Academic Dishonesty Policy
DATE: August 11, 2008
TO: Faculty, Staff, and Students
FROM: Andrew O. Brightman, Assistant Head
RE: Academic Dishonesty Policy
This memo is to put into writing the official school policy regarding cases of academic dishonesty. Specific definitions of Academic Dishonesty are available from the printed handbook of University Regulations or from the website of the Office of the Dean of Students (ODOS): http://www.purdue.edu/univregs/
The Weldon School adheres to all regulations and definitions of the University.
In general, the description of Academic Dishonesty from the regulations reads as follows:
“Dishonesty in connection with any University activity. Cheating, plagiarism, or knowingly furnishing false information to the University are examples of dishonesty. The commitment of the acts of cheating, lying, stealing, and deceit in any of their diverse forms (such as the use of ghost-written papers, the use of substitutes for taking examinations, the use of illegal cribs, plagiarism, and copying during examinations) is dishonest and must not be tolerated. Moreover, knowingly to aid and abet, directly or indirectly, other parties in committing dishonest acts is in itself dishonest. (University Senate Document 72-18, December 15, 1972).
Plagiarism
The Weldon School has a strict but incremental policy for identified cases of plagiarism. Currently, we make use of the anti-plagiarism software, Turnitin, as a deterrent and detection system for any written documents. Plagiarism is defined by the Purdue Online Writing Lab, http://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/resource/589/01/, as “the uncredited use (both intentional and unintentional) of somebody else's words or ideas.”
The following states examples of the incremental disciplinary actions that will be followed for academic dishonesty:
First case
Sophomore-level:
Action:
1. Student receives zero (0) points for the assignment and is asked to redo the assignment (for no points), at a level of C or better, or receive an automatic drop of one letter grade for the overall course.
2. Student is placed on “departmental probation” for the rest of the semester. Probation stipulations are the following: if any further evidence of plagiarism is detected in assignments the student automatically fails the course.
3. A copy of the letter will be placed in the student’s academic file.
Junior-level:
Action:
1. Student receives zero (0) points for the assignment and an automatic drop of one letter grade for the overall course.
2. Student is placed on “departmental probation” for the rest of the semester. Probation stipulations are the following: if any further evidence of plagiarism is detected in assignments the student automatically fails the course.
3. A copy of the letter will be placed in the student’s academic file.
Senior-level:
Such behavior is particularly disconcerting at this late stage in a student’s professional academic training. As clearly stated in the syllabus of the course, such unethical behavior may be grounds for failing the course.
Action:
1. Student receives zero (0) points for the assignment and an automatic drop of one letter grade for the overall course.
2. Student is placed on “departmental probation” for the rest of the semester. Probation stipulations are the following: if any further evidence of plagiarism is detected in assignments the student automatically fails the course.
3. The Office of the Dean of Students is alerted to this academic dishonesty and is provided with copies of all documentation regarding the case. A copy of the letter will be placed in the student’s academic file.
Second Case
All second cases will automatically fail the course in which the plagiarism is detected and the case will be reported to the Dean of Students for further disciplinary action at the University level. The school also reserves the right to implement other restriction on the student dependent on the nature of the case.
Graduate student level:
Any unethical behavior is completely unacceptable from a graduate student at this late stage in a student's professional academic training. As clearly stated in the syllabus of each courses, unethical behavior is grounds for failing the course.
Action:
1. For cases of plagiarism or any other unethical actions surrounding an assignment, a graduate student may receive zero (0) points for the assignment and an automatic drop of one letter grade for the overall course or failure of the course at the instructor's discretion.
2. The course instructor notifies the Assistant Head of the situation and the student will be placed on "departmental probation" for the rest of the semester. At that time the student will receive a letter that outlines the probation stipulations including the following: if any further evidence of plagiarism or any other unethical actions is detected in any future assignment the student automatically fails that course and is subject to removal from the graduate program pending decision of the Graduate Committee. A copy of this letter will be placed in the student's permanent academic file.
3. The Dean of the Graduate School is alerted to this academic dishonesty and is provided with copies of all documentation regarding the case.
This memo and examples of proper citation practices and improper (plagiarism) will be provided online for references by faculty and students. Course instructors are encouraged to include a reference to this memo in their course syllabi and may provide their own examples to students at the beginning of courses with written assignments. It is recommended that a statement such as the following be included in a course syllabus to clearly explain the policy on Academic Dishonesty.
Action to be taken in dishonesty cases involving graduate students and research practices is covered by Policy on Integrity in Research, which can be found at https://www.purdue.edu/policies/ethics/iiia2.html.
Academic Dishonesty
Discussing course material with your classmates can be a valuable means of enhancing what you (and they) learn, as well as being more fun. In this course we will encourage you to working in groups that will help you in acquiring, assimilating and presenting course materials. However, many of the graded assignments will be done outside of direct supervision and are meant to be individual work. Therefore, we want to make it clear what is permitted and what is not permitted in doing these assignment. We are trusting in your honor to follow these guidelines. IF we find evidence that any students have improperly collaborated on assignments, we will submit a report of academic dishonesty to the Assistant Head of the Weldon School and potentially to the University Dean of Students. For all reports, analysis, critiques, and portfolios which are assigned to individuals, you may discuss with one another the general approach to be used, but we expect that each individual will independently carry out the required assignment or exercise without assistance from another student. Cases of cheating or inappropriate collaboration will be referred to the Dean of Students office, and the students will receive an F for the course.
As a reminder about plagiarism from any sources; it is acceptable to use an idea or image form a publication or electronic source as long as you cite and reference it properly. If you take a block of text directly form publication, you must put it in quotation marks with a citation and reference. You should rarely have to do this. In general, you should restate and summarize the idea in your own words, and then cite and reference the source of this idea or experimental result. If you use an image that is no entirely your own, you must cite and reference its source. Even if you modify the image for your purpose the original image must be cited and the modification indicated.
For further direction on proper citation and usage please go to the Online Writing Lab website and read more: http://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/resource/589/01/
Please also read the University statement on Academic Integrity at: http://www.purdue.edu/odos/osrr/academic-integrity