Classroom Conduct

Approved by the Board of Trustees of Rockland Community College on August 20, 1992. Amended on October 29, 2009

Contents
  1. Attendance
  2. Disruptive Behavior
  3. Academic Dishonesty
  4. Electronic Communication Device Usage

Attendance

Specific attendance requirements are established by individual instructors. It is the responsibility of students to be aware of these requirements.

Disruptive Behavior

When a student behaves in a manner that interferes in the instructional process, the instructor should:

  1. Consult with the student and establish guidelines for remaining in the class. If the disruptive behavior is such that the student should be removed from the classroom immediately, the instructor should ask the student to leave and should call the Public Safety Office, if needed.
  2. If the guidelines are not followed satisfactorily by the student, the instructor should advise the student that he/she may no longer be in the class and that the student will either receive an F grade or should officially withdraw from the course.
  3. The instructor should advise the Dean of Student Development, in writing, of this action.
  4. If the student wishes to appeal this decision, he/she may request in writing a hearing before the Hearing Committee.

Academic Dishonesty

Academic Dishonesty includes, but is not limited to the following:

  • Cheating on an examination;
  • Plagiarizing, that is the taking and passing off as one’s own work from another writing or work of another without citing the source;
  • Creating/citing false or fictitious references or providing false data for a research project; Submitting work from another course unless receiving advance approval to do so by the instructor;
  • Stealing or possessing stolen examinations or course materials;
  • Posing as another person or allowing another person to pose as oneself;
  • Falsifying academic records;
  • Receiving help from others in work to be submitted, if contrary to stated course rules. This includes use of complete or partial papers from Internet paper mills or other sources of non-original work without attribution.

If the instructor deems that a student is guilty of cheating or plagiarism, the instructor may initiate disciplinary action through the Associate Vice President of Academic Affairs and/or can:

  • Require that the student repeat the assignment or the examination.
  • Give the student a failing grade for the assignment or examination.
  • Give the student a failing grade in the course and deny the student continued access to the class.
  • The instructor should advise the Associate Vice President of Academic Affairs, in writing, of any of these actions. If the instructor initiates a grievance through the Associate Vice President of Academic Affairs, the instructor must provide written notification to the Associate Vice President of Academic Affairs within five days of the alleged incident.

If the student wishes to appeal the above decision, he/she may request in writing a hearing before an Academic Hearing Committee.

Electronic Communication Device Usage

Instructors have the right to set their own policy regarding usage of electronic communication devices during class time, i.e. pagers, cell phones, text messaging, blackberries, etc.