Honor Pledge Violations (AUGUST 1999-JULY 2000)

The following violations of the Honor Pledge occurred at Kansas State University. Most recent occurrences are listed first.

May 2000

Case #99/00/25--A junior with no prior history of an Honor Pledge violation was alleged to have falsified a lab report. The instructor requested of the Honor & Integrity System Director that an XF be assigned for the course grade. The student appealed the XF and an academic hold was placed on the student's transcript while the case was investigated and an Honor Council Hearing Panel was appointed. The Hearing Panel heard five hours of testimony, recessed for 24 hours and then deliberated for another four-and-one-half hours before reaching their decision. The student was found to be guilty of fabricating lab results although the sanction was reduced to a failure for the specific lab, providing the student successfully complete the Academic Integrity Seminar. Case Closed.

Case #99/00/24--A senior with no prior history of an Honor Pledge violation turned in a final paper for a professional seminar class that had allegedly been plagiarized. As a result, the instructor awarded an F for the course and removed the student from the graduation list. Case Closed.

Case #99/00/23--A senior with no prior history of an Honor Pledge violation plagiarized a media guide instead of developing a feature story on a person by interviewing the subject along with interviewing four other persons who are familiar with the subject. The instructor estimated that 90% of the paper came directly from the media guide. The student claimed that the media guide was used only to determine factual information. The instructor concluded that it was a clear case of plagiarism and gave the student an F for the course. The instructor chose not to assign an XF because the syllabus said that plagiarized work would result in an F for the course. Case Closed.

Case #99/00/22--A sophomore with no prior history of an Honor Pledge violation allegedly fabricated a feature story for a class. The instructor became suspicious when factual errors were discovered in the paper. Further inquiry confirmed that the story had been fabricated and the subject of the story never interviewed. The instructor requested that an XF be assigned the student for the course. The student has 10 calendar days to file an appeal which would lead to an investigation and an Honor Council Hearing Panel. If an appeal is not filed, an XF will be assigned for the course. The X can only be removed by successfully passing an Academic Integrity Seminar. The F will permanently remain on the student's transcript. Case Closed.

Case #99/00/21--A freshman with no prior history of an Honor Pledge violation allegedly plagiarized two themes during the semester. When confronted, the student denied the charge. The instructor gave the student zeros on both themes. The student did not take the final exam and received a D for the course. This case will be kept on file. Should the student be accused of another violation of the Honor Pledge, an Honor Council Hearing Panel would be so informed. Case Closed.

Case #99/00/20--A junior with no prior history of an Honor Pledge violation plagiarized the work of others in a paper. The instructor, while reading the paper, recognized the writing as that of someone else and decided to assign the student an XF for the course. The student did not appeal the sanction. The X may be removed from the transcript by successfully passing an academic seminar. The F will remain on the transcript. Case Closed.

Case #99/00/19--A junior with no prior history of an Honor Pledge violation allegedly plagiarized web sites for a final paper. The instructor located the web sites and compared the sites to the paper and determined that plagiarizing took place. The instructor requested that an XF be assigned to the student for the course. The X can only be removed by passing an Academic Integrity Seminar. The F will remain a permanent part of the transcript. The student did not appeal the sanction. Case Closed.

Case #99/00/18--A sophomore with no prior history of an Honor Pledge violation admitted to cheating on an exam. Because the transgression was readily admitted, the student was allowed to retake the exam and given a C for the course. If this student is accused of another violation of the Honor Pledge, an Honor Council Hearing Panel would be informed of this previous incident which could have an affect on the severity of the sanction by that Hearing Panel. Case Closed.

Case #99/00/17--A freshman with no prior history of an honor pledge violation submitted a copy of a paper previously submitted in an earlier semester by another student. No attempt was made to correct the grammatical or mechanical errors. The instructor had kept a copy of the original paper. The instructor assigned an XF for the course. The X can only be removed by successfully passing the Academic Integrity Seminar. The F will remain permanently on the transcript. Case Closed.

April 2000

Case #99/00/16--A junior with no prior history of an honor pledge violation admitted plagiarizing the term paper of a student from a former class. The apologetic and contrite student received a zero on the assignment and a report was filed with the Director of the Honor & Integrity System. Case Closed.

Case #99/00/15--Two sophomore roommates with no prior history of an honor pledge violation turned in similar project papers. The professor requested that an Honor Council Hearing Panel decide whether there was an Honor Pledge violation. Both students denied collaborating on the project; both denied copying or using the other's work. A Hearing Panel decided the students had violated the Honor Pledge and assigned each an XF. The X can only be removed the successfully passing the Academic Integrity Seminar. The F will permanently remain on the transcript. One week after the Hearing Panel sanctioned both students with an XF, one of the students admitted sole responsibility for plagiarizing his roommate's work. Since this constitutes "substantial new evidence," according to the Honor & Integrity System ByLaws, the case was under appeal, but the student never followed through. Case Closed.

Case #99/00/14--A first-year student with a prior history of an honor pledge violation admitted to plagiarizing a paper of another student in class. The instructor at first intended to assign an F on the paper but then discovered the prior XF on the student's transcript and decided to also assign an XF. The Honor & Integrity System Director requested the Provost expel the student. Case Closed.

Case #99/00/13-- A sophomore and senior with no prior history of an honor pledge violation admitted to plagiarizing a computer program of another student in the class; both were assigned an XF by the Professor. The X can only be removed by successfully passing the Academic Integrity Seminar. The F will remain a permanent part of the student's transcript. Case Closed.

Case # 99/00/12-- A first year student with no prior history of an Honor Pledge Violation was caught using unauthorized notes during an examination. The student admitted the Honor Pledge violation and was given a zero for the exam. After meeting with the student, the instructor decided to allow the student to remain enrolled in the course and to continue in the curriculum. The instructor's letter documenting the case to the Honor & Integrity System Director will remain on file. Should the student later be found guilty of violating the Honor Pledge again, an Honor Council Hearing Panel could decide on suspension or expulsion. Case Closed.

March 2000

Case #99/00/11-- A first year student with no prior history of violating the Honor Pledge turned in an examination which the instructor suspected had been copied from a student sitting nearby. The instructor had designed 2 versions of the same exam and the suspected student turned in answers which matched the other version of the exam. The instructor attempted to contact the student for an explanation but the student stopped attending class. The instructor documented the incident and requested of the Honor & Integrity System Director that an XF grade be assigned. The Director wrote a letter to the student informing of the charges and of the student's right to appeal. The student did not respond to the letter and was assigned an XF grade for the course. The F will remain a permanent part of the transcript. The X can only be removed by successfully passing an Academic Integrity Seminar Course. Case Closed.

December 1999

Case #99/00/10--Two seniors with no prior record of an Honor Pledge violation turned in nearly identical take-home final exams. The instructor's specific instructions were to work independently. The instructor gave both students a zero on the final exam and their course grade was lowered accordingly. The instructor notified the Honor & Integrity System Director of the incident and the action taken. Should either student be accused of another violation of the Honor Pledge which proceeds to an Honor Council Hearing Panel, the panel will be apprized of the previous sanction which will become a factor in their deliberations. Case Closed.

Case # 99/00/09--Two first year students with no prior history of an Honor Pledge violation allegedly turned in similarly worded quizzes. Both students chose the same two questions to answer and both had similarly worded wrong answers. The instructor suspected that one had previously been copying the quizzes of the other. Both students denied any wrongdoing. The instructor turned the matter over to the Honor Council for investigation. Following a case investigation, one of the students was charged with copying quiz answers from the other student. The other student was not charged but asked to be a witness at an Honor Council Hearing Panel. The Hearing Panel found the accused student to be not guilty of violating the Honor Pledge and determined that both students' earned grade in the course should be recorded. Case Closed.

Case # 99/00/08--A junior with no prior history of an Honor Pledge violation allegedly altered a quiz and re-submitted it claiming the quiz to be erroneously graded. The instructor, having saved photo-copies of all quizzes, checked the original quiz and noticed the discrepancy. The student claimed not to have wanted the quiz regraded but only to understand the correct answer. The instructor assigned an XF for the course and informed the student of the right to appeal. The X indicates failure is due to a violation of the Honor Pledge. The X may be removed following successful completion of an Academic Integrity Seminar. The student appealed the XF sanction and an Honor Council Hearing Panel found the student not guilty of violating the Honor Pledge. The XF was removed from the transcript and the earned letter grade restored to the student's transcript. Case Closed.

Case # 99/00/07--A junior with no prior history of an Honor Pledge violation turned in a final exam with answers that didn't fit the questions. The instructor used two versions of the final exam and handed them out alternately. The instructor suspected the student had been copying answers from someone sitting nearby and called the student in to explain the answers on the exam. The student was unable to do so and the instructor decided to assign an XF to the student for the course. The X indicates failure is due to a violation of the Honor Pledge. The X may be removed following successful completion of an Academic Integrity Seminar. The student did not appeal the sanction. Case Closed.

Case # 99/00/06--A sophomore with no prior record of an Honor Pledge violation asked the instructor to take the final exam early, pleading three finals within a 24 hour period. The instructor agreed. Following the exam, the sophomore was overheard informing two other students in the class what questions would be asked in the exam. Other students, overhearing the exchange of test questions, notified the instructor who, in turn, confronted the three students with the charge. One of the three admitted guilt, the other two denied wrong-doing. The instructor decided to turn the matter over to the Honor Council for investigation. Following a Case Investigation by two members of the Honor Council, charges against one of the students was dropped for lack of evidence. One of the remaining two students was charged with providing unauthorized aid about a final examination to another student while the other student was charged with disseminating unauthorized aid in a final examination. An Honor Council Hearing Panel heard the case and found both students guilty of the charges. Both students received an XF for the course. The F will remain a permanent part of the transcript; the X can be removed by completing an Academic Integrity Seminar course approved by the Honor & Integrity System Director and the Provost. Case Closed.

Case # 99/00/05--A sophomore with no prior record of an Honor Pledge violation plagiarized the lecture summaries of another student in the class. An Honor Council Hearing Panel found the student guilty. The sanction imposed was that the student fail the course but not receive an XF because of ambiguity in the course syllabus. Case Closed.

November 1999

Case # 99/00/04--A first-year student with no prior record of an Honor Pledge violation borrowed another class member's essay assignment, plagiarized it and turned it in for credit. The instructor recognized the paper as work previously turned in that semester and confronted the student who admitted to using and plagiarizing another classmate's essay. The student declined to identify who loaned the essay. The instructor turned the matter over to the Honor Council for investigation and adjudication. An Honor Council Hearing Panel found the student guilty and reduced the course grade to a D with the stipulation that the student successfully pass the Academic Integrity Seminar or the final grade will revert to an F. Case Closed.

Case # 99/00/03--A senior with no prior record of an Honor Pledge violation acquired a fellow student's essay which was based on a class presentation the senior had missed. The assignment was worth 5 points. The senior altered the font to attempt to disguise the duplication and handed it in leaving an original malapropism intact. The instructor's graduate teaching assistant noticed the identical papers and informed the instructor. The instructor confronted both students and the senior who plagiarized confessed responsibility. The instructor turned the matter over to the Honor Council for adjudication. An Honor Council Hearing Panel found the student guilty of an Honor Pledge violation and determined that the student should complete the original assignment but not receive credit for it. In addition, the student was assigned to write a five page paper regarding the ethical choices made, or lack thereof, which led to a violation of the Honor Pledge. The student satisfied the requirements imposed by the Hearing Panel and the instructor issued the grade earned for the course. Case Closed.

Case # 99/00/02--A sophomore with no prior record of Honor Pledge violations admitted to borrowing a fellow student's completed essay assignment, altered it with the aid of a thesaurus and turned it in to the instructor. The student whose work was plagiarized noticed the similarities in the two papers and asked the instructor to look closely at both papers. The instructor recognized the similarity in the two papers and turned the matter over to the Honor Council for investigation and adjudication. Following an investigation, an Honor Council Hearing Panel found the student guilty of violating the Honor Pledge and assigned an XF for the course. The X indicates a violation of the Honor Pledge and can be removed only by fulfilling the requirements of an Academic Integrity Seminar. The F remains a permanent part of the student's transcript. Case Closed.

October 1999

Case # 99/00/01--A senior with no prior record of an Honor Pledge violation was observed by the professor and two test proctors to be copying test answers from nearby students. The professor later compared the test answers of the student copying to the answers of nearby students and concluded that the student had copied answers. The professor called the student in and informed the student of what was observed and the supporting evidence. The student confessed copying answers, a violation of the Honor Pledge. The professor gave the student an XF for the course, which will appear on the student's transcript. The X indicates failure is due to a violation of the Honor Pledge. The X may be removed following completion of a course of study in ethical and moral behavior, designed by the Honor & Integrity System Director and approved by the Honor Council and the KSU Provost. Case Closed.