Academic Honesty Policy
(Acknowledgement is hereby given to Georgia State University on whose policy this is based).
As members of the academic community, all students are expected to recognize and uphold standards of intellectual and academic integrity. The University System of Georgia assumes as a basic and minimum standard of conduct in academic matters that students be honest and that they submit for credit only the products of their own efforts. Both the ideals of
scholarship and the need for fairness require that all dishonest work be rejected as a basis for academic credit. They also require that students refrain from any and all forms of dishonorable or unethical conduct related to their academic work.
In an effort to foster an environment of academic integrity and to prevent academic dishonesty, students are expected to discuss with faculty the expectations regarding course assignments and standards of conduct. In addition, students are encouraged to discuss freely with faculty, academic
advisers, and other members of the academic community any questions pertaining to the provisions of this policy.
Definitions and Examples
The examples and definitions given below are intended to clarify the standards by which academic honesty and academically honorable conduct are to be judged.
Within the syllabus, your instructor will list specific penalties for infractions. All eCore faculty members use the definitions listed below.
● Plagiarism
● Cheating on examinations
● Unauthorized Collaboration
● Falsification
● Multiple Submissions
● Evidence and Burden of Proof
The list is merely illustrative of the kinds of infractions that may occur, and it is not intended to be exhaustive. Moreover, the definitions and examples suggest conditions under which unacceptable behavior of the indicated types normally occurs. However, there may be unusual cases that fall outside these conditions that also will be judged unacceptable by the academic community.
(Note: Plagiarism detection systems are often used by eCore faculty members. See example.)
Plagiarism is presenting another person's work as one's own. Plagiarism includes any paraphrasing or summarizing of the works of another person without acknowledgment, including the submitting of another student's work as one's own. Plagiarism frequently involves a failure to acknowledge in the text, notes, or footnotes the quotation of the paragraphs, sentences, or even a few phrases written or spoken by someone else.
The submission of research or completed papers or projects by someone else is plagiarism, as is the unacknowledged use of research sources gathered by someone else when that use is specifically forbidden by the instructor. Failure to indicate the extent and nature of one's reliance on other sources is also a form of plagiarism.
Finally, there may be forms of plagiarism that are unique to an individual discipline or course, examples of which should be provided in advance by the instructor. The student is responsible for understanding the legitimate use of sources, the appropriate ways of acknowledging academic, scholarly, or creative indebtedness, and the consequences of violating this responsibility.
Cheating on examinations involves giving or receiving unauthorized help before, during, or after an examination. Examples of unauthorized help include the use of notes, texts, "crib sheets," websites, electronic documents or notes, and computer programs during an examination (unless specifically approved by the instructor), or sharing information with another student during an examination (unless specifically approved by the instructor). Other examples include intentionally allowing another student to view one's own examination and unauthorized collaboration before or after an examination.
Submission for academic credit of a work product, developed in substantial collaboration with other person or source but represented as one's own effort, is unauthorized. Seeking and providing such assistance is a violation of academic honesty. However, collaborative work specifically authorized by an instructor is allowed.
It is a violation of academic honesty to misrepresent material or fabricate information in an academic exercise, assignment or proceeding. Some examples of falsification are:
- false or misleading citation of sources
- the falsification of the results of experiments or of computer data
- false or misleading information in an academic context in order to gain an unfair advantage
It is a violation of academic honesty to submit substantial portions of the same work for credit more than once without the explicit consent of the instructor(s) to whom the material is submitted for additional credit. In cases in which there is a natural development of research or knowledge in a sequence of courses, use of prior work may be desirable, or required. However, the student is responsible for indicating in writing, that the current work submitted for credit is cumulative in nature.
● Evidence and Burden of Proof
In determining whether or not academic dishonesty has occurred, guilt must be proven by a preponderance of the evidence. This means that if the evidence that academic dishonesty occurred produces a stronger impression and is more convincing compared to opposing evidence, then academic dishonesty has been proven. In other words, the evidence does not have to be enough to free the mind from a reasonable doubt but must be sufficient to incline a reasonable and impartial mind to one side of the issue rather than to the other. Evidence as used in this statement can be any observation, admission, statement, or document that would either directly or circumstantially indicate that academic dishonesty has occurred. Electronic means may be used to monitor student work for the inappropriate use of the work of others.