Maintaining Academic Integrity
The following information is provided as a guide to assist UTD students with a variety of Academic Integrity issues.
Daily Assignments and Homework
- Presume the assignment requires individual, independent work.
- Group or study-buddy work should be clearly identified on the course syllabus. If in doubt, ask!
- Turn your materials in on time and in the proper format (hardcopy, electronic, etc).
- Be certain to put your name or identifying number on your paper.
- Retain confirmation of document delivery if submitted electronically.
Essays and Significant Class Paper
- Begin your research as soon as the paper is assigned
- Make notes of your readings and properly identify the source of the information.
- Prepare several draft documents – Remember to give credit to source of the information.
- Ask the professor what style of citation they prefer (MLA, Chicago style, IEEE, APA, ACS, etc.)
- Use quotation marks and proper footnotes where applicable regardless of academic subject!
- Protect your work from others.
- Lock your computer if you step away.
- Avoid storing your information on someone else’s computer: (They may not be as trustworthy as you think.)
- Be certain to put your name or identifying number on your paper.
- Turn your paper in timely in the manner prescribed by your professor (hardcopy, electronic, etc.).
- Save your drafts and research notes until the paper has received a final grade.
Examinations
Be Prepared to:
- Leave all personal belongings at the front of the room – including cell phones (Turn them off or don’t bring them at all. Be respectful of your fellow students.)
- Present your UTD Comet Card for identification
- Remove your hat
- Keep your eyes on your own paper during the exam and protect your responses from inquisitive neighbors.
- Don’t even consider crib notes, writing on body parts or hand signals with classmates.
- Sharing exam information, questions or answers with other students is a form of academic dishonesty.
General Comments About Academic Dishonesty
- There is no generally accepted definition of academic dishonesty. However, there are elements of dishonesty that are readily identifiable:
- Cheating – intentionally using or attempting to use unauthorized materials, information, or study aids in any academic exercise (examples: crib notes, copying, unauthorized collaboration)
- Fabrication – intentional and unauthorized falsification or invention of any information or citation in an academic exercise (examples: making up sources for the bibliography of a paper or faking the results of a laboratory assignment)
- Plagiarism – deliberate adoption or reproduction of ideas or words or statements of another person as one’s own without acknowledgement (examples: turning in a paper written by another person or buying a paper from a commercial source and failing to properly attribute quotations within a paper)
- Facilitating Academic Dishonesty – intentionally or knowingly helping or attempting to help another engage in some form of academic dishonesty
- Misrepresentation – providing false information to an instructor concerning an academic exercise (examples: giving a false excuse for missing a test or deadline or falsely claiming to have submitted a paper)
- Failure to Contribute to a Collaborative Project – involves not doing one’s fair share
- Sabotage – actions that prevent others from completing their work (examples: disturbing a lab experiment, removing materials from a reserved reading file). 1
Selected Resources
An abundant supply of resources is available for students to consult. Whether it’s improving your writing style, combating a habit of copying text, learning to adequately express your personal opinions or thoughts, or just double-check you’ve given credit where credit is due there are readily accessible writing and study aids available. We’ve selected a few to recommend:
UTD Learning Resource Center
Wow. This is a great resource right here on campus. They can help with developing your writing skills and with mathematical stumbling blocks. Both the writing and math labs are located on the second floor of the McDermott Library (room 2.402). Check out their web site: www.utdallas.edu/dept/ugraddean/lrc.html or call them at 972-883-6707. They are sincerely interested in helping you overcome those weak areas that sometimes loom large and become major hurdles.
Your Professor
Yes, it’s true! Professors are frequently overlooked in the resource category. Don’t be bashful. Professors generally don’t bite students and would probably be glad to discuss with you concerns over a paper topic or computer program. Check to see when they have office hours and schedule an appointment with them. Doing this will assure you that you have their undivided attention. Just showing up at their doorstep may not be the best approach.
Internet Resources
Again, an abundance of information is available via Internet. Be judicious about information acquired on web sites. Just because it’s posted doesn’t mean it’s true or correct! Here are a few addresses that may prove useful:
- Research citations: www.plagiarism.org/research_site/e_citation.html
- UTD Judicial Affairs: www.utdallas.edu/judicialaffairs/UTDJudicialAffairs-Basicexamples.html
Did You Notice?
We’ve provided several resources that we think are pretty good. Did you notice we didn’t suggest you consult your roommate or best friend for assistance in completing academic exercises? We didn’t suggest doing a cut and paste job from the Internet on your lab or term paper either. Or, that you give a pleading classmate or your significant other a copy of your homework or computer program. No, it’s not oversight on our part. These are common examples of academic dishonesty. Doing your own work on each academic exercise facilitates intellectual growth and honors your commitment to academic success.
References
1. Whitley, Jr., Bernard E. and Keith-Spiegel, Patricia. Academic Dishonesty An Educator’s Guide, Mahwah, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates, 2002.
Updated: February 11, 2008
