In 1995, students in South Africa held a demonstration to protest their university's enforcement of rules against cheating. They argued that it was their right as students to cheat. Those students wouldn't be happy at Northwest, which takes a clear stand on cheating in its Academic Code of Conduct.

The Catalog gives an overview of the Code, and the Student Handbook explains the details. However, here's a brief summation of the high points of the code:

The Academic Code of Conduct spells out the kinds of cheating which typically creates problems--plagiarism, various examples of cheating, trafficking (helping someone to cheat), and copyright infringement.

Problems sometimes occur when the college considers an action cheating that the student thinks is ok. Students should read this section of the Student Handbook to be clear on these issues. It's their obligation to understand what constitutes cheating.

So, what happens if a student get caught cheating? (The fact is that this happens every year.) Well, there are a range of options. They include:

• reduced grade for the assignment or test;
• failing grade for the assignment or test;
• failing grade for the course (without the option to drop it);
• disciplinary or academic probation;
• suspension;
• expulsion.

The course syllabus for any given course usually specifies how the instructor enforces the penalties for cheating. However, the faculty member can use the process described in the Student Handbook, even if it is not mentioned specifically in the Course Description.

Students who find themselves in this situation and feel they have been treated unfairly should start reading about Student Appeals.