ACADEMIC DISHONESTY
Policy Interpretation
The University's policy on academic dishonesty is clear. As in most universities, penalties can be as drastic
as automatic failure in a course or even expulsion from the university.
Although common sense and long tradition define what we mean by academic dishonesty, some
special situations that may arise in computer-based work need clarification. These guidelines
apply to all work in this course.
Three forms of academic dishonesty are: plagiarism, collaboration, and cheating.
- Cheating on examinations involves the consulting of any unauthorized material, the use of
any unauthorized devices, or any communication, oral or written, among students. Just
looking at another student's examination paper is cheating, even if nothing is copied from it.
- Plagiarism includes not only the unacknowledged use of published or other written sources,
but also turning in material prepared by friends, relatives, professional colleagues, other
students, or anyone else.
- Collaboration occurs when two or more students work on a project or assignment together
and then turn in results containing significant common material as if it were their individual
work. It's unethical for both of them, whether their individual contributions were 50-50 or
90-10.
Under appropriate circumstances, there's nothing wrong with:
- Consulting either reference material or experts.
- Basing your work on what you learn from such consultations.
- Studying in groups or having group discussions about course assignments.
The assignments and examinations you turn in, however, must always represent your own work.
If, in the course of consulting references or studying with others, you come across some material
that ideally fits the solution to an assignment, you may (and often should) incorporate it into
your work. If you do, however, you must:
- Clearly identify which parts of the assignment are not your original work and give proper
credit to the source, even if that source is a friend, a relative, or another student in this course.
- Include sufficient original explanations to convince me that you've thoroughly mastered the
material and understand exactly how it applies to the assignment.
These guidelines apply to both written material and to computer programs. If you have any
doubt, consult me before turning in the affected work.