The Writing & Rhetoric Program aims to teach students principles of ethical citation in all first-year writing courses. Students will practice MLA style, primarily. Mistakes are a part of learning, but beyond a certain point students are expected to understand and practice documentation to prevent plagiarism. This means asking for help when unsure, and citing ALL outside ideas, information, and sources–both directly quoted and paraphrased or summarized in your own words– in an abundance of caution.

We take Academic Integrity seriously, and all students are asked to sign that they understand this and other policies on their portfolios early in the semester.

Our program policy on Academic Integrity, along with a chart on plagiarism (also linked here for easier viewing), and our campus definitions and procedures follow for your consideration.

 

Academic Integrity (Program Policy)

All plagiarism cases must be documented and reported in writing to the Associate Dean of Liberal Arts & Sciences and copied to the Chair of the English Department. The brief letter should include how the instructor will evaluate the original assignment, whether a revision will be required, and how the revised work will be evaluated. The letter should include to what extent the student’s grade for the assignment/course will be affected, depending on the severity of the case. 

 

Here are the many ways to plagiarize to various degrees:

We expect all members of our academic community who use Artificial Intelligence and ChatGPT in relation to any class-related thinking, writing, or revision to do so ethically and responsibly. This includes giving proper attribution, understanding the limitations of the technology, avoiding plagiarism and cheating by submitting work completed by AI as your own, and seeking guidance and approval from your instructors and our campus administration when necessary. Violation of this policy may result in academic disciplinary action. 

 

Academic Policies and Procedures for our Campus

Students are expected to maintain the highest standards of honesty in their college work. Cheating, forgery, and plagiarism are serious violations of academic integrity. Students found guilty of any violation of academic integrity are subject to disciplinary action, up to and including expulsion.

Ignorance of the academic integrity policies does not constitute a defense. It is the student’s responsibility to understand and to adhere to this policy.

What follows is slightly abbreviated. Here is the link where the full information can be found on our university website.

Definitions

Cheating is defined as giving or obtaining information by improper means when meeting any academic requirements. The reuse for academic credit of the same work in more than one course without knowledge or consent of the instructor(s) is a form of cheating and is a serious violation of academic integrity.

Forgery is defined as the alteration of college forms, documents, or records, or the signing of such forms or documents by someone other than the proper designee.

Plagiarism is the representation, intentional or unintentional, of someone else’s words, ideas, or images as one’s own. Since works are the property of an author or publisher, plagiarizing is a form of larceny punishable by fine. When using another person’s words in a paper, students must place them within quotation marks or clearly set them off in the text and give appropriate citation. When students use only the ideas and change the words, they must clearly identify the source of the ideas with appropriate citation. Plagiarism, whether intentional or unintentional, is a violation of the property rights of the author plagiarized and of the implied assurance by the students when they hand in work that it is their own.

Course-based integrity violations

For course-based integrity violations, faculty members are responsible for (i) compiling appropriate evidence materials (the course syllabus, assignment, and evidence of the academic integrity violation) and (ii) making the initial determination of the grade for the assignment and any additional academic penalty to be imposed based on the degree of severity of violation. In general, academic penalties include reprimand, failure on the individual assignment, resubmission of the assignment, additional work for the course, or a failing grade in the course.

The grade for the assignment and the academic penalty are generally within the faculty member’s decision-making purview. A penalty that includes potential failure for the course requires the review and approval of the divisional Dean.