The AJC concluded that the student, a member of the Class of 2019, was guilty of plagiarism. 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.
After deliberating, the AJC came up with the following sanctions:
- The student will fail the course
The AJC encourages the Community to consider how a lack of ethics and integrity affects the wider community. The AJC would especially like to advise the Ashesi community of the following:
- Students should take a great deal of responsibility in ensuring that work submitted is neither rushed nor sloppy.
- Tutors at the Writing Centre are available for assistance with assignments and/or as a second eye to catch citation errors.
- 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 a student found guilty, is a failing grade for the course.
Academic honesty is very important at Ashesi and is central to our mission. We trust that the Ashesi Community will learn and grow through these experiences.
