Syllabus Addendum

Academic integrity is central to the pursuit of education. For students at HCCC, this means maintaining the highest ethical standards in completing their academic work. In doing so, students earn college credits by their honest efforts. When they are awarded a certificate or degree, they have attained a goal representing genuine achievement and can reflect with pride on their accomplishment. This is what gives college education its essential value.

Violations of the principle of academic integrity include:

• Cheating on exams.
• Reporting false research data or experimental results.
• Allowing other students to copy one’s work to submit to instructors.
• Communicating the contents of an exam to other students who will be taking the same test.
• Submitting the same project in more than one course, without discussing this first with instructors.
• Submitting plagiarized work. Plagiarism is the use of another writer's or an application’s words or ideas without properly crediting that source. This unacknowledged use may be from published books or articles, the Internet, or another student's work.
• Using artificial intelligence and/or machine learning tools/aides to complete an assignment (e.g., essay, research paper, discussion forum, exam, quiz, etc.) and represent the work entirely as one’s own. 

When students act dishonestly in meeting their course requirements, they lower the value of education for all students. Students who violate the college’s policy on academic integrity are subject to failing grades on exams or projects, or for the entire course. Serious cases may be reported to a division dean or director for further disciplinary action, including suspension or dismissal from HCCC.

Detailed information on the College’s Academic Integrity policy may be found in the HCCC Student Handbook. The handbook also contains useful information for students on completing research projects and avoiding plagiarism.

Hudson County Community College is committed to the creation of an inclusive and safe learning environment for all students. The Office of Accessibility Services is responsible for determining reasonable accommodations for students who encounter barriers due to disability (conditions can include but are not limited to mental health, attention-related, learning, cognitive/developmental, vision, hearing, physical or health impacts). When the student completes the request process and reasonable accommodations are determined to be necessary and appropriate, an Accommodation Letter (Letter) will be provided. The student must provide the Letter to each course instructor. This should be done as early in the semester as possible as accommodations are not retroactive. You can contact Accessibility Services by phone at (201) 360-4157, by email at asFREEHUDSONCOUNTYCOMMUNITYCOLLEGE; visit their website at https://www.hccc.edu/student-success/personal-support/accessibility-services.html or visit them at 71 Sip Avenue, L011, Jersey City, NJ and all information provided will be kept confidential.

Hudson County Community College prohibits the audio-visual recording, transmission, and distribution of classroom sessions. Classes may only be recorded with the advance written permission of the instructor. The complete classroom recording policy is listed in the student handbook.

Hudson County Community College (HCCC) fosters a welcoming environment that celebrates and encourages culturally responsive curricula, respects diverse viewpoints, and values discussions without censure or hostility. Our classrooms are strengthened by embracing all student voices and identities. The President’s Advisory Council on Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (PACDEI) encourages students to review DEI resources and initiatives at the following link: https://www.hccc.edu/dei/

Mandatory Use of HCCC Email Address: Members of the HCCC community are required to check their official HCCC email address to stay current with college and course communications. All college business communication between faculty, students, and staff must be sent via an official HCCC email address. If an employee or student elects to forward or link his/her HCCC email to a separate and private account, that individual remains responsible for all material transmitted to that account. Employees of HCCC shall not be responsible for any material that remains undelivered, due to defects in the private non-HCCC accounts. Failure in the operations of private email accounts shall not be cause for excuse from communications between the student and the HCCC employee. Students that encounter difficulty with HCCC email should view the FAQ’s section on the Website.

In case Hudson County Community College is closed due to unforeseen circumstances such as inclement weather, loss of power, etc., students are to call or check the college website and check email accounts for instructions and updates, when possible. HCCC main# (201) 714-7100 or https://www.hccc.edu/. Alternatively, please check Canvas and your college email for important posts regarding classes and the College.

Federal regulations require that students earn their financial aid funds by attending class. Professors collect and report attendance information to verify financial aid eligibility. Failure to begin attending a course may negatively impact the student's financial aid enrollment level and eligibility. If you have any questions, please contact the Financial Aid office at financial_aidFREEHUDSONCOUNTYCOMMUNITYCOLLEGE or (201) 360-4200.

Hudson County Community College provides its diverse communities with inclusive, high-quality educational programs and services that promote student success and upward social and economic mobility.

HCCC is committed to supporting students who face non-academic barriers to success. If you are experiencing challenges outside of the classroom that is impacting your academic performance, please visit https://www.hccc.edu/student-success/personal-support/hudsonhelps/index.html to access additional student supports and resources.

The Mission of the Mental Health Counseling and Wellness Center is to support students; mental, emotional, and well-being. We embrace diversity and acknowledge that everyone is unique and special. We provide in-person and remote free counseling sessions by appointment; we offer walk-in appointments on both campuses but recommend appointments to decrease your wait time. For more information, visit https://www.hccc.edu/student-success/personal-support/mental-health-counseling-wellness-center/index.html.

Instructors may utilize software that checks assignments submited through Canvas for plagiarism and other violations of academic integrity. Student writing is scanned for matched text by comparing the work to a large database of other student submissions, publications, websites, and other materials on the Internet. A report is generated for instructors that provides insight into how much material may have been copied from other sources, and how much material may have been generated through AI writing tools such as ChatGPT. Turnitin Originality is our current online plagiarism detection solution. Learn more about Turnitin and the associated privacy policy.

As a college, we strive to be student-centered and therefore encourage faculty to consider a student’s individual circumstances (need for privacy, technological problems, etc.) when requiring that they turn on cameras during class. There is no legal prohibition on faculty requiring cameras be turned on during classes or college policy prohibiting such requests. If students are unable to turn their cameras on, they should communicate the circumstances to the faculty member. On-campus spaces are also available to students as an alternative to home or off campus online and remote instruction. The on-campus spaces include: Gabert Library L219, L221, L222, L419, STEM Building S217, and North Hudson Campus N224, N303D. Within these rooms, students will have access to computers, web cameras, and headsets. If there are any issues with space capacity, there are additional rooms that can be utilized.

Instructors may utilize an online proctoring service to support academic integrity in remote and online courses by monitoring and recording exam sessions. A browser extension in Chrome uses your computer’s screen, webcam, and microphone to create a remote proctored environment, and enables you to take exams via Canvas in the location of your choice. Our current online proctoring solution is Honorlock. Learn more about Honorlock and the associated privacy policy.