ACADEMIC INTEGRITY & PLAGIARISM
Campus Center, Room 4 | (661) 395-4614
Bakersfield College has the responsibility to ensure that grades assigned are indicative of the knowledge and skill level of each
student. Acts of academic dishonesty make it impossible to fulfill this responsibility, and they weaken our society. Faculty,
students, administrators, and classified staff share responsibility for ensuring academic honesty in our college community and
will make a concerted effort to fulfill the following responsibilities.
Academic Integrity is an essential component of the student academic experience. The academic evaluation a student
receives for a course becomes a permanent college record and it is critical that such records be accurate and consistent. The
integrity students learn and exhibit at Bakersfield College will be a model for the professional integrity they practice when they
complete their college work.
Any test, paper, or assignment submitted that bears a Bakersfield College student’s name is presumed to be their own original
work that has not previously been submitted for credit in another course unless prior written approval has been obtained to do
so from the instructor.
In all of the assignments, including homework or drafts of papers, students may use words or ideas written by other individuals
in publications, web sites, or other sources, but only with proper citation. As a general rule, if citing from a published source or
from a web site and the quotation is short (up to a sentence or two) place it in quotation marks; if a longer passage from a
publication or web site, please indent it and use single spacing. In both cases, be sure to cite the original source in a footnote
or in parentheses. If a student is not clear about the expectations for completing an assignment or taking a test or examination,
be sure to seek clarification from the instructor beforehand.
Sample Syllabus Statement: Academic integrity includes cheating, fabricating or falsifying information or sources, improper
collaboration, submitting the same paper for different classes without permission, and plagiarism. Plagiarism occurs when
writers deliberately or unintentionally use another person's language, ideas, or materials and present them as their own without
properly acknowledging and citing the source. Academic Integrity and Plagiarism in this course results in one or more of the
following consequences: failure of the assignment, referral to the Dean of Instruction, and/or disciplinary actions by the Director
Student Life. Cite sources carefully, completely, and meticulously; when in doubt, cite. Familiarize yourself with BC’s Student
Code of Conduct and KCCD’s definitions of plagiarism and cheating (KCCD Board).
Finally, students should keep in mind that as a member of the Bakersfield College campus academic community, students are
expected to demonstrate integrity in all of their academic endeavors and will be evaluated on their own merits. Students should
be proud of their academic accomplishments and help to protect and promote academic integrity at Bakersfield College. The
consequences of cheating and academic dishonesty – including a formal written warning, possible loss of grade – are simply
not worth it.
STUDENT CODE OF CONDUCT
Campus Center, Room 4 | (661) 395-4614
The purpose of this administrative process is to provide a prompt and equitable means to address violations of the Student
Code of Conduct, which guarantees to the student or students involved the due process rights guaranteed them by state and
federal constitutional protections. This process will be used in a fair and equitable manner, and not for purposes of retaliation.
It is not intended to substitute for criminal or civil proceedings that may be initiated by other agencies.
These administrative procedures are specifically not intended to infringe in any way on the rights of students to engage in free
expression as protected by the state and federal constitutions, and by Education Code Section 76120, and will not be used to
punish expression that is protected.
This section describes BC’s Student Code of Conduct. It specifies prohibited types of behavior and the sanctions that can be
applied. Students may be accountable to both external authorities and to Bakersfield College for acts which constitute
violations of law and the Student Code of Conduct.
The Director of Student Life is appointed by the Bakersfield College President as the President’s Designee to address and
administer all student related judicial affairs (Student Code of Conduct, Academic Integrity, Students of Concern, and Student
Complaint Process).
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