not open to the student body, although participation in discussion of policy and procedure is encouraged.