Academic integrity is a fundamental university value. Through the honest completion of academic work, students sustain the integrity of the university while facilitating the university's imperative for the transmission of knowledge and culture based upon the generation of new and innovative ideas.

Students are held to a high level of accountability and are expected to uphold our standards of honesty in order to sustain a fair learning environment. Academic dishonesty comes in many forms, including but not limited to:

• Aiding in academic dishonesty. Taking action that allows another student to engage in an act of academic dishonesty, including completing an examination or assignment for another student, failing to protect academic work by leaving it unattended, or collaborating without instructorⁱ permission.
• Cheating. Use of unauthorized resources, including sources not permitted by the course instructor, or tools such as calculators, smart watches, phones, or other students' work.
• Falsifying academic materials. Altering, fabricating, forging, or submitting: any course-related materials, including laboratory reports, notes, or any forms of data; an instructor's name or initials; an examination or assignment for re-evaluation; an assessment (in whole or in part) prepared by any person or technology (e.g., artificial intelligence) other than the student responsible. 
• Misrepresenting documents. Altering, fabricating, forging, or submitting any non-course-related materials, including any university or official document, instrument of identification, or medical record.
• Plagiarizing. Representing the ideas or work (e.g., written text, computer code, artwork) of another as one's own or improperly referencing original authors.
• Purchasing academic assignments. Buying assignments intended for submission in fulfillment of any course or academic program requirement.
• Selling academic assignments. Offering for sale and/or receiving compensation for any academic assignment intended to fulfill any course or academic program requirement.
• Submitting previously submitted work. Also called self-plagiarism, re-submitting academic material (in whole or in part) that has been previously submitted by the same student without prior and expressed consent of the instructor.

• Instructors must notify students within 10 academic daysⁱⁱ of discovery of the suspected dishonesty.
• Students must meet with instructors within 10 academic days of notification or the instructor will make a decision in their absence.
• Instructors must notify students and the Office of Academic Integrity of the charge and sanction within 10 academic days of the consultative resolution meeting.

Instructors have the responsibility to charge and sanction students who are in violation of these standards through the Consultative Resolution procedure. All cases must be filed, regardless of severity, with the Office of Academic Integrity. While a case is pending, students are not allowed to withdraw or resign from the course. Instructors have the authority to execute one or more of the sanctions below. If the violation is not the student's first offense, the chosen sanction may be revised by the Office of Academic Integrity.

• Warning. Written notice to the student that they have violated a university academic integrity standard.
• Revision of work. Requirement that the student replace or revise the work in which dishonesty occurred.
• Reduction in assignment grade. Student's grade is decreased with respect to the particular assignment.
• Reduction in course grade. Student's final grade in the course is decreased.
• Failure in the course. A grade of "F" is applied.
• Remediation. Requirement that the student complete an educational remediation assignment through the Office of Academic Integrity. If the student passes the remediation assignment, the instructor may alter the original sanction.
• Other. Faculty may determine another appropriate assignment or penalty (e.g., an additional assignment, inability to drop lowest grade), except for any OAI or university sanction described below.

Recommendations for more serious sanctions may be made to the Office of Academic Integrity for review. Possible sanctions requiring Office of Academic Integrity approval include:

• Failure in course, remediation required, temporary notation of academic dishonesty. A grade of "F" for the course is recorded on the student's transcript with notation of academic dishonesty. Upon successful completion of UB's remediation assignment, the notation is removed. Failure to successfully complete the OAI assignment will result in the notation remaining permanently on the student's transcript.
• Failure in the course with permanent notation of academic dishonesty. A grade of "F" for the course is recorded on the student's transcript with a permanent notation that the grade of "F" was assigned for reason of academic dishonesty.
• Dismissal from the degree program. The academic integrity violation results in ineligibility for continuation in the student's degree program.
• Dismissal from the degree program with notation of academic dishonesty. The academic integrity violation results in ineligibility for continuation in the student's degree program, with a notation on the student's transcript that the dismissal is for reason of academic dishonesty.
• Dismissal from the department. The academic integrity violation results in ineligibility for continuation in any degree program within the department.
• Dismissal from the department with notation of academic dishonesty. The academic integrity violation results in ineligibility to continue in any degree program within the department, with a notation on the student's transcript that the dismissal is for reason of academic dishonesty.

Possible sanctions requiring both Office of Academic Integrity and Office of the President (or designee) approval include:

• Suspension from the university. The student is suspended for a defined time period with stated conditions and a permanent notation on the transcript that suspension is due to reason of academic dishonesty.
• Expulsion from the university. The student is expelled with permanent notation on the transcript that expulsion is due to reason of academic dishonesty.

Infractions not associated with a course in which the student is enrolled will be assigned appropriate penalties and may be additionally referred to Student Conduct for judicial procedures.

Students have the right to appeal the instructor's findings to the Office of Academic Integrity. While a case is pending, students are not allowed to withdraw or resign from the course.

Upon request and with the student's permission, academic integrity violations and sanctions may be reported by the OAI to an authorized body (e.g., a graduate school application or employment application).

Academic Integrity Procedures

The OAI shall assemble a pool of faculty and students willing to participate on Adjudication Committees for academic integrity cases. It is the responsibility of each decanal unit to name student and faculty members to this pool. Typically, the duration of service in the academic integrity pool is two years. The OAI is responsible for ensuring that the pool reflects the diversity of the campus community and for training all members of the adjudication pool.

From this pool, the OAI will form an Adjudication Committee for each hearing of no fewer than two faculty members, two graduate students, and one member of the OAI. Members from the academic integrity pool will be selected so that no one member will be involved in a disproportionate number of academic integrity cases. Prior to a hearing, committee members verify that there is no conflict of interest with either principal party. If a conflict exists, a committee member shall disqualify themself and a replacement will be named.

The principals and members of the Adjudication Committee have an obligation to maintain the confidentiality of hearing proceedings and of all supporting materials and testimony presented. If a breach of confidentiality occurs, OAI may replace a committee member and/or levy additional charges as appropriate.

The above list of sample academic integrity infractions and sanctions is not exhaustive. It is meant to offer some general information about common infractions and possible associated sanctions.

Repeat offenses are assigned a greater penalty than a first offense and typically range from failure in course to failure with transcript notation. These penalties are applied at the discretion of the Office of Academic Integrity.

ⁱFor the purposes of this policy, the term "instructor" is defined as the instructor of record, a staff member, or their appropriate designee.

ⁱⁱAcademic days are defined as weekdays, when classes are in session, not including the summer or winter sessions as defined by the University Academic Calendar. Days in the final exam period and Reading Days are not considered academic days. With the agreement of all principals and the OAI, proceedings may continue during non-academic days.