Contact your Academic Program Director with any questions or concerns regarding this policy.

Voni Lee Daugherty-Whittier
Jan Jacobson
Sharon McGuire
Cynthia Orrico
Beth Dugan

Index

Academic Integrity and Student Conduct

The Art Institute of Pittsburgh Online Division recognizes its students as responsible and dedicated men and women who are preparing for career employment. An integral part of their career and professional development is the expectation that they conduct themselves during the education process in the same manner as will be expected in all employment situations.

As members of The Art Institute of Pittsburgh Online Division, students have responsibilities and duties commensurate with their rights and privileges. In this policy, The Art Institute of Online provides regarding those standards of student conduct and behavior considered essential to our educational mission.

Any student who is found to have violated the student conduct policy is subject to disciplinary sanctions up to and including suspension or permanent dismissal, as further described below.
I. Elements/Violations

The following is a list of behaviors that violate The Art Institute of Pittsburgh Online Division Student Conduct Policy; although not exhaustive, this list provides examples of unacceptable student behaviors.

  1. Persistent or gross acts of willful disobedience or defiance toward college personnel

  2. Assault, battery, or any other form of physical abuse of a student or college employee

  3. Verbal abuse of a student or college employee

  4. Conveyance of threats by any means of communication including, but not limited to, threats of physical abuse and threats to damage or destroy the property of other students or college employees

  5. Any conduct that threatens the health or safety of one's own self or another individual; Threats to commit self-harm and/ or actual incidents of self-harm by any student are a violation of this code

  6. Harassment by any means of any individual, including coercion and personal abuse

    • Harassment includes but is not limited to, written or verbal acts or uses of technology, which have the effect of harassing or intimidating a person

  7. Forgery, falsification, alteration or misuse of college documents, records or identification

  8. Dishonesty, including but not limited to cheating, plagiarism, or knowingly supplying false information or deceiving the college and/or its officials

  9. Disorderly, lewd, indecent, or obscene conduct, including unwanted sexual attention

  10. Extortion

  11. Failure to satisfy college financial obligations

  12. Failure to comply with direction of college officials or faculty who are acting in the performance of their duties

  13. Any off-campus act considered inappropriate or as an example of misconduct that adversely affects the interests of The Art Institute of Pittsburgh Online Division and/or its reputation

  14. Any violation of the institutions policies on the responsible use of technology including but not limited to

    • The theft or abuse of computer, email, Internet or Intranet resources

    • Unauthorized entry into a file, to use, read, or change the contents, of for any other purpose

    • Unauthorized transfer of a file

    • Unauthorized downloading of copyrighted materials in violation of law

    • Unauthorized use of another individual's identification and/or password

  15. Abuse of The Art Institute of Pittsburgh Online Division disciplinary system, including but not limited to:

    • Failure to obey the summons of a disciplinary body or college official

    • Falsification, distortion, or misrepresentation of information before a disciplinary body or college official

    • Disruption or interference with the orderly conduct of a disciplinary proceeding

    • Attempting to influence the impartiality of a member of a disciplinary body prior to and/or during the course of the disciplinary proceeding

    • Verbal or physical harassment and/or intimidation of a member of a disciplinary body prior to, during, and/or after the disciplinary proceeding

    • Failure to comply with the sanction(s) imposed under the student conduct policy

    • Influencing or attempting to influence another person to commit an abuse of the disciplinary system

  16. Harassment based on sex, race, color, national origin, religion, sexual orientation, age, disability, or any other criteria protected by state, federal or local law is prohibited.

*Students found in violation of the academic integrity policy will be considered on probation, and will receive a grade of "0" for the test/project/assignment. A second offense in any course will result in disciplinary dismissal from the course. AiO will maintain records of student violations.

Process for Resolution of Academic Integrity Violation
I. Incident and Resolution

  1. Inappropriate posts in the Discussion Thread - first offense

    1. Take a screen shot of message/s (Windows it should be the Print Screen key or Alt+Print screen, Mac should be Shift+Option+3) and save to hard drive;

    2. Copy and paste contents into an MS Word document including author, time stamp, and the message (inappropriate language or post);

    3. Delete post from discussion area

    4. Counsel student regarding professional, scholarly conduct in the classroom; alert student of findings of inappropriate communication and that they are on probation; indicate to student that the Online Academic Program Director has been informed and that a second offense will result in student's disciplinary removal from the course.

    5. Fill out Incident Report form and submit along with all documentation to the appropriate Online Academic Program Director. The appropriate Online Academic Program Director would be the director in charge of the course where the incident occurred. A second offense would be added to the first Incident Report form. Do not submit a new form for a second offense.

  2. Inappropriate posts in the Discussion Thread - second offense

    1. Complete steps 1 - 3 above

    2. Forward updated Incident Report form to appropriate OAPD along with all documentation. OAPD will remove student from classroom and notify student that the incident has been forwarded to the Hearing Officer for resolution. The Hearing Officer will contact student, will oversee the conduct hearing, and will notify the OAPD of the outcome. The OAPD will notify the faculty member upon final resolution.

  3. Inappropriate communications via email correspondence - first offense

    1. Take a screen shot of message/s (Windows it should be the Print Screen key or Alt+Print screen, Mac should be Shift+Option+3)

    2. Save to hard drive copy and paste into an MS Word document, include time, date and recipients

    3. Counsel student regarding professional, scholarly conduct in the classroom; alert student of findings of inappropriate communication and that they are on probation; indicate to student that the Online Academic Program Director has been informed and that a second offense will result in student's disciplinary removal from the course.

    4. Fill out Incident Report form and submit along with all documentation to the appropriate Online Academic Program Director. The appropriate Online Academic Program Director would be the director in charge of the course where the incident occurred. A second offense would be added to the first Incident Report form. Do not submit a new form for a second offense.

  4. Inappropriate communications via email correspondence - second offense

    1. Complete steps 1 - 2 above

    2. Faculty will notify student of findings of plagiaristic activities via email, saving copies of all correspondence relating to the issue and remove the post from the Discussion Area. Faculty will update the Incident Report form to reflect the second incident and provide this along with all documentation to the appropriate OAPD. OAPD may request further information/documentation. Student will be removed from the course and will receive an "F" for that course. OAPD will refer student for a conduct code violation hearing review to the Hearing Officer. The Hearing Officer will contact student, will oversee the conduct hearing, and will notify the student and OAPD of the outcome. The OAPD will notify the faculty member upon final resolution.

  5. Plagiarized imagery or textual material - first offense

    1. Document original image or text in digital format (jpeg, gif, MS Word document, etc.) or URL where original image or text resides; provide digital copies of plagiarized material (jpeg, gif, MS Word document, etc.)

    2. Delete assignment from discussion area

    3. Faculty will counsel the student: alert student of findings of plagiaristic activities via email, saving copies of all correspondence relating to the issue; remove the post from the Discussion Area; inform student post has been removed, that they will receive "0" or the grade of an "F" for the assignment, that the Online Academic Program Director has been informed. A second infraction in any course will result in disciplinary dismissal from the course and the OAPD will refer student for a conduct code violation hearing in which the committee can sanction up to suspension from school.

    4. Fill out Incident Report form and submit along with all documentation to the appropriate Online Academic Program Director. The appropriate Online Academic Program Director would be the director in charge of the course where the incident occurred. A second offense would be added to the first Incident Report form. Do not submit a new form for a second offense.

  6. Plagiarized imagery or textual material - second offense

    1. Complete steps 1 - 2 above

    2. Faculty will notify student of findings of plagiaristic activities via email, saving copies of all correspondence relating to the issue and remove the post from the Discussion Area. Faculty will update the Incident Report form to reflect the second incident and provide along with all documentation to the appropriate OAPD. OAPD may request further information/documentation. Student will be removed from the course and will receive an "F" for that course. OAPD will refer student for a conduct code violation hearing review to the Hearing Officer. The Hearing Officer will contact student, will oversee the conduct hearing, and will notify the student and OAPD of the outcome. The OAPD will notify the faculty member upon final resolution.

NOTE: because of the accelerated nature of our 5 ½ week sessions, it is critical that this be done in a timely manner
II. Incident Report

The faculty member facilitating the course where the incident occurs will complete an Incident Report (provided at the end of this document) for any academic integrity violation as noted in this policy. The report should be objective with details specific to the incident recorded. The Incident Report, along with documentation of the incident (see above) will be sent to the appropriate Online Academic Program Director immediately upon completion. The appropriate Online Academic Program Director would be the director in charge of the course where the incident occurred. A second offense would be added to the first Incident Report form. Do not submit a new form for a second offense.

Appeal Procedures

  1. Student Appeal. Students wishing to appeal a disciplinary decision may do so in the following manner. If no appeal is made, the decision is final.

    1. The student must obey the terms of the decision pending the outcome of the appeal, (e.g., a student who has been suspended from class as the result of inappropriate conduct in the Classroom or via email must cease all inappropriate behavior). Failure to do so will result in permanent expulsion from school.

    2. The student must submit a letter of appeal to the appropriate Online Academic Program Director within 48 hours of the determination of sanction. The letter should address specific details for the basis of the appeal. The OAPD will notify the appropriate the Hearing Officer. The purpose of this appeal will be:

      1. To determine whether the decision reached regarding the student found in violation of the code was based on substantial evidence.

      2. To determine whether the sanction imposed was appropriate for the violation of the Code of Conduct.

      3. To consider new evidence sufficient to alter a decision.

      4. The Hearing Officer will convene a committee and make a recommendation regarding disposition of the appeal and schedule a conference call to conduct the a hearing. The hearing will allow students accused of violation the opportunity to present evidence and call witnesses on their behalf.

  2. Review Process. The review shall consist of a careful and thorough hearing. A final determination will be made in accordance with one of the following actions:

    1. No action warranted. Removal of the charges against the student. Student will be allowed back into class.

    2. Administrative reprimand

    3. Disciplinary probation

    4. Disciplinary suspension for a specified period of time

    5. Expulsion from school

    Failure to abide by the sanctions determined by the committee or the occurrence of another violation during a disciplinary probation will result in immediate and permanent expulsion from school.

  3. Resolution. The resolution will be reported to the OAPD via the Hearing Officer upon completion of the review. The Hearing Officer will render a written decision on the appeal within 48 hours from receipt of the appeal and communicate this to the student and appropriate Dean/s. Decisions will be final.

Forms

Guidelines for Addressing Academic Integrity Issues
Possible signs of Plagiarism and/or Cheating:
Other Resources

Templates

Template for Information on Plagiarism to be posted in Classroom (at the start of each session so that students are aware in advance, and responsible for adhering to the policy)

The Internet is an incredible resource for a broad range of information. It is important, though, to understand and adhere to all copyright laws. Plagiarism is a severe breach of academic integrity and any reported incidence will be reviewed by the Online Academic Program Director and will result in disciplinary action.

Plagiarism is defined as submitting for credit the work of another as one's own, and would include directly copying a classmate's work; copying the content of a web site, textbook, or any other source, without providing attribution (e.g. without noting the URL or crediting the author); and/or, paraphrasing the words or work of another, since changing a few words (or their order) does not change the essential ideas that are being copied.

For more information regarding plagiarism and guidelines on citing resources appropriately, please see:
http://www.plagiarism.org/research_site/e_home.html

You are here to gain the knowledge and skills necessary to become successful designers. This is accomplished only through the development and expression of your own ideas. Don't cheat yourself out of this experience by using another's work.

If you have any questions, please let me know.

[Instructor Name]

Template for letter sent to student on digital plagiarism - For use with Plagiarism of image/art work taken off the Internet or from another student

[Student Name],

In reference to your post for the [Assignment Name]:

[Cite Student Thread Post here]

There are significant similarities between [list details of artwork in question and original URL or other student's work]. Plagiarism is a very serious violation of our academic integrity policy, which can ultimately result in expulsion. Plagiarism includes copying textual content as well as another's ideas or images without citing the resource. You are here to gain the knowledge and skills necessary to become successful designers. This is accomplished only through the development and expression of your own ideas. Don't cheat yourself out of this experience by using another's work.

[Attach screen shot comparing student image submission with source image found on the web]

You will not receive credit for this assignment and a "0" will be entered on your grade sheet. A second offense would result in a disciplinary dismissal.

Sincerely,

[Instructor Name]

NOTE to FACULTY - Resolution Process

Template for letter sent to student on written plagiarism - For use with Plagiarism of textural work taken off the Internet or from another student

[Student Name],

I wanted to discuss your post for the [Assignment Name]:

[Cite Student Thread Post here]

There are significant similarities between [list details of written work in question and original URL or other student's work]. Plagiarism is a very serious violation of our academic integrity policy, which can ultimately result in expulsion. Plagiarism includes copying textual content as well as another's ideas or images without citing the resource. You are here to gain the knowledge and skills necessary to become successful designers. This is accomplished only through the development and expression of your own ideas. Don't cheat yourself out of this experience by using another's work.

You will not receive credit for this assignment and a "0" will be entered on your grade sheet. A second offense would result in disciplinary dismissal.

Sincerely,

[Instructor Name]

NOTE to FACULTY - Resolution Process

Template for letter sent to student inappropriate posts in the Discussion Thread - For use with inappropriate language or behavior not conducive to fostering a positive classroom environment

[Student Name],

I wanted to discuss your post for the [Assignment Name]:

[Cite Student Thread Post here]

In order to foster a positive learning environment, it is important that we conduct ourselves in a professional and scholarly manner and maintain a high level of respect for one another in the classroom. Failure to do so is in violation of the academic integrity policy.

Your post has been removed from the Discussion Area and further incidence will be forwarded to the Online Academic Program Director for resolution.

If you have any questions, please contact me.

Sincerely,

[Instructor Name]

NOTE to FACULTY - Resolution Process

Template for letter sent to student inappropriate email correspondence - For use with inappropriate, aggressive or disrespectful email correspondence.

[Student Name],

I wanted to discuss the email that you sent regarding [topic of email] on [date]

It is important to maintain a positive and respectful [teacher/student or student/student] relationship. Conducting ourselves in a professional and scholarly manner both inside the Classroom as well as through email correspondences is a direct reflection of our dedication and character. Inappropriate email communications with faculty or students is in violation of the academic integrity policy.

If you have any questions, please contact me.

Sincerely,

[Instructor Name]

NOTE to FACULTY - Resolution Process