Academic Integrity: Student Guide

Academic integrity is important because it builds trust between students and instructors, ensures that grades reflect genuine learning, and prepares you to act ethically in your future career and personal life.

How can you Avoid Academic Misconduct

There is a lot you can do to protect yourself from being accused of cheating, plagiarism or other forms of academic misconduct.

Know What Academic Misconduct Means

Academic misconduct is not just cheating on an exam or a paper. There are many other forms of academic misconduct, and it is easier than you may think to engage in an activity that could be considered misconduct. Please consult with your course instructor any time you have a question.

Know the Policies

Thoroughly read your course syllabus and talk to your instructor about course-specific policies or program-specific policies. Pay close attention to the following.

Group Work
  • Assume that all coursework is to be done individually or on your own unless you receive specific instructions about group work.
  • Sharing your work with other students or using someone else's work to complete your own assignments is cheating and may have significant consequences.
  • If someone in a group commits academic misconduct, the entire group could also be held responsible for it.
  • It is important to document clearly who contributes what parts to the joint project to understand what each group member is doing and how they acquire the material they provide.
Artificial Intelligence (AI)
  • Although using AI may be allowed in some courses or by some instructors, it is prohibited by others. Do not assume that the acceptable use of AI in one course applies to all others. Talk with your course instructor before you use AI for any course assignment.
  • Any use of AI software must be documented.
  • Any undocumented use of AI software constitutes academic dishonesty (plagiarism).
  • Individual instructors may not allow the use of AI software for individual assignments or the entire course. You should be aware of such requirements and follow your instructors' guidelines.
  • If no AI guidelines are provided, you should assume that the use of AI is not allowed.
  • You are fully responsible for the content of any assignment you submit, regardless of whether you used AI in any way. This includes cases when AI plagiarized another text or misrepresented sources.
Cite Your References
  • In any class where you are asked to cite research for a paper, presentation or other project, be sure to do so accurately and use quotation marks if you are quoting directly from the source text.
  • If you are unsure what counts as a paraphrase and what counts as a quote, contact the Writing Center for more help, or talk to your instructor.
Know Your Environment

Some forms of academic misconduct seem innocent enough at first, but can easily get you in trouble. For example:

  • A classmate may say, “I'm having trouble with this assignment. Can you email me what you've done so I can get an idea of how to start?” While sending your work may seem like a good-natured gesture on your part, the classmate may very easily put his or her name on your paper and submit it as his/her own.

Also, group chats can be very useful, especially when there are questions among the students about an upcoming assignment or exam. However, there are also times when participating in a group chat or messaging app can get you into trouble. For instance:

  • If a student shares prohibited material in a group chat (answers to an upcoming exam), all students in the group chat may likely experience the same consequences. In situations like this, remove yourself from the app or chat and consider approaching your course instructor.

Other Guidelines to Help You Avoid Academic Misconduct

Please speak to your professor about these points at the beginning of each semester. Avoid:

  • Abusing or misusing computer access or gaining unauthorized access to information in any academic exercise.
  • Cheating, which is defined as intentionally using or attempting to use unauthorized materials, information, notes, study aids, or other devices or materials in any academic exercise.
  • Helping another student commit an act of academic dishonesty, either intentionally or knowingly.
  • Fabrication, which involves making up data or results, and recording, reporting or submitting them.
  • Falsification, which includes manipulating research materials, equipment, or processes, or changing or omitting data or results such that the research is not accurately represented in the research record.
  • Forgery, which means creating a fictitious document or altering an existing document, with the intent to deceive or gain advantage.
  • Multiple submissions, which means submitting substantial portions of the same work (including oral reports) for credit more than once without authorization from the class instructor for which the student submits the work.
  • Plagiarism is the appropriation of another person’s ideas, processes, results, or words without giving appropriate credit.

If you are Reported for Academic Misconduct

If you receive an email stating your professor has filed a report against you, this means that you are suspected of academic misconduct (cheating, plagiarism, or something similar). First, you will meet with the instructor who completed the form. Then, you may be required to meet with other university personnel. You will receive more input along the way.

The Appeal Process

Review the Academic Misconduct Onesheet to learn more about the procedure and steps you can take, especially if you want to appeal the allegation. The full appeal process is described in University Procedure 13.99.99.R0.03 Undergraduate Academic Dishonesty.

Consequences of Academic Misconduct

There are consequences for academic misconduct offenses. The consequences depend on the type and severity of the accusation and whether this is your first offense. Consequences may include, but are not limited to the following:

  • You may be put on probation or suspension.
  • You may be asked to complete the assignment or a new assignment for full or partial credit.
  • You may receive a grade of zero on the assignment or exam in question.
  • You may receive a grade of F (fail) in the course in question.
  • You may be required to withdraw from the class in question.

Support for Success

The following services and offices are here to help you succeed so you can focus on your classes.

Navigate This Page