Conducting Class

Overview

Instructors are responsible for the successful operation of your courses. The information in this section of the manual should help you implement a successful course.

Should a question arise, we encourage you to contact the program planner within your Academic Department at any time.

Underlying our educational goals are the basic values that everyone at the university must respect.

• Intellectual honesty
• Mutual respect regarding an individual's right to freedom of thought, belief and expression
• Freedom of inquiry

In keeping with these educational goals, UC Irvine Extension students are subject to disciplinary action for academic dishonesty, such as cheating, plagiarism, or knowingly furnishing false information to the university.

Examples of Academic Dishonesty.

• Plagiarism: the use of another's ideas or words as if they were one's own. This form of academic dishonesty includes, but is not limited to: a) obtaining, by purchase or otherwise, a part of or an entire work which you then represent as your original work; b) representing identifiable ideas, data or work; or c) omitting the true source of any idea, data or argument in any assignment so that the reader assumes the work is your own. Paraphrasing or summarizing the contents of another's work is usually acceptable if the source is clearly identified, but neither technique constitutes independent work.
• Multiple Submission: the resubmission by a student of any work which has been previously submitted for credit in identical or similar form in one course to fulfill any of the requirements of another course. To do so without prior permission from the current instructor is impermissible and shall be considered academic dishonesty.
• Fabrication: unauthorized falsification or invention of any information or citation in an academic exercise.
• Cheating: using or attempting to use unauthorized materials, information or study aids in any academic exercise or, helping or attempting to help another commit an act of academic dishonesty; knowingly looking at or copying someone else's work without receiving any authorized assistance; or knowingly allowing anyone to copy from the student's paper.

The following are examples of offenses constituting academic dishonesty; some of the listed offenses may be serious enough to warrant penalties beyond those reserved to the instructor:

• Copying all or part of a homework assignment intended as independent work.
• Submitting portions of the same work for credit in more than one course without the instructor's permission.
• Use of unauthorized materials during an examination.
• Forgery or alteration of registration or enrollment documents.
• Submission of another person's work as one's own.

Policies for Resolving Questions of Academic Dishonesty

The best way to prevent academic dishonesty is to inform students of the standard for scholarship and conduct, and to minimize the opportunities for cheating or plagiarism. The following suggestions are designed to encourage academic honesty and are based on the teaching practices of the UC Irvine faculty, UC Irvine Extension instructors and the ideas from other universities.

General Strategies

Spend 10-15 minutes at the beginning of the course discussing standards of academic scholarship and conduct. Describe acceptable and unacceptable behavior, giving examples of plagiarism, impermissible collaboration and other practices relevant to your class.

• Make sure students know the criteria for evaluating their performance.
• Develop a climate and group norms that support honesty.
• Learn to recognize signs of stress in students.
• Ensure equal access to study materials.
• Make sure students feel as though they can succeed in your class without having to resort to dishonesty.

Student Submission of Written Assignments

• Specify the format for the written assignment.
• Accept only originals.
• Collect papers from the students during the class meeting.

Examinations

• Change examination questions as often as is practical.
• For multiple-choice examinations, use alternate forms.
• Make certain that someone is in the classroom at all times during an examination.

Handling the Question of Academic Dishonesty

1. If the instructor is unclear whether cheating has occurred, a verbal warning/explanation should be issued immediately to the student(s) involved in the incident. Students suspected of academic dishonesty should be confronted in a way which respects the student's privacy.
2. If the instructor is clear that academic dishonesty has occurred, an "F" grade should be given for the particular assignment or examination at issue. This disciplinary action should be communicated in advance and in writing to the student.
3. If the academically dishonest behavior occurs a second time, the instructor should expel the student(s) from the class and issue an "F" grade for the entire course.
4. The instructor should inform the program manager of each incident or suspected incident of academic dishonesty, including the instructor's resolution of the question.

Policies for Final Resolution of Appeals

Students who are alleged to have committed offenses of academic dishonesty have the opportunity to appeal the resolution determined by their instructor. Students have the right to appeal the decision of the instructor to the Associate Dean of Academic Affairs at UC Irvine Extension who will review the situation.

Disciplinary Problems

If a UC Irvine Extension student presents a disciplinary problem, we recommend you first try to resolve it by discussing the problem with the student. However, if a student's behavior disrupts the classroom process, you should report it to your program manager, who will assist in dealing with the situation.