In the first and so far only Discipline Case of summer session, a student was put on Probation on Monday for Plagiarism.
The penalty, a week’s restrictions imposed by the Summer School Discipline Committee of eight faculty members and a nonvoting chair, requires the student to check in an hour early at night, not leave the dorm room at night or the campus for trips, and not participate in any extracurricular activities.
The Committee could have imposed the more serious penalty of dismissal but decided it was not warranted in this case.
In accordance with longstanding practice, the student’s name and details of the charge were not released.
“A lot of unfortunate circumstances can be avoided by open and honest communication,” said Dean Jeff Ward. “It is always better to ask for permission than forgiveness.”
Plagiarism — a serious academic offense at Exeter, as elsewhere — is defined in the Student Handbook as “the stealing and passing off as one’s own the ideas, words, opinions, etc., of another.”
Under the disciplinary process set forth in the Handbook, the Dean’s Office investigates any reported violation of the Exeter rules. As part of the investigation, the faculty member bringing the charge(s) prepares a written narrative of the case. The student must provide a factual statement of events and cooperate in the investigation: failure to do so may result in dismissal. The Dean’s Office then decides if the case should go to the Disciplinary Committee.
If it does, the student is informed of the charge(s) in writing. Then accompanied by his/her advisor, the student appears before the Committee and hears the charge(s) and his/her response read aloud. After answering any questions, the student leaves the room while the Committee deliberates. The panel’s first motion is on whether to dismiss the student. If that fails, Probation is considered. A tie vote brings automatic re-consideration. A second tie vote results in dropping of the charge(s). If the motion for Probation carries, the student is immediately informed and told of the panel’s reasons.