Overview

At PSU we expect our faculty members, students, and administrative staff to:

1. Be aware of the importance of academic integrity and honesty
2. Adhere to intellectual honesty; to avoid the wrongful appropriation of someone else’s work, research, findings, thoughts, or ideas, and to conduct one’s own work in accordance with the highest ethical principles.
3. Maintain the highest level of academic integrity in all aspects of life at the university.
4. Be vigilant of and report any incidents of academic dishonesty, or perceived violations of any component of this Policy.

Purpose

The goal of the Academic Integrity Policy is to ensure that the highest ethical and professional standards of performance and conduct are adhered to, at all times, in PSU, so that the University maintains its high reputation for the fairness and equity of all of its students, and the quality assurance of its graduates.

Scope

This policy applies to the whole PSU Community (faculty, students, administrative staff).

Definitions

Academic integrity means conducting oneself with honesty and responsibility in study, scholarship, and all aspects of one’s education at university. Academic assignments and activities exist to help students learn; grades exist to show how fully this goal is attained; course credit is granted so that the student is prepared for further study in the program. Therefore, all work and all grades must result from the student's own understanding and effort, and the only operative consideration should be merit.

Policy

All faculty members, students, and administrative staff members are required to abide by the guidelines listed below in reference to the academic integrity practices expected at PSU.

Academic Integrity Violations

1. Assignment Misconduct

   This includes, but is not limited to, the submission of work that is to be marked, and for credit, that is :

   1. Taken from unauthorized sources (Wikipedia, Cliff Notes, Coles Summaries, etc.)
   2. Copied or paraphrased point-by-point from another student
   3. Previously or simultaneously submitted, in another course, for credit

2. Exam Misconduct

   This includes, but is not limited to, the act of :

   1. Copying, or even intentionally looking at, the work of another student
   2. Obtaining and using –or attempting to do so—unauthorized aids or information of any kind
   3. Speaking to another student, once the exam has officially begun

3. Falsification/Fabrication

   This includes, but is not limited to, the act of:

   1. Taking a test, major, or exam in place of another student
   2. Arranging for another student to take a test, major, or exam for the offending student.
   3. Presenting false or forged identification at a test, major, or exam

4. Plagiarism

   This occurs when one takes phrases, sentences, paragraphs, ideas, rhetorical organization, or identifiable ideas and insights from a published or unpublished source –book, article, website, etc., and uses these in one’s own work without providing specific credit to the source, as to where these components were taken from.
   In other words, one needs to distinguish between the writing and ideas that are one’s own, and the writing and work taken from somewhere else and used. There is nothing wrong with using the work of other writers, as long as credit is given to the sources –the places it was found. There is a need to do these 3 things:

   1. Acknowledge that it is not yours.
   2. Specify who actually wrote it, and where and how it appeared, and where you found it.
   3. Provide annotation/information that enables the teacher (or any other reader of your work) to look it up and see it in its original form –the form you used.

PSU Faculty Members are expected to implement the following:

1. Use educational and classroom strategies that encourage students to behave honestly; 2. Clarify to all students what academic integrity is, and what is considered a violation thereof, and to prepare and distribute a declaration to be signed by students, ensuring they have been apprised about academic integrity;
2. Give clear guidelines about appropriate academic behavior.
3. Use different types of assignments, testing, and educational mechanisms that reduce the incidence of academic dishonesty.
4. Set an example for their students by adhering to the highest principles of academic integrity.

The TLC:

1. Plan, organize, and conduct workshops and campaigns for faculty and students on academic integrity.
2. Provide advice to faculty members on ways to combat academic dishonesty.
3. Raise awareness of the consequences and penalties and sanctions for academic dishonesty.
4. Organize and conduct –in collaboration with the Research and Translation Center and the E-Learning Center—an annual antiplagiarism and anti-academic offense campaign, in order to raise students’ awareness of the seriousness of academic integrity.
5. Plan –in collaboration with the E-Learning Center—an online course on academic integrity, and on ways to avoid all aspects of academic dishonesty.

Students:

1. Follow the expectations set by their instructors, and the TLC, for academic integrity.
2. Continually ask their instructors for guidance and clarification of all matters related to academic offenses.
3. Protect their own work by not allowing it to be used or accessed by others.
4. Report all perceived instances of academic dishonesty to the relevant constituency.
5. Always adhere to principles of academic integrity.

Procedures for addressing violations of Academic Integrity:

PHASE 1

When the instructor, or student, or any member of the PSU community, believes that an act of academic dishonesty occurred, that person must do the following: Refer the incident to the department chair or unit leader. The department chair or unit leader will conduct a preliminary assessment of the allegation, and if warranted, schedule a departmental hearing. The hearing will include the department chair or unit leader, the plaintiff, and the accused.
Submit the proof of the alleged academic integrity violation to the department chair or unit leader. Proof can be (but is not limited to):

1. Turnitin originality report
2. Same work submitted under a different name
3. Other types of proof that would constitute any of the above-listed violations. Present the accused with the charge and evidence.

PHASE 2

When the Department is notified, there shall be a hearing scheduled no later than 2 weeks from the date of the reporting of the allegation.
If the Department Chair concludes that a proven violation of academic integrity has occurred, he or she shall:

1. Give an official written warning, to be placed in the student’s file
2. Recommend that the respective instructor assign a designation of “0” (zero) for that particular assignment
3. Require that the student completes an online course on academic integrity, and submit proof of its completion

FOR A SECOND OFFENSE

1. An automatic “F” in the course
2. Loss of scholarship benefits

FOR A THIRD OFFENSE

1. Suspension of the student for one semester, or,
2. Expulsion from the University