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Statement on Academic Integrity

The academic community of Syracuse University and of the School of Information Studies requires the highest standards of professional ethics and personal integrity from all members of the community. Violations of these standards are violations of a mutual obligation characterized by trust, honesty, and personal honor. As a community, we commit ourselves to standards of academic conduct, impose sanctions against those who violate these standards and keep appropriate records of violations.

Definition of Academic Dishonesty

Academic dishonesty includes but is not limited to plagiarism, cheating on examinations, unauthorized collaboration, multiple submission of work, misuse of resources for teaching and learning, falsifying information, forgery, bribery, and any other acts that deceive others about one's academic work or record. Students who are new to the University must learn our standards of academic practice. Students who have questions about what constitutes academic integrity should consult this document, their faculty advisors, and instructors. Students should also be aware that standards for documentation and intellectual contribution may depend on the course content and method of teaching, and should consult instructors for guidance.

Below are some examples of academic dishonesty and general guidelines on how to avoid dishonesty.

 

  • Plagiarism. Plagiarism consists of presenting the intellectual or creative work of other people (words, ideas, opinions, data, images, flowcharts, computer programs, etc.) as one's own work. To avoid plagiarism, students must be careful to identify the source of all information used in producing academic work, including electronic resources such as documents found on the World Wide Web. All sources of information must be properly acknowledged in one's work.

    Students may use other people's intellectual or creative work to help develop their own ideas, images, and opinions. However, students' work should not simply repeat the ideas, images or opinions of other people. This process of developing one's own intellectual work, building on but going beyond the work of others, is an integral part of a University education.

    Bibliographic citation (e.g., footnoting) is the standard method of providing proper acknowledgement. Both paraphrases and direct quotations from another person's texts must be acknowledged. Any standard reference manual, such as the Chicago Manual of Style, may be followed for formatting these citations. Regardless of the reference manual used, all documentation must follow these rules:

     

    • all citations must be complete, unambiguous, and consistently formatted
    • citations to printed materials must include the page number(s) on which the quotation or paraphrase appeared
    • citations to a World Wide Web document must include both the uniform resource locator (URL) and the date on which the document was accessed
    • when students incorporate the exact words of a source into their papers, they must place quotation marks around the text to indicate that the text was taken directly from a source
    • a citation must be given each time a source is used in a paper; it is not acceptable to cite a source once in a paper and assume that it covers all instances of using the ideas or words from that source

     

    Students who have questions about which reference manuals to use or how to cite sources should consult their instructors.

     

  • Cheating on examinations. Students must not use notes, books, or other materials during examinations, unless permitted by the instructor. Students must not give or receive aid from other students during exams. Students who have taken a particular exam must not give information about that exam to other students who have not yet taken the exam.

     

  • Unauthorized collaboration. When the instructor does not specifically authorize collaboration, students must not collaborate on projects, computer programs, papers, or other assignments. If students wish to work together on a class assignment when collaboration has not been authorized as part of the course process, they must obtain the written authorization of their instructor to do so.

     

  • Submitting the same work for different courses. Any work submitted for a course must have been produced solely for that course, unless both instructors give written authorization for the multiple submission.

     

  • Bribery. Bribery consists of offering goods or services to instructors in an attempt to receive an unearned grade.

     

  • Damaging, stealing, or misusing resources for teaching and learning. This form of academic dishonesty includes misuse of computer resources, such as copyright violations or gaining access to other students' computer accounts. For a full description of misuse of computer resources, please see the Syracuse University Information Technology and Services Computing Use Policies, available in room 4-173 of the Center for Science and Technology. This form of academic dishonesty also includes stealing or mutilating any Syracuse University library materials.

     

  • Falsifying information. This form of dishonesty includes falsifying student records, such as forging signatures or other data on petitions, registration forms, and other documents used as part of a student's academic record, or falsifying the computer-generated version of such documents. Falsifying information also includes fabricating data used in research reports, false citation of sources, and other misrepresentation of information.

     

The School of Information Studies may impose sanctions for any act of academic dishonesty by any student who is enrolled in iSchool courses, as outlined below.

Policies and Procedures for Cases of Academic Dishonesty

In accordance with the Syracuse University Rules and Regulations, the School of Information Studies defines policies and procedures for dealing with academic dishonesty by all students, regardless of home college, who are enrolled in iSchool courses:

 

Syracuse University students shall exhibit honesty in all academic endeavors. Cheating in any form is not tolerated, nor is assisting another person to cheat. The submission of any work by a student is taken as a guarantee that the thoughts and expressions in it are the student's own except when properly credited to another. Violations of this principle include giving or receiving aid in an exam or where otherwise prohibited, fraud, plagiarism, the falsification or forgery of any record, or any other deceptive act in connection with academic work. Plagiarism is the representation of another's words, ideas, programs, formulae, opinions, or other products of work as one's own, either overtly or by failing to attribute them to their true source. Sanctions for violations will be imposed by the dean, faculty, or Student Standards Committee of the appropriate school or college. Documentation of such academic dishonesty may be included in an appropriate student file at the recommendation of the academic dean. (Syracuse University Rules and Regulations 1997-98, section 1.1).

 

All students, faculty, and staff who become aware of a violation of academic dishonesty in an undergraduate or graduate course should report the violation to the course instructor. The School of Information Studies may impose sanctions for any act of academic dishonesty by any student who is enrolled in iSchool courses.

School of Information Studies instructors have the right to respond to evidence of academic dishonesty by all students in the manner they deem appropriate, from discussing the violation with the student to imposing sanctions. Evidence of an act of academic dishonesty may include direct observation of dishonesty, such as seeing a student looking at another student's exam paper during an exam, or indirect evidence, such as an abrupt and unexplained change in the quality of a student's writing or writing style.

Sanctions imposed by instructors include but are not limited to the following:

 

  • requiring students to re-produce work under the supervision of a proctor
  • rejecting the student work that was dishonestly created, and giving the student a zero or failing grade for that work
  • lowering the course grade
  • giving a failing grade in the course

 

In addition to sanctions imposed directly by the instructor, the school's Judicial Board may impose sanctions on students matriculated in the School of Information Studies. If the student involved is not matriculated in the School of Information Studies, documentation of the instance of academic dishonesty will be forwarded to the Dean's Office of the student's home college, with a request for resolution by the home college Judicial Board.

School sanctions include the following:

 

  • formal reprimand and warning
  • disciplinary probation
  • administrative withdrawal from the course
  • suspension from the University
  • expulsion from the University.

 

Instructors who take any of the above actions must notify the student promptly and indicate any formal or informal hearing procedures available. If school sanctions are to be considered, instructors must report the event and its circumstance, in writing, to the associate dean. A copy of the report must be sent to the student.

Some forms of academic dishonesty occur outside the context of coursework submitted to instructors. Such academic dishonesty might include, for instance, misuse of resources for teaching and learning or falsification of student records. Faculty, staff, and students who become aware of such instance of academic dishonesty should report the instance, in writing, to the associate dean.

School sanctions for these instances include:

  •  formal reprimand and warning
  • disciplinary probation
  • administrative withdrawal from the course
  • suspension from the University
  • expulsion from the University.

If the student involved is not matriculated in the School of Information Studies, documentation of the instance of academic dishonesty will be forwarded to the dean's office of the student's home college, with a request for resolution.

Students accused of academic dishonesty have the right to challenge accusations. For more information, students should consult the School of Information Studies Student Academic Dishonesty Policy and Procedures, also available in the Undergraduate and Graduate Support Offices.