A revision to the UCSD Policy on Integrity of Scholarship was approved by a unanimous vote at the May 27 Academic Senate meeting. The revision, jointly submitted to the Senate by the Committee on Educational Policy and the Council of Provosts, consists of the establishment of new administrative authority and new policies for grades in cases of academic dishonesty.

In the current system, the administrative authority for cases of undergraduate academic dishonesty is the dean of the student’s college, with appeals going to the provost of the college. The administrative authority for cases involving graduate students is the assistant dean of graduate studies, with appeals going to the dean of graduate studies.

Once an instructor has suspicions of academic dishonesty, they may contact the student conduct coordinator, the assistant dean of graduate studies, the college dean or the assistant to the vice chancellor for academic affairs for advice on what procedures to take.

The revised policy transfers the administrative authority for undergraduate cases from the dean of the student’s college to the council of deans of student affairs. Although students still meet for a one-on-one interview with their college dean, recommendations for what procedures to take in each case of academic dishonesty will be discussed and decided by the entire council. Similarly, the new policy transfers the appeals authority to the council of provosts.

“”I wouldn’t say our current system is unfair, but if you have six separate deans and provosts making decisions on their own, there’s a greater chance that their understanding might be different,”” said Stephen Cox, chairman of CEP and a literature professor.

Furthermore, under the new policy, an instructor wishing to report suspected violations can only contact the student conduct coordinator at Student Policies and Judicial Affairs. The student conduct coordinator will act as a communication base, informing a student’s appropriate dean of the charges and keeping records on each case. The dean will then notify the student and must inform the student on where to obtain advice and legal assistance.

The student conduct coordinator will also make annual reports to the CEP, the council of provosts and the Vice Chancellor of Student Affairs.

According to A.S. Commissioner of Academic Affairs Todd Tolin, the new system was designed “”to better clarify on what to do and how to proceed in cases of academic dishonesty.””

The administrative authority for cases with graduate students and the general structure of the hearing board remain unchanged.

Another section of the revised policy states that a student with a pending case of academic dishonesty will be assigned an incomplete mark for the course until the charge is resolved. If the student accepts the charges or is found guilty by the hearing board, the grade assigned by the instructor will be permanently entered on the student’s transcript. The grade will be factored into the student’s GPA, even if the course is retaken. Academic records will note that the grade was assigned due to academic dishonesty.

The revision also includes more specific wording on how instructors should inform students of course expectations and clearer time requirements for notifications and hearings.

The CEP presented its first proposed revision to the Policy on Integrity of Scholarship last fall, which was rejected. Under this proposal, the administrative authority would have been given to the Student Conduct Coordinator, with appeals going to Watson. According to Cox, the provosts and some students objected to the degree of centralization and other minor technical features within the proposal.

“”The prior proposal was more dangerous because it placed a lot of power in just a few people’s hands,”” Tolin said.

The proposal was referred back to the committee and the CEP then suggested that the Council of Provosts submit their own revision of the policy. These revisions were then used as a base for the current proposal.

The approved policy for academic dishonesty will become effective starting Fall Quarter 2003.