Academic Integrity

Conduct

Academic integrity is critical to maintaining fair and knowledge based learning at Portland State University. Cheating is a serious violation. It undermines the bonds of trust and honesty between the members of our academic community, degrades the value of our degree, and puts at risk those who may eventually depend upon our students’ knowledge and integrity.

Examples of cheating include but are not limited to: cheating on an examination, copying the homework of someone else, submitting for credit work done by someone else, including plagiarism and paraphrasing without citing sources, stealing examinations or course materials, tampering with the grade record or another student’s work, or knowingly and intentionally assisting another student in any of the above.

If you are unsure whether or not academic misconduct has occurred, the Director of Conduct and Community Standards can be contacted and is available for a consult. This may take the form of reviewing materials or the situation to determine if it fits within the conduct code and if a complaint should be submitted. Contact the Director of Conduct and Community Standards at 503.725.4422 or email conduct@pdx.edu.

When an instructor believes that a student has been academically dishonest, there are a few things to do and consider. The student should be made aware of the situation. This can be done via email or in person, and can simply outline how you came to this conclusion and the next steps.

Report the matter to the conduct office. This can be done via our online submission system. Any documentation or statements you can provide would also be helpful. Even if you feel a ‘zero’ for the assignment is sufficient, please notify our office so that we can appropriately track and record academic misconduct cases.

Give a proper grade for the assignment or exam, which in most cases is a zero. The process does not allow for grading to go beyond the assignment and give an automatic ‘F’ for the course.

After a complaint is made by an instructor, our conduct process begins. Our office receives the complaint and it is processed. If enough information exists to move forward, the student is contacted to attend an administrative review meeting. If found responsible in the meeting, the student is assigned to complete certain sanctions. Depending on the extent of the dishonesty, or if they have ever been held responsible in the past, the student may be dismissed either via suspension or expulsion. A student has an opportunity to submit an appeal request if certain criteria are met. If granted, the Provost will make a final determination.