Graduate Student Academic Integrity

Date Implemented: April 20, 2002
Date Revised: October 23, 2007

The University is a community of learning. Its effectiveness requires an environment of mutual trust and integrity. Academic dishonesty undermines this environment. In general, soliciting, receiving, or providing any unauthorized assistance in the completion of any work submitted toward academic credit is dishonest. To this purpose instructors have the discretion to ban student use or access to electronic or other devices. Plagiarism or failure to disclose original sources is dishonest, violates the mutual trust necessary between faculty and students, undermines the assessment of the University and its students, and takes unfair advantage of fellow students.

Failure to disclose knowledge of academic dishonesty is also academic dishonesty. Students are expected to call academic dishonesty to the attention of a faculty member or administrator.

Examples of academic dishonesty include, through electronic or any other means, copying from another person, copying from a book or class notes during a closed-book exam, submitting materials authored by or editorially revised by another person but presented as the student’s own work, copying a passage, text, or program code directly from a published source without appropriately citing or recognizing that source, taking a test or doing an assignment or other academic work for another student, tampering with another student’s work, securing or supplying in advance a copy of an examination without the knowledge or consent of the instructor, and colluding with another student or students to engage in an act of academic dishonesty.

Where there is indication of dishonesty, a faculty member or administrator has the responsibility to initiate investigations of violations in accordance with the due process specified by the school or college through which the course or research is offered. If an academic violation is determined to have occurred, recommendations of sanctions to be imposed must be made to the dean or director of the school, college or program in which the student is enrolled. Possible sanctions for a violation of academic integrity include, but are not limited to, grade reduction, failure of the course, disciplinary probation, suspension, or dismissal from the program.

Important Note: In the absence of a more stringent policy at the school or college level the University Graduate Academic Policies apply. Should a graduate program not have a specific policy or should there be omissions or gaps in the policy for a specific graduate school program, the University Graduate Policy shall govern.

The Graduate Academic Policies are the responsibility of the Graduate Curriculum Committee Convener. For additions or revisions contact gradcurriculum@stthomas.edu.