Academic Standards

San Francisco State University Lam Family College of Business Undergraduate Academic Standards

San Francisco State University Lam Family College of Business (SF State LFCoB) regards incidents of academic misconduct as serious matters. The following explains what academic misconduct is and outlines the consequences of academic misconduct.

1) Academic Misconduct

Academic misconduct is defined as follows:

  1. Cheating: Any unauthorized attempt to offer or obtain assistance in a formal academic exercise (e.g., an examination or class exercise); assuming another student's identity with intent to provide an advantage for the student; copying, in part or in whole, from another's test or other evaluation instrument; submitting work previously presented in another course, if contrary to the rules of either course.
     
  2. Plagiarism: The unauthorized use (i.e., representing as one’s own work) or reproduction or close imitation of original creations (ideas, words, sentences, paragraphs, or parts thereof; or artistic/scholarly works such as computer programs, photographs, or similar works) of another author (person, group, organization, including anonymous authors) without due acknowledgment (accepted standards of citation or reference of the original source of the used or quoted content).
     
  3. Fabrication: The distortion of data, information, or citations in any formal academic exercise or altering grading or grading instructions.
     
  4. Deception: Providing false information to an instructor concerning a formal academic exercise—e.g., giving a false excuse for missing a deadline, falsely claiming to have submitted work, or submitting false information regarding internships.

2) Disciplinary Sanctions

Two major types of sanctions may be imposed for any academic misconduct: Academic and Administrative. Academic sanctions are actions concerned with the coursework and grades which are the jurisdiction of the instructor.

Administrative sanctions are related to a student's status on campus and are governed by the Office of Student Conduct (OSC). The imposition of one form of sanction will not rule out the imposition of the other.

  1. Academic Sanctions: Upon verification of academic misconduct by personal observation and/or documentation, an instructor reserves the right to take one or more of the following academic actions:
     

    1. Reprimand: A verbal or written notification of unacceptable behavior, violating the student honor code. Reprimand may be considered for any academic misconduct at the discretion of an instructor.
       
    2. Modification of Grade: A student may be failed in the evaluation instrument (assignment or exam), may receive a reduced course grade, or may fail the course.
       
  2. Administrative Sanctions: Academic integrity is essential to the educational process. Traditional academic practices require that faculty members address cases of academic dishonesty in the classroom. Executive Order 1078, Article III, K, Cases Involving Academic Dishonesty, insists that, in addition, CSU faculty members report any infractions to a central location so that a student can be held accountable for multiple academic violations and the campus can recognize any patterns of misconduct. Cases of academic dishonesty for both cheating and plagiarism should be reported to their respective department chairs who should then report it to the Associate Dean or designee of the College (e.g., Assistant Dean). The Associate Dean or designee will then instruct the faculty member to complete the Confidential Academic Dishonesty Reporting Form housed within the Faculty Resources section on the OSC website. The form, which goes directly to the OSC, will ask for the following information: names of students, SFSU ID #s, date of incident, class name/number/section, instructor’s contact information, type of incident- cheating or plagiarism, etc.

 

Updated September 2017