EPE enforces the following Purdue University
guidelines for Academic Integrity:
"Academic Integrity: A Guide for Students"
Written by: Stephen Akers, Ph.D.
Executive Associate Dean of Students
1995, Revised 1999, 2003
Published by the Office of the Dean of Students
In cooperation with Purdue Student Government
Schleman Hall of Student Services, Room 207
475 Stadium Mall Drive
West Lafayette, IN 47907-2050
Telephone: 765-494-1747
Purdue University values intellectual integrity and
the highest standards of academic conduct. To be prepared
to meet societal needs as leaders and role models, students
must be educated in an ethical learning environment
that promotes a high standard of honor in scholastic
work. Academic dishonesty undermines institutional integrity
and threatens the academic fabric of Purdue University.
Dishonesty is not an acceptable avenue to success. It
diminishes the quality of a Purdue education, which
is valued because of Purdue's high academic standards.
Fostering an appreciation for academic standards and
values is a shared responsibility among students, faculty,
and staff. The information in this brochure is directed
to students to define academic dishonesty and how to
avoid it.
DEFINITION OF ACADEMIC DISHONESTY
Purdue prohibits "dishonesty in connection with
any University activity. Cheating, plagiarism, or knowingly
furnishing false information to the University are examples
of dishonesty." [University
Regulations, Part 5, Section III, B, 2, a] Furthermore,
the University Senate has stipulated that "the
commitment of the acts of cheating, lying, and deceit
in any of their diverse forms (such as the use of substitutes
for taking examinations, the use of illegal cribs, plagiarism,
and copying during examinations) is dishonest and must
not be tolerated. Moreover, knowingly to aid and abet,
directly or indirectly, other parties in committing
dishonest acts is in itself dishonest." [University
Senate Document 72-18, December 15, 1972]
More specifically, the following are a few examples
of academic dishonesty which have been discovered at
Purdue University:
• substituting on an exam for another student
• substituting in a course for another student
• paying someone else to write a paper and submitting
it as one's own work
• giving or receiving answers by use of signals during
an exam
• copying with or without the other person's knowledge
during an exam
• doing class assignments for someone else
• plagiarizing published material, class assignments,
or lab reports
• turning in a paper that has been purchased from a
commercial research firm or obtained from the internet
• padding items of a bibliography
• obtaining an unauthorized copy of a test in advance
of its scheduled administration
• using unauthorized notes during an exam
• collaborating with other students on assignments when
it is not allowed
• obtaining a test from the exam site, completing and
submitting it later
• altering answers on a scored test and submitting it
for a regrade
• accessing and altering grade records
• stealing class assignments from other students and
submitting them as one's own
• fabricating data
• destroying or stealing the work of other students
Plagiarism is a special kind of academic dishonesty
in which one person steals another person's ideas or
words and falsely presents them as the plagiarists’
own product.
This is most likely to occur in the following ways:
• using the exact language of someone else without the
use of quotation marks and without giving proper credit
to the author
• presenting the sequence of ideas or arranging the
material of someone else even though such is expressed
in one's own words, without giving appropriate acknowledgment
• submitting a document written by someone else but
representing it as one's own
BASIC TIPS ON AVOIDING CLAIMS OF DISHONESTY
Careful attention to your own academic duties is the
best way to avoid allegations of academic dishonesty.
If you are asked to do something that you feel is wrong
or unethical, it probably is. Aiding someone in committing
an academically dishonest act is just as serious as
receiving the aid. Review course syllabi and make sure
you understand your instructors' expectations and responses
regarding academic dishonesty. The following tips may
help you avoid problems:
• Do not look around, particularly in the direction
of other students' papers, during an exam since it may
appear you are trying to copy from others.
• When taking an exam, shield your answer sheet. If
you feel someone is trying to copy from you, ask the
proctor if you may move. This will alert the proctor
to a potential problem and help remove suspicion from
you as aiding the other student if a claim of cheating
arises.
• If you are allowed to take materials into a testing
site, make sure no notes or materials are exposed or
accessible that could cause one to believe you are using
unauthorized aids (cribs).
• Should there be any doubt, clarify with your instructor
how much collaboration, if any, is permitted or expected
when working on projects or assignments with other students.
• Know that it is risky to electronically copy or transmit
a computer program or file to other students. You could
be implicated in a cheating incident if others alter
that program and submit it as their own work.
• Protect your computer log-in identifications and passwords.
Other students could use them to access your work and
subsequently implicate you in a cheating case.
• Since it is impossible to write everything with complete
originality, use quotation marks, footnotes, and parenthetical
textual notes to acknowledge other peoples' words or
ideas employed in your paper. Check with your instructor
for proper techniques for citations and attribution
if you have any doubts.
• Do not include sources in a bibliography or reference
list if you have not used the sources in the preparation
of your paper. To list unused sources is called padding
the bibliography.
• Do not acquire previous papers, lab reports, or assignments
used in a course with the intention of copying parts
or all of the material. Consult with your instructor
on how such materials may be used as general guides.
• Keep rough drafts and copies of papers submitted in
courses since other students may get access to your
work and attempt to claim it as their own.
• Do not leave copies of assignments in computer labs.
• Do not share your current or former assignments, projects,
papers, etc., with other students to use as guides for
their work. Such a practice could lead to claims of
collaboration if part or all of your work is lifted
by another student. Sometimes friendly assistance may
escalate into claims of blatant dishonesty.
• Check with your instructor before turning in a paper
or project you submitted in another course.
• Do not give your homework papers, projects, or other
assignments to other students to submit for you. They
may use parts of your work.
• When completing take-home exams, do not collaborate
with other persons unless approved by the instructor.
• Keep your student identification card in your possession
or secured. Never loan your identification to anyone.
• Do not make any marks on a graded exam if there is
any chance you may submit it for a regrade. Make all
notations on a separate paper.
WHAT TO DO IF YOU SUSPECT OR BECOME AWARE OF
CHEATING
Students who cheat gain an unfair advantage over honest
students. Although reporting suspected or observed cheating
may seem difficult, failure to do so hurts you as well
as Purdue. Observations or knowledge of academic dishonesty
should be reported immediately to course instructors.
Even if your observations are reported anonymously,
such information may encourage instructors to do further
investigation, detect patterns of cheating, or impose
effective preventive measures. If you are uncomfortable
speaking directly with an instructor, you are urged
to consult with staff in the Office of the Dean of Students
who will advise and assist you in addressing the problem.
CONSEQUENCES FOR ACADEMIC DISHONESTY
Before any formal action is taken against a student
who is suspected of committing academic dishonesty,
the instructor is encouraged to meet with the student
to discuss the facts surrounding the suspicions. If
the instructor concludes that the student is guilty
and can resolve the matter with the student through
punitive grading, the case may be considered closed.
Examples of punitive grading are giving a lower or failing
grade on the assignment, having the student repeat the
assignment and perhaps some additional assignment, or
assessing a lower or failing grade for the course. The
grade appeals system offers recourse to a student whose
grade has been reduced unfairly for alleged academic
dishonesty.
Additionally, instructors are encouraged to refer cases
to the Office of the Dean of Students for adjudication
and/or appropriate record keeping. The Office of the
Dean of Students will follow established procedures
as provided in Part
5, Section III, of University Regulations. If found
guilty, possible penalties include a warning, probation,
probated suspension, suspension, or expulsion.
Feel free to make a print of this brochure for yourself.
Copies of this brochure are available through the Office
of the Dean of Students at no cost, 765-494-1747.
For more information and the Purdue Code of Honor, see
http://www.purdue.edu/univregs/pages/stu_conduct/code_of_honor.html.
