Academic Integrity
Academic Integrity
Commitment to Academic Integrity
As a Christ-centered institution of higher education, Cornerstone University seeks to maintain the highest standards of academic integrity. Honest scholarship reflects our shared commitment to truth and to the trust at the heart of the faculty–student relationship. Academic dishonesty is a serious breach of University standards and carries substantial consequences. This policy applies to all students and to all courses, programs, and schools of the University.
Violations of Academic Integrity
Violations of academic integrity include, but are not limited to, the following:
Plagiarism.
Submitting, as part or all of one’s own work, material copied or paraphrased from another source—including online and AI-generated sources—without proper acknowledgment of that source.
Cheating.
Using unauthorized materials, study aids, devices, or assistance on examinations or other academic work. Examples include viewing another student’s exam, altering a graded exam, and using notes without permission.
Fabrication.
Submitting altered, invented, or contrived information in any academic work. Examples include falsifying data, sources, or citations.
Facilitating Academic Dishonesty.
Helping another student violate this policy—for example, allowing one’s work to be copied, completing work for another student, or collaborating where collaboration is not permitted.
Self-Plagiarism.
Submitting for credit work the student has already submitted for credit in another course, without the instructor’s permission. Faculty may permit the developmental reuse and extension of prior work when the new assignment meaningfully advances it; absent express permission in the syllabus, students should obtain the instructor’s approval before reusing prior work.
Unauthorized use of generative artificial intelligence is addressed in the University’s Generative AI and Academics policy and may constitute a violation of this policy.
How Offenses Are Counted
Academic integrity offenses are counted cumulatively across a student’s entire enrollment and across all courses, programs, and schools — not only within a single course or term. A student’s offense level (first, second, or third or subsequent) is determined by the total number of substantiated offenses on record with the Office of Academics. A second offense, therefore, may occur in a different course, term, or school than the first.
Process and Sanctions
When a faculty member identifies a suspected violation, the faculty member files a written report with the appropriate dean and provides a copy to the student. The dean confirms the student’s cumulative offense level with the Office of Academics, and the matter proceeds as set out below.
| Offense | Assignment-level outcome | Course-level/institutional outcome | Record |
|---|---|---|---|
| First offense | Reduced or no credit on the assignment of examination (assigned by the faculty member). | None | Internal offense record (Office of Academics) No notation on the academic transcript |
| Second offense (cumulative) | No credit on the assignment or examination (assigned by the faculty member) | The dean, after reviewing the cumulative record, determines whether the student also fails the course | Internal offense record. Transcript notation (Registrar) if the course is failed |
| Third or subsequent offense (cumulative) | No credit on the assignment or examination (assigned by the faculty member) | The dean refers the matter to the Office of Academics (or designee) determines course failure and/or suspension or dismissal | Internal offense record. Transcript notation (Registrar) when the sanction includes course failure, suspension, or dismissal |
Written Acknowledgment
Following any offense, the student must submit a written acknowledgment — to the dean, or to the Office of Academics for a third or subsequent offense — describing the conduct and the steps the student will take to prevent future violations. For a third or subsequent offense in which the student is permitted to continue, this acknowledgment is required as a condition of continued enrollment.
Notification
For each offense, the dean (or the Office of Academics for a third or subsequent offense) issues the official notification letter to the student and informs the reporting faculty member of the outcome.
Right of Appeal
A student may appeal a grade or an academic integrity sanction under the University’s Academic Appeal Policy.
Education and Student Responsibility
The University publishes this policy in the Academic Catalog, the Student Handbook, and faculty reference it in course syllabi. Ultimate responsibility for knowing and complying with this policy rests with the student.