Allowing Faculty to Submit the “Report Delayed” (RD) Symbol for Instances of Student Academic Dishonesty

Spring
2015
Resolution Number
14.01
 
Contact
Assigned to
Educational Policies Committee
Category
Grading
Status
In Progress
Status Report

Was brought to SACC and initially included in change for noncredit status indicators; was separated out at March meeting and will be brought forward separately for discussion. After October 2016 was sent to 5C. Sent to 5C on 5-15-2017. 2017 - 18: The chair will follow up with the 5C chair to determine status and discuss potential next steps. The chair will make a recommendation to the president on how to address this resolution this year.

2021: Chair reached out to 5C regarding potential to address this during 21-22.

Whereas, In 1995 the Chancellor’s Office rendered legal opinion L 95-31[1], which was reaffirmed in 2007, stating that an instructor could fail a student on an assignment for cheating but that the student could not be given a course grade of ‘F’ for that incidence of cheating unless that assignment grade, taken together with the student’s performance on the other course assignments, resulted in a grade of ‘F,’ per the requirements of Title 5 §55002 and the basic requirements for due process;

Whereas, Resolution 13.05 S13[2] called for the Academic Senate for California Community Colleges to revisit this matter, including proposing revisions to Title 5 as appropriate, but the Chancellor’s Office has not yet changed its position on its legal opinion L 95-31, and it is not clear what changes to Title 5 can be made to allow faculty to fail a student in a course for egregious acts of academic dishonesty without violating the student’s right to due process;

Whereas, Title 5 §55023 allows the symbol of RD (report delayed) to be recorded on student transcripts with the following requirements:

The “RD” symbol may be assigned by the registrar only. It is to be used when there is a delay in reporting the grade of a student due to circumstances beyond the control of the student. It is a temporary notation to be replaced by a permanent symbol as soon as possible. “RD” shall not be used in calculating grade point averages; and

Whereas, Allowing districts to adopt policies and procedures to allow faculty to assign an RD to a student caught engaging in academic dishonesty when the outcome of disciplinary action is still pending or cannot be resolved before grades are due may make faculty more willing to report students for academic dishonesty by eliminating any concern over course grades being challenged following the conclusion of a student disciplinary process;

Resolved, That the Academic Senate for California Community Colleges work with the Chancellor’s Office to change Title 5 §55023 that will permit districts, through collegial consultation with local senates, to adopt policies and procedures that allow faculty to submit the RD (report delayed) symbol for students who have been accused of  engaging in academic dishonesty and whose cases have not been resolved or may not be resolved through the student disciplinary process before the end of an academic term.

MSC