Academic dishonesty includes cheating, plagiarism and any attempt to obtain credit for academic work through fraudulent, deceptive, or dishonest means. Below is a list of some of the forms academic dishonesty may take.
- Using or attempting to use unauthorized materials, information, or study aids in any academic exercise.
- Submitting work previously submitted in another course without the consent of the instructor.
- Sitting for an examination by surrogate or acting as a surrogate.
- Representing the words, ideas, or work of another as one's own in any academic exercise.
- Conducting any act that defrauds the academic process.
Plagiarism is the presentation of someone else's ideas or work as one's own. As such, plagiarism constitutes fraud or theft. Plagiarism or academic dishonesty in any form is a grave offense and will not be tolerated.
If an instructor determines there is sufficient evidence of academic dishonesty on the part of a student, the instructor may exercise one or more of the following options:
- Require a timed writing sample to be written on the assigned topic to determine the veracity of the suspicion
- Require that the work be rewritten
- Issue a lowered or failing grade for the assignment
- Issue a lowered or failing grade for the course
- Request formal disciplinary action by the Vice President of Academics
If a student's assignment or course grade is lowered on the grounds of academic dishonesty, the instructor must inform the student that academic dishonesty figured into the calculation of the grade. The student may exercise his/her right to appeal the grade by requesting a disciplinary hearing. It is the instructor's responsibility to report any reasonable suspicion of plagiarism to the department chair, who will then relay the information to the Vice President of Academics so that such behavior may be monitored and repeat offenders identified. Upon request for disciplinary action or upon repeated offenses, the Vice President of Academics will initiate hearing proceedings that may result in disciplinary action such as probation, suspension, or expulsion.
Avoiding Plagiarism
Students must give credit for any information that is not either the result of original research or common knowledge. For example, it would be necessary to give credit to an author who provided an argument about the strategic importance of the technology in oil exploration. Conversely, major historical facts, such as the invention of the telephone, are considered common knowledge and do not require that credit be given to a particular author.
If a student borrows ideas or information from another author, s/he must acknowledge the author in the body of the text and on the reference page. If a student borrows the words of another author, s/he must be careful to use the author's exact words, enclose them in quotation marks and cite the source in the body of the text and also on the reference page. If students are unsure whether or not they should cite, they are encouraged to cite. They are also encouraged to consult writing handbooks such as the Essential Little, Brown Handbook and for formatting questions refer to manuals such as The MLA Handbook for the Humanities, The Publication Manual of the APA for social sciences and business and The CBE Style Manual for natural and applied sciences.
