Academic integrity is the foundation of any educational institution. Lindenwood University students belong to an educational community invested in the exploration and advancement of knowledge. Academic integrity is a critical part of that investment: all students have a fair opportunity to succeed, and as such, all students owe their classmates, instructors, administrators, and themselves the duty of scholarly and creative work untainted by plagiarism, dishonesty, cheating, or other infringements of academic integrity. In turn, instructors, staff, and administrators will also uphold these policies in order to promote student intellectual development and preserve the integrity of a Lindenwood degree.

As part of this educational community, students are always expected to familiarize themselves with the university’s policies on academic standards in the Lindenwood University Student Handbook and academic catalog and to adhere to these policies. Students are also encouraged to consult the resources of the university library and the Writing Center and Academic Success Center for assistance with compliance with academic standards, cheating, and lying or deception.

Academic dishonesty includes but is not limited to, plagiarism, cheating, lying or deception or collusion.

• a.) Plagiarism is the fraudulent presentation of another person's ideas or work as the person’s own, or the presentation of the student's own previous work as new or original. Whether by accident or design, does not properly acknowledge source(s) in any academic assignment, that person is stealing the ideas and effort of another.
• b). Cheating is giving or receiving unauthorized aid, help, on an assignment or other graded work. Regardless of where the aid comes from – e.g., cell phone, crib sheet, another student, online source, or AI language generator (when prohibited)– it qualifies as academic dishonesty.
• c). Lying/deception refers words, actions, or omissions directed to a university personnel by a student to improve the academic or financial standing.
• d). Collusion is the unauthorized collaboration by students who have intentionally worked jointly on an assignment, examination, or other graded work that is to be completed partially or entirely out of the classroom, and passed it off as their own individual efforts, or where one student has authorized another to use their work, in part or whole, and to submit it as their own.

Consequences of Academic Dishonesty

The penalty for the first reported offense of academic dishonesty will be determined by the instructor and may result in a reduced or failing grade on the work/test, failure in the course, or other appropriate penalty. Upon a first report of dishonesty, the student is also required to complete an online academic integrity tutorial. A charge for the tutorial will be applied to the student’s Business Office account. For undergraduate students, a second offense will result in failure of the class, and a third offense will lead to expulsion from the university. Graduate students will be expelled after a second offense is reported. When failure of the course is the consequence for an undergraduate’s second offense, it is not permissible to drop the course to avoid that consequence.

Any questions concerning this policy should be directed to the associate provost, academic operations who maintains confidential records of academic dishonesty reports. These records are accessible only to limited personnel in the provost’s office and are not linked to the student’s academic or financial records at the university. To ensure compliance with NCAA policies, information about academic integrity cases involving NCAA athletes (to include only the student’s name, sport, charge and brief summary) will be shared with the Assistant Athletic Director for Academic Success and Development.   

Appeals

Appeals are not new or additional reviews and are not granted based solely on a student’s disagreement with an academic integrity decision. Ignorance and accident are not sufficient cause to overturn a dishonesty report. Students who wish to formally appeal an academic integrity case, may do so under specific conditions. Grounds for an appeal must be based upon one or more of the following conditions: 

• Procedural error: A procedural error(s) occurred during the original review process that may have impacted the outcome of the review.
• New information: Specification of new information, not available at the time of the initial review that, if introduced, may have altered the outcome of the review. A detailed account of the new information must be clearly described and be accompanied by supporting documentation
• Evidence of discrimination or bias on the part of the individuals making the decision, or an inability to consider the case objectively and completely.

The appeal form must be submitted within 7 business days of the receipt of the notification letter.  In addition to the factual information requested, the appeal letter and accompanying form must include: 

• a statement explaining the grounds for the appeal;
• relevant supporting information and documentation; and
• a statement of the desired outcome of the appeal request.

Once the appeal is received: 

• The Associate Provost for Academic Operations and Student Success will review the appeal to ensure it is based on one of the acceptable grounds. However, if the student is facing expulsion, the appeal will be forwarded to the Academic Integrity Appeals Committee regardless of the grounds.
• If the Associate Provost determines there are not acceptable grounds for an appeal, they will notify the student.
• If the Associate Provost determines there are acceptable grounds for an appeal, they will convene the Academic Integrity Appeals Committee to consider the appeal. Copies of all pertinent documentation will be made available to the committee at the time of the review. Students should be aware that documentation that contains confidential student information will be viewed by the committee who will hold this information in strict confidence.
• The Academic Integrity Appeals Committee will review the documentation and make a determination to either uphold or recommend a modification of the original decision.
• The Associate Provost will notify the student of the outcome of the appeal within two weeks of receipt of the appeal.
• The decision to uphold or modify the original decision is final.
• No student will be subjected to negative consequences or suffer retaliatory action as a result of filing an appeal.