Academic Integrity

Maintaining academic integrity is essential. Academic dishonesty violates the most fundamental values of an intellectual community and depreciates the achievement of the entire institution.

Any member of the NESA community who witnesses an act of academic dishonesty must report it to the appropriate faculty member or to the Academic Dean immediately.

Accordingly, NESA views an academic integrity violation as one of the most serious offenses that a student can commit. The following sections describe various types of academic dishonesty; the examples are intended to be illustrative rather than exhaustive.

Cheating

Intentionally using or attempting to use unauthorized materials, information or study aids in any assignment, exam or quiz.

Examples:

  • Unauthorized use of notes, text or other aids during an examination
  • Copying another student's exam, paper, case write-up, or homework
  • Hiding notes in an electronic device for use during an examination
  • Talking during an examination

Fabrication

Intentional and unauthorized falsification, misrepresentation, or invention of any information, data or citation in an academic exercise is known as fabrication.

Examples:

  • Falsifying the data for a written assignment
  • Altering the results of an experiment or survey
  • Listing a citation for a source not used
  • Stating an opinion as a scientifically proven fact

Multiple Submissions

This is submitting the same assignment for more than one course without the explicit permission of the instructor.

Examples:

  • Submitting the same paper or oral report for credit in two courses without the responsible instructor's permission
  • Making minor revisions in a paper or report for which credit has already been received and submitting it again as a new piece of work

Plagiarism

Plagiarism is representing the words or ideas of another as one's own in any academic exercise without providing proper documentation.

Examples:

  • Submitting as one's own work the work of a "ghost writer" or work obtained from a commercial writing service
  • Quoting directly or paraphrasing closely from a source without giving proper credit
  • Using figures, graphs, charts, or other such material without identifying the sources

The only exceptions to the requirement that sources be acknowledged occur when the information, and ideas are common knowledge. The following sources demand documentation:

  • Word for word quotation from a source, including another student's work;
  • Paraphrasing: using ideas of others in your own words;
  • Unusual or controversial facts - facts not apt to be found in many places; and
  • Interviews, radio, television programs and telephone conversations.

When in doubt, ask your instructor.

Unauthorized Collaboration

This refers to instances when two or more students, each claiming sole authorship, submit separate reports, papers or case studies which are substantially similar to one another. While several students may have the same source material (as in case write-ups); the analysis, interpretation, and reporting of data must be each individual student's work.

Participation in Academically Dishonest Activities

Examples:

  • Stealing an examination
  • Using a pre-written paper through a mail order or other service
  • Selling, loaning or otherwise distributing materials for the purpose of cheating plagiarism, or other academically dishonest acts.

Facilitating Academic Dishonesty

Intentionally or knowingly helping to violate any provisions of this policy will be seen as facilitating academic dishonesty.

Examples:

  • Inaccurately listing someone as co-author of a paper, case write-up or project who did not contribute
  • Sharing a take home examination; homework assignment, case write-up, or lab report with another without expressed permission from the instructor
  • Taking an examination or writing a paper for another student

Complicity

A student is responsible for complicity if he or she intentionally or knowingly helps or attempts to help another commit an act of academic dishonesty.

Examples:

  • Knowingly allowing another to copy from one's paper during an examination or test
  • Distributing test questions before the time scheduled for the test
  • Collaborating on academic projects when students are expected to work independently
  • Taking a test for another student;
  • Signing a false name on a piece of academic work.

Abuse of Institutional Resources

Abuse of institutional resources occurs when a student intentionally or knowingly destroys, steals, mutilates, or otherwise makes inaccessible library or other academic resource material that does not belong to him or her.

Examples:

  • Stealing, destroying, or mutilating library materials
  • Stealing or intentionally destroying another student's notes or laboratory data
  • Hiding resource materials so others may not use them
  • Destroying computer programs or files needed in others' academic work
  • Copying computer software in ways that violate the terms of the publisher's licensing agreement