Academic Misconduct

Plagiarism is defined under the Code of Student Conduct as either (a) representing the work of others as their own; or (b)  submitting written materials without proper attribution or acknowledgment of the source.

The free exchange of ideas depends on the participants’ trust that they will be given credit for their work. Everyone in an academic community must be responsible for acknowledging when they have used others’ words and ideas. Since the intellectual work of others constitute a kind of property, plagiarism is like theft.

In addition, as a reader you may want to follow other writers’ paths of research in order to make your own judgements about their evidence and arguments. In doing so, you will depend on those writers’ accuracy and honesty in reporting their sources. In turn, your readers will depend on yours.  This is frequently the case with professors as they grade and provide feedback to students on papers written.  Faculty are more easily able to evaluate and assess the arguments contained in a paper if they are provided an honest and thorough “road map” for where the ideas came from.

When reviewing the definitions of plagiarism in the Code, it is important to consider the following:

• Not only does plagiarism include borrowing someone else’s direct language, plagiarism can also include using others ideas, thoughts, or actions and representing them in a way that leads others to believe they are your own.  An example includes reading someone else’s interpretation of a poem and incorporating it into a paper you are writing about the poem, but without acknowledging where you got the idea.  In order to avoid plagiarism, you must acknowledge where that specific idea came from (ideally using the style manual required by your instructor – MLA, APA, Chicago, etc.)
• Whether a student acted intentionally or “meant” to plagiarize is not a relevant factor that is considered when deciding if the student is actually responsible for this allegation.

Cheating is defined by a number of behaviors, all of which tend to provide an unfair advantage to the student involved.  The most common behaviors include copying from another assignment or test, collaborating with others on an assignment when the professor has required independent work, using outside resources when completing an assignment or test, and falsifying test answers or grades. For a more complete listing of the behaviors involved, please see the Code of Student Conduct.

Cheating prevents students from attaining the most important goals of higher education: learning and critical thinking.  By cheating to gain answers or a higher grade, students fail to obtain the critical thinking skills necessary to learn future lessons.  In addition, they put into practice a habit that will ultimately disadvantage themselves by allowing them to take shortcuts.

More practically, cheating breaks down the trust that exists between teachers and students.  Professors who have been impacted by cheating often report the additional effort they must go through to root out unethical behavior and that cheating behavior affects their willingness to form close bonds with students.

A few important points to consider when reviewing these definitions in the Code include:

• When students submit an assignment to the professor, the student is providing an assurance that the work is the result of the student’s own thought and study, produced without assistance, and stated in that student’s own words, except when quotation marks, references, or footnotes acknowledge the use of other sources.
• In most cases, whether a student acted intentionally or “meant” to cheat is not relevant when deciding if the student is actually responsible for the allegation.

Aiding and Abetting others to cheat or plagiarize is defined by a number of behaviors, all of which tend to unfairly advantage another student.  The most common violations include providing portions of an academic evaluation to another student, providing unauthorized aid to another student, and sharing academic materials. 

Students should always consult with the professor prior to aiding another student and should never make assumptions about the appropriateness of providing aid to others.

Destruction of academic materials is defined under the Code as either (a)  Removing or attempting to remove, destroy, steal, or make inaccessible library or other academic material without authorization; or (b) Willfully damaging the academic work or efforts of another.

First, tell the truth. If you did what the instructor has alleged, then be candid and truthful. You still have an opportunity to prove to the faculty member that you have some integrity. If this is the case, then you will have a conversation regarding appropriate sanctions for this behavior.

If you did not commit academic misconduct, then tell the faculty member that you did not commit academic misconduct. Never say that you did commit an act simply because that looks like the easiest way to resolve the matter. The faculty member will use a form distributed by the Office of Student Conduct, called the Report of an Academic Integrity Violation (RAIV). There is a section on the second page of the form that talks specifically about student rights. Please do not sign the form if you do not understand your rights or the implications of signing the form.

If you understand your rights and the implications of signing the form, you should do so and return it to your instructor. Please do not sign the form if you do not understand your rights of the implications of signing the form.

No. As outlined in the Student Discipline Procedures, Appendix B: “Students shall not be allowed to drop a course, or change the course registration to audit or credit-only, for a course in which academic misconduct allegations have been made. After the resolution of the case, students may seek a withdrawal from the course, or change their course registration to audit or credit-only, except in cases where a failing grade penalty has been imposed as a sanction.”