Academic Policies

What constitutes a violation of academic integrity? 

Most commonly, the Student Code defines violations of academic integrity as cheating, plagiarism, and assisting others in a manner not prescribed or allowed for in the original assignment or directions. However, other practices may constitute infractions, as well, such as: the fabrication or falsification of data and documents; bribes, favors, and threats; academic interference; computer-related infractions; unauthorized use of university resources; unauthorized sale of class materials or notes; and failure to comply with research regulations.

Understanding plagiarism 

In its simplest form, plagiarism is the submission of work not wholly your own: term papers, lab and project reports, homework, computer programs. It doesn’t matter if the unoriginal portion is the entire assignment or part of the assignment, nor does it matter if the assignment is a draft or if the person who did the original work gave you permission to use it. 
 
What constitutes “work” can be harder to determine, especially when a paper or report assignment requires you to gather ideas and information from other sources. Cutting and pasting even small amounts of text from other authors, or even a single figure, without citing the source properly, can constitute plagiarism. 

There are several correct ways to use material from other authors in your own academic work: you can quote directly and cite the original source; you can paraphrase and cite the original source; or you can weave facts and information into your work and cite the original source. Example resource: University Library Guide on Citing Sources.

Avoiding cheating and accusations of cheating

First and foremost, you should take all tests and quizzes without assistance of any kind unless such collaboration is required or otherwise allowed by the instructional faculty of the course. Additionally, you should make sure you understand what materials are allowed in exams and make sure you don’t bring things that aren’t allowed. You should also be prepared to show your student ID whenever you take an exam, and you should never pass anything to another student or touch your cell phone during an exam. In short, you should avoid any behavior that can be interpreted as cheating. 

Avoiding plagiarism and accusations of plagiarism

In any course where you are required to submit an essay, report, term paper, etc., be sure you know how the instructor expects you to cite material from other authors. 

When you are doing research for the assignment, keep a record of the source for each piece of information you gather. In doing so, you will have the data you need for the citation if you use that information in your paper. Also, make sure you indicate which notes are direct quotations. (A simple way is to put quotation marks around the text if you have copied it directly from the source into your notes). Then, if you use the quotation in your paper, you can mark it accordingly. 

Always save your research notes, outlines, drafts, etc. until after the semester is over. Should you be accused of plagiarism, these materials can help demonstrate how you arrived at the final result.

Avoiding the improper assistance of others

Do not take an exam for someone else; do not pass information to another student during an exam, or purposely hold your exam paper so that another student can see your answers; do not take someone else’s iClicker to class and click for him or her as that’s a violation of academic integrity for both of you. 

Giving another student a copy of your lab report, computer program, or homework solution can also be construed as an academic integrity violation.

Team projects, study groups, collaborative work

Some classes require you to work as part of a team or group. Other students may invite you to form a study group for a particular course. Collaborative study is a good thing, but the work you submit must be your own unless the instructor has explicitly asked you or has given you permission to submit group work.

How to handle violations: The role of the Student Code

The Student Code provides an orderly process for dealing with academic integrity violations, one that includes certain protections for students. This document outlines the process and suggests some approaches for navigating that process. However, the Student Code itself is the authoritative source for academic integrity procedures. In cases where there appears to be conflict between this document and the Student Code, the Student Code governs. 

Within the Student Code, academic integrity issues are covered in Article 1, Part 4. The Student Code is available online and in the Office of the Dean of Students. 

The process should involve the following stages: instructor allegation; student response; instructor investigation; instructor decision and sanction, where appropriate. In cases where the student is found to have committed an academic integrity infraction, he or she has the right to appeal the instructor’s decision, sanction, or both. 

If an instructor appears to change your grade because of an academic integrity infraction but is not following these steps, you should check with the main office of the department offering the course, or with the AHS Undergraduate Affairs Office at ahs-acaffrs@illinois.edu.

The instructor’s initial determination and your response

To initiate the formal Student Code process, the instructor informs you via email he or she has reason to believe you have committed an academic integrity infraction. The allegation notice should state what the instructor is accusing you of, and provide enough information that you can respond substantively to the allegation. You have up to 10 business days (Monday-Friday) to respond to the allegation. 

If you are accused of an academic integrity infraction, you should continue attending class and submit all assignments. An allegation is an initial question, not a final answer. With more information, the instructor may decide you did not commit a violation, or, he or she could decide you indeed committed an infraction and the sanction is relatively light. As dropping the course is only possible in certain circumstances, it is always in your best interest to keep doing all course work. 

It can also be a good idea to seek the advice of a knowledgeable person with whom you have a good relationship, such as your academic advisor. 

Next, you should respond to the allegation. Your response is your first and best chance to influence the process, and you should respond carefully and thoughtfully. If you actually did commit the violation, your best course of action is to admit it. If you did not commit the violation, this is your chance to convince the instructor of that. Gather whatever evidence you may have—rough drafts of your paper, research notes—and present it to the instructor. 

If you did something wrong, but not everything of which you are accused, you should admit to the parts you did do, and make a case for your innocence on the other parts.

The instructor’s decision and sanction

The instructor should use all available information, including everything you provided, to determine the facts of the case. The instructor then determines if it is more true than not true that you have committed an infraction. This decision and sanction, if any, should be communicated to you in writing. This letter should also include a brief explanation of the facts, the sanction and basis for the decision, and a statement regarding your right to appeal the decision and/or sanction. At that time, you will have five business days from the date of the instructor’s decision notice to indicate your intent to appeal. 

If the instructor concludes you did not commit an infraction, then the allegation will be removed from your records and the case is closed. You may continue in the course and be given the grade to which you are entitled without regard to the infraction charge, or you may drop the course or change sections, if possible. Please note: if you intend to drop the course after the applicable drop deadline, you must indicate your desire to drop the course within 10 business days of the instructor’s decision. 

If the instructor finds you committed an infraction, he or she will impose a sanction. All guilty findings result in information being placed in your files in the department, college office, and in the campus office of the Senate Committee on Student Discipline. Sanctions can include a reduced or failing grade on the assignment, or a reduced or failing grade in the course. If your letter mentions suspension or dismissal from the university, find more information about what that means below. 

Your choices at this point are either to accept the finding and sanction, or to appeal one or both of them. If you accept the finding and sanction, then the case is closed. You may be permitted to drop or declare the credit/no credit option if the sanction is less than a failing grade for the course and you were otherwise eligible to elect the option at the time of the infraction charge.

The appeal process

Again, you have five working days after the decision/sanction notice to indicate your wish to appeal. To initiate an appeal, you must tell the department that offers the course—not the instructor. Usually the person to notify is named in your decision/sanction letter. As defined by the Student Code, you may appeal on the basis of the determination, sanction, procedure, or new information which makes it substantially more likely you did not commit the infraction. 

Appeals of sanctions of less than failure for the course are heard by a departmental committee. Appeals of sanctions of failure for the course are heard by the college in which the course is offered. 

The results of the appeal hearing are final.

What happens next?

Whenever you are determined to have committed an infraction, a report of the infraction and sanction are sent to your college and the Senate Committee on Student Discipline. You will also be notified that the incident is being recorded in your college and campus files. Your disciplinary records are kept by the college and campus for six years. If you sign a waiver allowing someone to see your academic records, the university is obligated to report all academic integrity infractions on your record at the time of the request. Without a waiver, no one outside the university can see your disciplinary record. 

You cannot apply for grade replacement for any course in which you have a reported academic integrity infraction. You can re-take the course, but the original grade will always be part of your GPA calculation, along with the new grade. 

The grade for the course will appear on your transcript—whatever it is after the sanction is applied. However, the transcript will not contain information regarding academic integrity infractions.

Suspension and dismissal

Violations can be serious enough that a student can be suspended or dismissed from the university. No one is expelled from the University of Illinois. 

An instructor cannot suspend or dismiss a student by themselves. A separate hearing may be held at the college level to determine whether or not the instructor’s recommendation of suspension or dismissal is appropriate. If the college supports the recommendation, the matter is turned over to the Senate Committee on Student Discipline for final review and decision. They, in turn, will hold an additional hearing, at which the student is entitled to be present. A representative of the college is also usually present. For the purposes of this hearing, the instructor’s finding, as modified by any appeal committee, is accepted as fact, and the student may not contest it. The remaining open question is whether the facts warrant suspension or dismissal. 

The Senate Committee on Student Discipline is the body that has the authority to suspend or dismiss a student from the University of Illinois. The committee has the option to agree or disagree with the college’s recommendation in part or as a whole. If the committee does not agree with the recommendation of suspension or dismissal, it may impose a lesser formal sanction and/or educational sanctions, along with the course-based sanction imposed by the Instructor. Students who are dismissed must apply to the committee for reinstatement, and they can only do so after stopping out a specified amount of time (often one year), and after completing a number of steps toward rehabilitation. 

The committee’s decisions regarding suspension or dismissal are final and cannot be appealed. 

Access to the student registration system will be terminated if the student is found to be making excessive unsuccessful registration attempts (i.e. writing code to connect to the registration system to enroll in or continually trying to add a high-demand course). 

Congress recently enacted an amendment to FERPA that enables an educational institution to disclose details of disciplinary action against a student for conduct that poses a significant risk to the safety of others in the school community. 

• Training
• Directory Information
• Access to Student Records
• Documenting Disclosures
• Phone Verification Process

1. The student shall promptly seek informal resolution of the issue with the faculty or staff member directly involved. If after reasonable efforts a satisfactory solution is not reached, the student may approach the immediate supervisor of the faculty or staff member to try and resolve the matter. 
2. If the informal strategy described above fails to satisfy the student, the next step is to approach the supervisor (or Department Head) of the faculty or staff person and inform them that they would like to file an official grievance with the unit’s faculty committee that oversees such grievances. The supervisor (or Department Head) should be informed in writing of the full scope and background of the grievance, and the student should identify the remedy being sought as part of the engagement of the grievance process. The Department Head shall also ask the faculty/staff member involved to submit a written response to the student’s grievance. It is expected that the response shall be received by the Department Head within 10 days of the request. 
3. Upon receiving the written grievance, the Department Head shall refer it to the Chair of the unit’s Grievance Committee for review and deliberation by that body. No one on the committee can be affiliated with the specific grievance, been accused in past grievances by the student, or be a close advisor/mentor of the student filing the grievance. The Chair and committee may interview the student and faculty or staff member in an attempt to reach a mutually satisfactory solution. If no resolution can be reached, the Chair and Grievance Committee will draft a decision/ruling to submit to the Department Head. 
4. As part of the review by the unit’s Grievance Committee, the Chair shall convene the Grievance Committee so that a hearing on the issue can be held as soon as possible or no later than thirty days after receiving the grievance. 
5. The hearing shall be conducted by the Chair under the following guidelines: 
   • The responsibility of establishing the validity of the grievance and the appropriateness of the suggested remedy shall be upon the student.
   • The student and/or the faculty/staff member may be accompanied by an advisor of their choice, however only the student and/or faculty/staff member shall represent or speak for themselves in the hearing.
   • The hearing shall be closed to the public except when both parties agree that it should be open.
   • The Chair shall keep a record of the hearing, which shall include:
     • The names of those present,
     • A copy of any physical evidence (records, written testimony, duplicated materials, etc.) that is introduced, and
     • A record of the final decision of the committee and its rationale.
     • The hearing shall be conducted so that all parties to the dispute have an opportunity to present their views and to rebut those of the other.
     • No final action shall be taken by the Grievance Committee and no testimony heard unless all voting members are present. All actions shall require the
     • The decision of the committee shall include a judgment concerning the validity of the alleged grievance and, if it is declared valid, a recommendation of a remedy for the harm done. agreement of at least two voting members.
     • The decision of the Grievance Committee concerning both the finding relevant to the dispute and the suggested remedy shall be submitted to the Department Head.
     • The Department Head may affirm, reverse, or ask the Grievance Committee to reconsider its actions. The Department Head may also request additional information from the principals in the dispute in rendering a decision. The decision of the Department Head represents the final action of the department. The student must find avenues outside of the department (e.g., College of Applied Health Sciences) to pursue a redress of his/her grievance. The same procedure described above applies at the college level, with the Dean (or Dean’s designate) rendering the final decision. 

Basic Language Instruction

Basic language instruction courses, typically through the fourth-level of instruction, with 300-400 level course numbers, will not apply to the advanced hour requirement. Examples include: BASQ 401, BASQ 402, CATL 401, CATL 402, HNDI 403, HNDI 404.

Mathematics

Students in the College of Applied Health Sciences do not receive credit for MATH 002 and MATH 012.

Rhetoric

Effective Fall 2018, no more than 8 hours of basic rhetoric may count toward degree hours (including RHET 101, 102, 103, 104, 105; ESL 111,112, 115; CMN 111, 112)

Graduate Level Credit

Some courses at the 400-level may be taken for graduate school credit. To receive graduate credit as an undergraduate student requires the permission of the Graduate College. Courses taken as graduate credits do not apply toward the undergraduate semester hours required for graduation for a Bachelor’s degree. The Graduate College rather than Applied Health Sciences gives ultimate approval for graduate credit by undergraduate students.

Music Ensemble Courses

The College of Applied Health Sciences will accept a maximum of eight (8) hours of music ensemble courses as free electives applied to total hours required for graduation.  The courses MUSC 487, MUSC 488, and MUSC 489 are performance music ensembles. These courses will not count as 400-level advanced coursework for purposes of degree completion.

Religious Foundation Courses

Credit hours are not accepted as hours toward graduation or free electives for these courses.

Kinesiology Activity Courses

The College of Applied Health Sciences will accept a maximum of 8 credit hours of 100-level Kinesiology activity courses (Kinesiology courses numbered 100 through 111) towards total hours required for a degree if a student matriculated at UIUC in the fall 2023 term or later. Students who matriculated at UIUC prior to fall 2023 are not subject to this limitation.

ROTC Courses

There is no limitation on hours of military service credit, or credit hours earned in Army, Navy or Air Force ROTC courses that can be applied to total hours for degree in the College of Applied Health Sciences for students who matriculated at UIUC in the fall 2023 semester or later. 
 
Military service credit is not accepted by the College of Applied Health Sciences for students who matriculated at Illinois prior to the fall 2023 semester. 

Army ROTC

• MILS 301 Leadership and Problem Solving 
• MILS 302 Leadership and Ethics 
• MILS 341 Leadership and Management 
• MILS 342 Officership

Air Force ROTC

• AFAS 331 Leading People and Effective Communication I 
• AFAS 332 Leading People and Effective Communication II 
• AFAS 341 National Security Affairs/ Preparation for Active Duty I 
• AFAS 342 National Security Affairs/ Preparation for Active Duty II

Navy ROTC

• NS 204 Navigation/Naval Operations I 
• NS 303 Leadership and Management 
• NS 307 Navigation/Naval Operations II 
• NS 308 Leadership and Ethics 
• NS 323 Maneuver Warfare Fundamentals

Aviation Courses

Please note that the College of Applied Health Sciences does not offer a degree program in aviation.  The information below outlines how the College will accept credit earned from the former University of Illinois Institute of Aviation and transfer courses from Parkland College’s Institute of Aviation articulated as equivalents to the previously offered University of Illinois courses. 
 
The College of Applied Health Sciences will accept a maximum of twenty-four (24) hours of the following aviation courses as free electives only; in no case may such additional courses be used to satisfy any other degree requirements. The following pilot training courses may be used as elective hours toward the total hours needed for graduation.

Pilot Training Curriculum Courses

• AVI 101 Private Pilot, I 
• AVI 120 Private Pilot, II 
• AVI 121 Private Pilot, Re-qualification 
• AVI 130 Commercial-Instrument, I 
• AVI 140 Commercial-Instrument, II 
• AVI 200 Commercial Pilot, I 
• VI 210 Commercial Pilot, II 
• AVI 211 Commercial Pilot, II – M.E. 
• AVI 320 Flight Instructor-Airplane 
• AVI 322 Instrument Flight Instructor 
• AVI 324 All Attitude Orientation 
• AVI 350 Practice Teaching-Airplane 
• AVI 358 Human Factors 
• AVI 380 Multiengine Land 
• AVI 381 Cockpit Resource Management 
• AVI 391 Special Flight Ratings 
• AVI 392 Flight Instructor CFII and ME 
• AVI 393 Turboprop Pilot Orientation 
• AVI 429 Hum Comp Interaction Lab 
• AVI 441 Interactive Sys Model and Des 
• AVI 455 Aviation Accident Analysis 
• AVI 456 Hum Perf and Eng Psych 
• AVI 495 Aviation Psychology

Maintaining good academic progress generally requires full-time study (12 credit hours per term), good standing as judged by meeting minimum grade point averages in cumulative and semester GPAs, and timely completion of major and graduation requirements through course completion. 
 
Normal degree progress typically requires 30 earned credit hours per academic year for degree completion in eight semesters without summer study, or an average of 15 credit hours per semester. Some programs require more than eight semesters to complete (or more than 15 credit hours per semester). Consult with your advisor for additional information. 

Students alone are responsible for making normal progress toward their degree and for meeting all graduation requirements in their curriculum. Normal progress toward the degree generally implies full-time study and timely completion of graduation requirements. Note that students must have a 2.0 cumulative Illinois GPA and 2.0 major GPA to graduate. Unless students have received specific approval to the contrary from the Assistant Dean in AHS Undergraduate Affairs, students are required to be full-time candidates for a degree at the Urbana campus.

Terminology

Various terms are used to designate undergraduates and their enrollment status at Illinois.

Student class 

Academic standing 

To graduate with a bachelor’s degree from the University of Illinois, the Student Code requires undergraduate students to earn at least 45 semester hours of University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign credit, of which at least 21 hours must be 300-400 level courses.

To graduate from the College of Applied Health Sciences an undergraduate student must be enrolled and actively registered in a major program housed in the College of Applied Health sciences for a minimum of two semesters, excluding summer terms.