It is very important that students understand what academic integrity means in the college setting. First reading carefully through the full EWU Academic Integrity Policy and then reading through the information created by former EWU students can help current EWU students learn how to avoid violating the Academic Integrity Policy.

• Undergraduate Studies Office for information about:

  • Academic Integrity Policy (official EWU policy)

  • Academic Integrity procedural flow charts

  • Academic Integrity forms for students and faculty

• Office of Student Rights and Responsiblities

Understanding Academic Integrity

(Original material provided by EWU students Holly Pedit, Cal Ledbetter, Jessica Milstead, Jamie Osgoodby and Dory Diaz in conjunction with a senior capstone project, winter 2001. Layout by Holly Pedit. Information also adapted from two excellent resource sites "How Not to Plagiarize" by Margaret Procter, coordinator of Writing Support, University of Toronto, and Baylor College of Medicine.)

Academic Integrity? What is it?

ac·a·dem·ic
"Pertaining to school - especially to higher education"

in·teg·ri·ty
"Steadfast adherence to a strict moral or ethical code - see honesty"
(American Heritage Dictionary)

Success can be measured in many different ways. Graduating from college is an outstanding accomplishment. Graduating with a high GPA is even better. Most importantly, knowing that you did it with integrity is the best reward. Cheating will not elevate you to your fullest potential. Only you know how you achieved your goals. Being true to yourself is the highest form of success. Keep your character, integrity and values.

Why discuss Academic Integrity?

SUCCESS during and beyond your academic career depends on understanding it.

STUDENTS HAVE RIGHTS AND RESPONSIBILITIES. Students are responsible for understanding the Academic Integrity Policy. Ignorance of this policy does not excuse violations.

OUR GROWING GLOBAL ECONOMY AND WORKPLACE demands we agree upon what integrity means. Different cultures and even generations have their own interpretation of values, norms, character and integrity.

NEW TECHNOLOGIES are making it easy to cross the boundaries of what constitutes lying, cheating and plagiarism. With the clever tools available today, there are many developing ideas and questions about their ethical use.

THERE ARE LEGAL RAMIFICATIONS you may not be aware of and consequences that fall beyond the scope of Eastern's Academic Integrity Policy. For instance, plagiarism is against the law - a crime.

ORIGINAL RESEARCH can be hazy with ownership issues. It is important to know what has been done, lay out what you are doing and properly document your work and resources. 

What do YOU think of when you hear the phrase "Academic Dishonesty"?
If you think of cheating on a test, copying a paper and plagiarism, you are definitely right. But do you know what cheating and plagiarism really are? EWU professors are trained to follow through with the University's expectations of high levels of academic integrity among the student population. It is in your best interest as a student to know these regulations and deliver your true, honest work. You want to earn your diploma so that you know what is going on when you get a job.

Follow your chi

Chi is "energy." For a student, chi is important. Anything can drain your chi if you allow it. Yin and Yang is symbolic for sustaining balance in your life to avoid the exhaustion of chi or the loss of perspective that can decay personal integrity.

Do you know?

• How to take good class notes?
• Your permanent academic record can specify an academic integrity violation (XF)?
• You may not use the same paper or project in two classes without permission from the professors?
• Rescheduling an exam time using a false excuse may be a violation?
• What cheating and plagiarism really are?
• Which system of documentation your field of study uses?
• What the only exceptions to the plagiarism rules may be?
• That pictures, graphs or maps, drawings, designs, statistical data, computer programs - even icons must be cited - from books, web pages, video narration, other student papers, magazines or journals?

Things that could get you into trouble

Taking tests

• Copy from someone
• Allow someone to copy you
• Use unauthorized notes
• Have someone take an exam for you
• Allow and/or help someone to cheat
• Steal or alter any test material
• Reschedule an exam time using a false excuse
• Inform a fellow student, or are informed by one, of test information before taking the test
• Store and/or receive assisting information electronically without proper authorization, including unauthorized use of calculators and hand-held computers

Written and other assignments

• Allow and/or help someone cheat
• Steal or alter any material for the assignment
• Use or attempt to use a method that does not represent your true, honest work
• Misuse information that someone gave you while helping you, and try to pass it off as your own work
• Use the same paper or project in two classes without permission from the professors
• Bend the truth of research material to fit the assignment
• "Pad" cited works
• Plagiarize

Possible penalties

• Verbal or written reprimand
• Educational opportunity to learn from your experience
• Grade penalty in a specific academic exercise
• A semi-permanent 0.0 for a course, marked to specify academic integrity violation (XF)
• Suspension or expulsion

In a nutshell

"Academic honesty is the foundation of a fair and supportive learning
environment for all students." - EWU Student, Academic Integrity Policy

Excuses, excuses

• Not enough time to prepare
• Was not sure I knew the material
• Too much to do with my busy schedule
• Did not know what to prepare for
• It is easy or easier than studying
• Everyone does it
• No one cares, so why should I?
• "I didn't know" (or didn't think) this was considered cheating
• I may lose my financial aid if I do not get at least a ____ GPA
• My parents expect me to get straight A's

Time management

Get a good guide on time management and practice it religiously. If you need to learn how to manage time or how to effectively take notes, study for a test or write a paper, help is available on campus. There are also several websites that offer good advice for students wishing to make the best grades while still "having a life."

Test preparation

Many professors will tell you ahead of time what to expect on a test. Some will not. The best approach is to be prepared for anything. It is your responsibility as a student to study the material and to learn as much as possible in order to be prepared.

Good study habits

Good study skills are easily learned. There is help available on campus and online for developing the skills to help you succeed. You need to:

• Set aside enough time to study
• Know how to take good class notes
• Know how to study for an exam
• Retain what you read and hear
• Know how to do some research
• Know where to get information

Know the rules

While many instructors are vague about what they consider cheating, every EWU student must know and follow the University policy. It describes cheating in very broad terms and stipulates that cheating is not limited to these terms.

Seek support

Teachers, coaches, friends and relatives, even moms and dads, can be your best resources. Explain the time management, testing or studying problems that concern you. Seek outside assistance from them before you are inclined to cheat.

Tips for avoiding plagiarism

Quotes

• When you use someone else's words, always put them in quotation marks and cite the source within the body of the text as well as in the citation section.
• If you use a quote, you must use the exact words of the author or it is a misquote.
• Use quotations only when it is essential for the reader to know exactly what that particular person said word for word.

What To cite

• All information and ideas that are not general knowledge, that you obtained from someone else, must be cited even if you use your own words.
• It is plagiarism to use someone else's order of sentences and change a few words or the position of words in a sentence.

Things To avoid

• If you have your source of information in one hand and you are writing your report with the other, there is good occasion for you to plagiarize.
• Don't hand in someone else's paper as your own.

Documentation

• Become comfortable with one system of documentation. Pick the one most common in your intended field of study. (Example: psychology uses APA, English uses MLA.)
• When taking notes from any source, copy all necessary bibliographic information.
• It is handy to know some of the most common bibliographic entry forms.
• Don't pad your reference list. Citations are a courtesy to the reader that allows continuation of the research you have done.

Think for yourself

• Read your sources of information, synthesize the material in your head, and then write what you know using your own words and phrases.
• Admit that you don't write as professionally as the source you are reading. And don't worry about having to use technical words.
• Have your ideas control the paper. It's safer to think and have the research relate to your original ideas.
• Start on your assignment early and work out your own questions, purposes, points of view and explanations.

Plagiarism

Plagiarism is the presentation or submission of the work of another, without citation or credits, as your own work. It is a criminal act - whether intentional or by accident. There are many ways to commit plagiarism unknowingly. It is defined in rather broad and vague terms, lending itself to many interpretations. As a student, you are responsible for knowing what plagiarism is, how to avoid it and how to properly cite sources within your field.

Golden rules

All outside information must be acknowledged, including:

• Direct quotations (copying some or all of the words from a book, web page, magazine or video narration, etc.).
• Indirect quotations (summaries or paraphrases you or someone else makes of an author's argument or evidence).
• Assertions, generalizations or statements that can be argued or facts that are not commonly known.
• Opinions, judgments or claims of others.
• Statistics, charts, tables, maps, pictures or graphs from any source, even the Web.
• Information or help given by other people.

The only exceptions to the rule may be:

• Common knowledge or widely known facts, ideas or dates (something that any high school graduate would know).
• Common proverbs or expressions ("A penny saved is a penny earned").

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