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Z Designation for Academic Dishonesty
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Design, Support, and Purpose:
- The University Undergraduate Policy and Curriculum Committee of the Faculty Senate has approved the use of University-wide Z designation policy.
- Adopting the Z designation reaffirms the importance of civic responsibility by faculty and students to ensure that degrees earned at UCF are of high quality and subject to clear and high standards.
- Student and faculty focus groups consulted indicated strong support for this policy.
Action and Assignment of “Z” designation:
- As a result of academic dishonesty in a course, an appropriate grade will be assigned to a student that is preceded by the letter Z.
Process:
- Finding and Informing: If a faculty member finds that a student is in violation of the university academic conduct code in a course, the student will be informed by the faculty member.
- Effect on Course Grade: The faculty member’s syllabus shall state the impact on the grade for the course (may provide a zero for the assignment, resulting in the lowering of the final grade (e.g. ZA, ZB, ZC, ZD), or award an F in the course (ZF)).
- Faculty Reporting: The faculty member must report the violation (at least for information only) to Office of Student Rights and Responsibilities using forms http://www.osc.sdes.ucf.edu/?id=incident_report_1
- Student Status upon Report: The student remains in the course.
- Avoiding Disciplinary Action: If the student has withdrawn from the class to avoid the disciplinary action, s/he may be added back to the roster and assigned a grade, as described in the Golden Rule.
- Final Grade Submission: When submitting final grades, the faculty member will inform the Registrar’s Office via the change of Grade form. The Registrar’s Office will record the submitted grade, affix a Z in front, and flag the audit such that the grade cannot be changed until the student completes the required ethics course.
Student Recourse for Removal of Z Grade Designation:
- Grade Appeal Process: The student may go through the academic grade appeal process (as described in the Golden Rule), and if found not in violation, will have the Z removed. Appeals must be done in the same semester, or the following semester if violation occurs late in the semester or in the summer. See procedures in the Golden Rule.
- If student found not in violation
- The student receives grade earned, and the Z is removed.
- If found in violation – first violation
- Grade Forgiveness: If the student has not previously used both grade forgiveness opportunities permitted in a student’s academic lifetime, s/he may repeat the course for forgiveness the next semester it is offered. If the class is satisfactorily completed, the Z designation will be removed from the transcript.
- Students would have to retake the course (possibly incurring third attempt surcharges and/or excess hours) within the next year of enrollment.
- Educational component of the policy:
- Students must satisfactorily complete a mandatory non-credit academics ethics course within one year of enrollment after the violation and before they repeat the course.
- A grade change, whether removal of the Z and/or designation of forgiveness, must occur within one academic year following the initial enrollment.
- Only the faculty member initially assigning the grade, or if s/he is unavailable then the department chair, are able to change the grade.
- Grade Forgiveness: If the student has not previously used both grade forgiveness opportunities permitted in a student’s academic lifetime, s/he may repeat the course for forgiveness the next semester it is offered. If the class is satisfactorily completed, the Z designation will be removed from the transcript.
- If found in violation – second violation
- Second violation Z designations are NOT Removable: All Z designations awarded stay on the transcript (the Z is explained on the reverse side of the transcript).
- Educational component of the policy:
- Students would have to take a mandatory non-credit academic ethics course within one year of violation following enrollment.
- No grade change will occur
- Z designations will be calculated into the GPA in the same way as the grade awarded
Please note that the Z designation is separate from the Student Conduct Process, which may include additional sanctions.
