Academic Ethics and Plagiarism
Plagiarism is a very serious violation of academic ethics and the NECC Student Code of Conduct. The college expects all students to maintain high standards of academic honesty and integrity.
Plagiarism is defined by the College to be the use of any other person’s research, images, words or ideas as though they were your own, without giving appropriate credit to the original source. If a student uses another person’s research, images, words or ideas he/she must give credit to the original source through proper citation (consult the instructor about this requirement), regardless of whether the use is a direct quote, or it is incorporated into his/her own work.
Instructors are required to provide students with a clearly written definition of plagiarism applicable in their discipline as part of the course syllabus that they provide during the first two weeks of each course.
Plagiarism may range in severity from unintentional omission of credit, to intentional, dishonest representation of borrowed work as one’s own. In most cases, plagiarism will be dealt with by the faculty member in charge of the course, and students will be sanctioned according to the severity of the offense.
Students’ academic offenses, as outlined in the Regulations Governing Student Conduct (see Student Code of Conduct and Grievance Procedures), are usually handled by faculty members and/or their supervisors, with the procedural protections mentioned in the Regulations Governing Student Conduct.
Students are responsible for understanding what plagiarism is in each of their classes. The college’s definition and that of their instructor will be used as a criterion against which all plagiarism allegations will be judged. Instances of plagiarism will be addressed first by the instructor who discovers, or is made aware of, the incident. Instructors must discuss the evidence of plagiarism with the student prior to taking action. Instructors who take action as a result of a plagiarism incident may report such action to the Vice President of Academic Affairs. There shall be a range of penalties at the discretion of the instructor which may extend to a recommendation to the Vice President of Academic Affairs for expulsion from the College. The Vice President of Academic Affairs may take disciplinary action against students who are reported for plagiarism.
Students have a right to file a grievance if they feel that the action taken in the alleged plagiarism case discriminated or abrogated their individual or student rights. Students may contact the Vice President of Student Affairs and the Office of Student Life for detailed information regarding the Board of Higher Education’s Student Grievance Procedures.
Updated: 2021-2022 Academic Catalog (Effective Fall 2021)