Academic Integrity
Academic integrity is the pursuit of scholarly activity in an open, honest and responsible manner. Academic integrity is a basic guiding principle for all academic activity at the Pennsylvania State University, and all members of the University community are expected to act in accordance with this principle. Consistent with this expectation, the University's Code of conduct states that all students should act with personal integrity, respect other student's dignity, rights and property, and help create and maintain an environment in which all can succeed through the fruits of their efforts.
Academic integrity includes a commitment not to engage in or tolerate acts of falsification, misrepresentation or deception. Such acts of dishonesty violate the fundamental ethical principles of the University community and compromise the worth of work completed by others.
For the purposes of this policy, the following practices are examples of violations of academic integrity:
- Cheating: Using a crib sheet; preprogramming a calculator; using books or notes during a closed book exam, etc.
- Copying on a Test: Looking at another unsuspecting student's exam and copying; copying in a complicit manner with another student; exchanging color-coded exams for the purpose of copying; passing answers via notes; discussing answers in exam, etc.
- Plagiarism: The fabrication of information and citations; submitting others' work from professional journals, books articles papers, and the Internet; submission of other students' papers or lab results or project reports and representing the work as one's own; fabricating in part or total, submissions and citing them falsely, etc.
- Acts of Aiding or Abetting: Facilitating acts of academic dishonesty by others; unauthorized collaboration of work; permitting another to copy from one's exam; writing a paper for another; inappropriately collaborating on a home assignment or exam without permission or when prohibited, etc.
- Unauthorized Possession of examinations: stealing or supplying exams; failing to return exams on file; selling exams; photocopying exams; purchasing or buying exams; any possession of an exam without the custodian's permission, etc.
- Submitting Previous Work: Submitting a paper, case study, lab report or any assignment that had been submitted for credit in a prior or concurrent course without the knowledge and permission of the instructor.
- Tampering With Work: Changing one's own or another student's work product such as lab results, papers, or test answers; tampering with work either as a prank or to sabotage another's work.
- Ghosting: Taking a quiz, an exam, performing a laboratory exercise or similar evaluation in place of another; having another take a quiz, an exam, or perform an exercise or similar evaluation in place of oneself, etc.
- Altering Exams: Changing incorrect answers on graded exams or other forms of evaluation when they are passed back to students for in-class review; changing the letter and/or numerical grade on a test, etc.
- Computer Program Theft: Electronic theft of computer programs, data or text belonging to another, etc.
In addition to the above violation categories, there may be, for the purposes each course, other practices enumerated by the instructor in the syllabus that constitute, violations of academic integrity.
At the beginning of each course, it is the responsibility of the instructor to provide a statement clarifying the application of academic integrity criteria to that course, inconformity with University Faculty Senate Policy 49-20 .
A student caught committing any of these violations will be subject to a sanction ranging from a documented official warning to failure of the course. In extreme cases, or in the case of more than two previous violations, students may be subject to formal University disciplinary action.
A student has the right to contest an instructor's accusation and/or sanction and may seek a hearing before the College Academic Integrity Committee.
Faculty may only impose sanctions for academic dishonesty if a student is formally charged and the infraction recorded on the Abington College Academic Integrity Form. Contested sanctions will be conducted in accordance with College and University Policy.
The procedures to follow when academic dishonesty is suspected are listed in Academic Administrative Policies and Procedures G-9 at and cover the following:
- When academic dishonesty is suspected
- If the student accepts responsibility for the violation and the proposed academic sanction
- Procedure to follow if the student does not admit responsibility for an Academic Integrity Violation
- The disciplinary sanctions
- Schreyer Honors College Students
- Students Involved in other university related academic activities or programs
- Record Keeping
Abington College Academic Integrity Policy (accessible by Faculty/Staff only)
Academic Integrity Resources
Academic Integrity Form (PDF) (accessible by Faculty/Staff only)
Academic Integrity FAQ (accessible by Faculty/Staff only)
Precedent Guidelines for Imposing Academic Sanctions (PDF) (accessible by Faculty/Staff only)
In addition, as part of efforts to improve the climate for academic integrity, Penn State has licensed a tool from Turnitin.com that will help faculty prevent or detect plagiarism. Turnitin performs originality checks on submitted papers, checking the submission against four sources: (1) the Internet; (2) ProQuest, a database of full-text newspapers and magazine articles widely used by undergraduates; (3) a database of student papers submitted to Turnitin.com from other universities; and (4) papers submitted from Penn State. If a student's paper has strong similarities to materials in any of these four sources, the software indicates the sources. The system also affords faculty the flexibility of creating rough draft or revision assignments that are not compared against a student's previous submissions.
