On 16 December 2015 the Ashesi Judicial Committee (AJC) adjudicated a case of alleged academic misconduct in the Computer Programming for CS course.
The AJC arrived at the conclusion that the student was guilty of unauthorized collaboration on an assignment submitted this semester, having shared a significant level of information with another classmate. The case, which was initially considered for informal resolution, was escalated to the AJC level because the student had a prior informal resolution on file.
As stated in Ashesi’s student handbook,
Academic dishonesty includes plagiarism, unauthorized exchange of information or use of material during an examination, unauthorized transfer of information or completed work among students, use of the same paper in more than one course, unauthorized collaboration on assignments, and other unethical behavior. Disciplinary action will be taken against perpetrators of academic dishonesty – Section 7.4.
Sanctions
After deliberating, the AJC came up with the following sanction:
The student will receive a failing grade for the Computer Programming for CS course.
The AJC would like to remind the Ashesi community of the following:
- Students should take a great deal of responsibility for the use of their computers, and the manner in which they share them.
- Students should be careful about the information they share with classmates. If fellow students need in-depth assistance on assignments, refer them to the lecturer or assistant, or the relevant learning lab.
- Students should manage their time such that they do assignments far enough in advance to seek assistance from faculty and other resource people. This reduces the sense of desperation, and the tendency to seek unauthorized assistance
- If students receive an Informal Resolution they should consider it a warning to take exceptional care in maintaining integrity. In a case where a student has a pre-existing Informal Resolution case, a second infraction, whether minor or major, will result in the case being escalated to the AJC level immediately.
- The minimum sanction that the AJC issues when a student is found guilty of academic misconduct is a failing grade for the course.
- Academic honesty is very important at Ashesi, and is central to our mission.
