1. What is Academic Integrity?
Academic Integrity is the honest and responsible pursuit of scholarship. It forms the bedrock of our intellectual community. True scholarship requires that all students, faculty, and researchers hold themselves to the highest ethical standards.
Academic integrity is characterized by:
- Honesty: Completing exams, quizzes, and other academic assignments in a fair, truthful, and transparent manner.
- Accuracy: Presenting truthful and verified data, research information, and methodologies in all academic assignments.
- Respect for Intellectual Property: Avoiding plagiarism by properly incorporating, citing, and acknowledging all external sources.
- Autonomy: Completing independent work individually to truly demonstrate your mastery of the subject matter.
2. Core Framework: Violations of Academic Integrity
In all academic work, students are expected to submit materials that are entirely their own and must include attribution for any ideas, data, or language that belong to others. The following behaviors constitute major breaches of academic honesty:
A. Cheating
Cheating is the unauthorized use of information, materials, devices, or sources during an academic exercise.
- Copying a peer's answers on an exam, utilizing unauthorized "cheat sheets" or digital devices, obtaining or distributing exam materials prior to testing, or submitting someone else's completed work as your own.
- Giving or offering information to peers during an examination is also strictly prohibited.
B. Collusion
Collusion involves unauthorized collaboration with another person or persons when independent work is explicitly assigned.
- The Rule: While teamwork is a valuable skill, it is only permissible when your instructor specifically requires or allows it. If you are unsure whether collaboration is allowed or how to attribute shared work, you must consult your instructor before submitting the assignment.
C. Falsification, Fabrication, and Misrepresentation
Altering data or presenting completely fabricated information undermines the core values of empirical truth and scientific progress.
- Fabrication & Falsification: Inventing or altering data, laboratory results, research citations, or experimental outcomes if a study does not yield the expected results.
- Misrepresentation: Distorting your credentials, claiming a study proves an outcome that it does not, or intentionally leaving out inconvenient or contradictory data to skew research findings.
D. Plagiarism
Plagiarism occurs when you present another person's ideas, words, or creative works—intentionally or unintentionally—as your own. Likened to "intellectual theft," plagiarism violates professional and academic ethics by giving the false impression that you authored or conceived something that you actually borrowed. It is your responsibility as a student to credit the sources of all ideas, quotes, paraphrases, and data used in your work.
E. Self-Plagiarism (Duplicate Submission)
Submitting the same paper, report, project, or significant portion of an assignment for credit in more than one course without the express, prior written permission of both instructors is considered a violation of academic integrity.
3. Dedicated Responsible Use & AI Policy
The rise of Generative Artificial Intelligence (AI) tools (e.g., ChatGPT, Claude, QuillBot, Midjourney) offers powerful opportunities for learning, but also introduces significant risks to academic integrity. Our institution views AI as a tool to augment learning, not to replace the human critical thinking, writing, and analytical process.
The Institutional Three-Tier AI Framework
Because different disciplines and assignments require different pedagogical approaches, instructors will clearly categorize every assignment into one of the following three tiers:
🟥 Tier 1: Completely Prohibited (AI-Free Zone)
- Policy: No Generative AI tools may be used at any stage of the assignment process (including brainstorming, outlining, drafting, or editing).
- Reasoning: These assignments are designed to evaluate your fundamental skills, memory retention, or baseline critical thinking without external technical assistance.
- Violation: Any detected or proven use of AI in a Tier 1 assignment will be treated as an act of cheating/cheating utilities.
🟨 Tier 2: Assisted Use (AI as an Analytical/Editing Partner)
- Policy: AI tools may be used for specific preparatory or polishing stages—such as checking grammar, brainstorming high-level concepts, formatting citations, or analyzing datasets—but not for drafting the text or generating core ideas.
- Requirement: Students must include an AI Disclosure Statement at the end of their submission outlining which tool was used and how it assisted them (e.g., "ChatGPT was used to help structure the outline of Section 2; all writing and analysis are my own.").
🟩 Tier 3: Fully Integrated Use (AI-Empowered)
- Policy: Students are encouraged to use AI tools creatively and robustly to generate content, code, or media as part of the assignment parameters.
- Requirement: The AI tool must be treated as a co-creator and explicitly cited. Output generated by AI must be appropriately quoted or formatted according to the citation style required by the instructor (e.g., APA, MLA, or Chicago AI citation guidelines).
Essential Rules for Institutional AI Use
Regardless of the tier assigned, the following overarching principles apply across the entire campus:
- The Responsibility of Accuracy: AI tools are notorious for "hallucinating" (generating false facts, fake citations, and incorrect data). You are 100% responsible for the accuracy of everything you submit. Citing a fake source provided by an AI tool will be penalized as Fabrication and Falsification.
- AI-Generated Text Plagiarism: Passing off AI-generated sentences, paragraphs, or full essays as your own original writing—without disclosure or citation—is considered plagiarism.
- Data Privacy: Do not upload proprietary data, intellectual property belonging to instructors (such as exam prompts or lecture slides), or personally identifiable information into public AI models.
4. Best Practices: How to Prioritize Your Integrity
Maintaining academic integrity is a proactive choice. Protect your academic record by practicing the following habits:
- Start Early: Academic dishonesty often happens under the pressure of a looming deadline. Give yourself ample time to research, draft, and review your work.
- Take Meticulous Notes: When researching, clearly mark which notes are direct quotes, which are paraphrases, and which are your own thoughts. Record all URL and citation data immediately.
- Seek Authorized Support: If you are struggling, reach out to your professor, your teaching assistant (TA), the campus Writing Center, or a University Librarian. Utilizing institutional tutoring services is a sign of responsible scholarship; using unauthorized "homework help" websites or contract cheating services is a violation.
- When in Doubt, Ask and Disclose: If you are unsure whether a certain AI tool or peer collaboration is acceptable for an assignment, ask your instructor before you hit submit. Transparency is your greatest defense against allegations of dishonesty.
5. Violations and Sanctions
Failure to adhere to the policies outlined on this page compromises the academic standards of our institution and the value of your degree. Alleged violations will be investigated through the formal institutional disciplinary process.
Sanctions for academic dishonesty or unauthorized AI use may include, but are not limited to:
- A zero or failing grade on the specific assignment.
- A failing grade for the entire course.
- Academic probation.
- Suspension or permanent expulsion from the institution.
- A permanent notation of an academic integrity violation on your official academic transcript.
