Academic Honor Code
All Hood undergraduates affirm on each class assignment that they “have neither given nor received any unauthorized aid.” Cheating or plagiarism—any unacknowledged use of another person’s language or ideas—is thus both an affront to the general standards of conduct on which an intellectual community depends and a specific violation of the Academic Honor Code. As such, these offenses are treated seriously and may lead to severe disciplinary action, including dismissal from the College. For the full description of the policies and procedures of the Academic Honor Code, refer to Appendix B of the Student Handbook, and contact the dean of faculty, Chair of Academic Judicial Council with questions or concerns.
Students seeking advice on the proper use and acknowledgement of scholarly materials should consult their individual instructors, Writing Center, the library staff, and any of the several reliable guides to scholarly writing that these sources may recommend.
Copyright Statement
Hood College affirms the obligation of its faculty, staff, and students to comply with all Federal copyright laws (Title 17, United States Code). Copyright law gives copyright holders (writers, publishers, artists, etc.) exclusive rights to distribute, copy, perform, or publicly display, their own original works. The College recognizes its obligation to promote the rights and responsibilities granted under this law. Hood College assumes that any questions regarding copyright, as they apply to materials for instructional or other College use, will be resolved prior to the use of those materials on College-owned equipment or in College-sanctioned activities.
As members of an institution with an established Honor System emphasizing intellectual integrity, the Hood College community should recognize their responsibility to follow the law and to model it for others. All members of the College community are responsible for complying with College guidelines regarding the legal use of copyrighted materials, regardless of their format or the purpose for which they are used, and for complying with the requirements of copyright law, including obtaining required permissions to use copyrighted materials. Members of the Hood community who willfully disregard copyright law do so at their own risk and assume any liability, which may include criminal, and/or civil penalties. In addition, disciplinary action may be taken as outlined a) for students, in the Bylaws of the Student Government Association (Judicial System), b) for faculty, in the Faculty Code (Termination or Sanctions for Cause), and c) for staff, in the Staff Handbook (Section 405.3).
Peer-to-Peer File Sharing
Uploading or downloading works protected by copyright without the permission of the copyright owner is an infringement of the copyright owner’s exclusive rights of reproduction and/or distribution. Anyone found to have infringed a copyrighted work may be liable for statutory damages up to $30,000 for each work infringed and, if willful infringement is proven, liability may be increased up to $150,000 for each work infringed. An infringer of a work may also be liable for the attorney’s fees incurred by the copyright owner to enforce his or her rights. The files distributed over peer-to-peer networks are primarily copyrighted works, and there is a risk of liability for downloading material from these networks. There are currently many “authorized” services available online that allow consumers to purchase copyrighted works, whether they be music, e-books, or motion pictures. By purchasing works through authorized services, consumers can avoid the risks of infringement liability.
The Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA)
The DMCA is a response to concerns regarding the pirating and distribution of digital materials, and it helps to clarify how copyright relates to those materials. The DMCA criminalizes the development of technologies intended to circumvent devices (such as passwords or encryption) that limit access to copyrighted material, and it also criminalizes the act of circumvention itself. Institutions of higher education that act as Internet Service Providers (such as Hood College) are granted limited liability for copyright infringement involving the use of their networks if they take steps to designate a local agent to receive notices regarding instances of infringement over the local network and for effecting a “take-down” of the infringing material. The Library Director will provide contact information for Hood’s Take-Down Officer.