Academic Integrity

All students are required to uphold the University's Academic Honor Code.

Some kinds of academic misconduct are obvious but others are not so clear. It is your responsibility to learn where the University draws the line between academic honesty and cheating.

Students are required to maintain the highest standards of academic integrity. The University has zero tolerance for academic misconduct.

Avoiding Pressures that Lead to Cheating

Getting good grades means a lot, and cheating can seem like a shortcut to success. Here are some of the common "reasons" students give for cheating.

Time Pressure

• "I got desperate when I realized the assignment was due tomorrow!"
• "I could not keep up with the work in this class!"
• "I had all these assignments coming due at the same time!"

If you feel time pressure, you may have to make more time in your schedule for study. Enjoying extra-curricular activities and time with your classmates is an important part of university life, but you need to balance this with the time you set aside to do your work.

Outside Pressure

• "I have to get good grades. My parents will never understand if I get a poor grade."
• "There are so many problems at home. I have to work to help my family."
• "A family member needs a lot of care and I have to help out."

Family and financial problems can interfere with learning, and such problems may seem to be out of your control. Seek help before you make things worse by cheating. The University has a student counseling service run by the Dean of Students' Office. With good advice and support, you can learn to handle your problems.

What is Academic Misconduct

Most of us have a good idea about what is meant by cheating, but there are some "grey areas".

Here are some examples of academic misconduct. This list is by no means exhaustive.

• Getting hold of examination or test questions without the instructor's permission, or giving other students questions without permission
• Giving or receiving unauthorized information or help to answer questions during examinations or tests
• Having someone else take a test or examination for you, or taking an examination or test for someone else
• Handing in assignments on which you received help from fellow students or others that went beyond what was approved by the instructor, or giving such help
• Making up facts or references and using them in assignments
• Using other people's work in an assignment and presenting it as your own

• Helping a fellow student to cheat

How to Avoid Plagiarism & Copying

It may not always be clear where honest work ends and cheating begins. You can probably tell the difference between studying with your classmates and copying someone else's work to turn in for an assignment. But working on assignments that will be assessed for marks may sometimes cross the line between what is proper and what is not.

When students collaborate on a project, all members of the team play a role in achieving the result, and their individual contribution can be documented. This is different from colluding with others to submit work that you pretend is your own to get marks you did not earn.

If you have any questions about whether group work is allowed, or how to submit it so that it is not considered cheating, ask your instructor.

Plagiarism

Plagiarism is presenting work which is not your own and originates from other sources as if it is your own, without appropriate attribution to the sources.

For example, if you make a copy of an assignment done by a classmate and submit it as your own, you are guilty of plagiarism. If you pay someone else to write a paper for you, or get a friend to do it for free, you are guilty of plagiarism. These cases are obviously a form of cheating, since the intent is clearly to pass off someone else's work as your own.

As long as you identify where the information came from, you are not trying to pass off the work as your own. To make use of information you gather without being guilty of plagiarism, you must make sure that the sources are properly referenced.

There are many ways to reference sources properly. Your instructors may provide guidelines. Some useful advice can be found at Writing Guides and Manuals.

The easy access provided by the Internet to vast amounts of information has made plagiarism easier. Remember that plagiarism is a kind of theft of someone else's work, and a kind of fraud when you pretend that the work is your own.

What Happens if You are Caught Cheating

Students who cheat are likely to be caught. This is a very serious matter.

The case will go first to your department. The department can

• Give a verbal warning or a written warning that will be held in your record until graduation
• Require you to take make-up test / examination
• Require you to resubmit work contributing to an award
• Impose a lower grade for a component of the course assessment or a lower grade for the course including a fail in the course
• Require you to take a period of mentoring or instruction to help you make better ethical choices in the future

In serious cases, your department may ask the School/AIS Dean to look at the case. The School can impose more severe sanctions – you may not be allowed to go on exchange, or get a scholarship, and a note may be made on your transcript. The most serious cases are referred to the Student Disciplinary Committee. The Student Disciplinary Committee can take away your eligibility for a degree; suspend you from the University, or simply dismiss you right away.

And that would be it. All your years of hard work in primary and secondary school, all that pressure to do well in the public exams … all thrown away.

The whole process is set out in the formal academic regulations - Regulations for Student Academic Integrity.

When a student is suspected of committing an act of academic misconduct, the case is firstly reported to the Head of the academic Department/Division responsible for the course.

The Head will review the case, and may impose appropriate disciplinary punishments including requiring the student to re-submit coursework, re-take examination and failing the course. Considering the seriousness and nature of each case, the department head may refer the case to the Dean of the School/AIS to look at the case. Tougher sanctions including making a note on the student’s transcript may be imposed. The note may be removed on graduation provided that the student does not commit more than one offense.

If a student is confirmed to have committed a second act of academic misconduct, or a serious case, the Dean responsible for the student’s program will review the case and impose appropriate sanctions, or even refer the case to the Student Disciplinary Committee for further review. The committee may impose disciplinary punishments as deemed appropriate, which may include some severe ones like cancellation of academic credits already earned, suspension/termination of studies, and ineligibility for honors for graduation.

Students found guilty of academic offenses may appeal to the Provost against the verdict or the penalty imposed by the Department Heads, the Dean of the Schools or AIS.

Likewise, students found to be guilty of academic offenses by the Student Disciplinary Committee may submit an appeal to the President against the verdict or the penalty imposed.

The appeal must be made in writing within 14 days of receiving the decision. The appeal should state the grounds for the appeal, and include any relevant evidence or documentation not submitted previously.

For full details of the procedures and punishments for academic misconduct, refer to the Regulations for Student Academic Integrity.