Honesty, Cheating, Plagiarism and Forgery
Academic dishonesty is inconsistent with scholarship and the pursuit of knowledge and Christian character. Thus, Indiana Wesleyan University expects students to be honest in all academic work and with all university records. Incidents of cheating, plagiarism, falsification of any university documents, or any other dishonest action will be investigated and judged by the appropriate academic leader. It is the responsibility of each student to be aware of policies regulating academic conduct including definitions of academic dishonesty, the possible sanctions, and the appeals process.
Coursework
Students are expected to exhibit honesty in the classroom, in homework, and on quizzes and tests. Each instructor should define what constitutes honest work in a specific course. Any deviation from ordinary standards, such as the permitted use of notes for an examination or an “open book” test, should be stated clearly by the instructor.
Cheating is defined as the use or attempted use of unauthorized materials or receiving unauthorized assistance or communication during any academic exercise. Examples of cheating include:
- Submitting work for academic evaluation that is not the student’s own.
- Copying answers from another student during an examination.
- Using prepared notes or materials during an examination.
- Utilizing unauthorized applications during an examination.
- Permitting another student to copy one's work.
- Plagiarism – see below for definition
- Falsification.
- Other misrepresentations of academic achievement submitted for evaluation or a grade.
- The submission of papers or other work that one has submitted in a previous class or classes without appropriate citation and/or permission of the instructor.
- Facilitating the academic dishonesty of others. Examples include, but are not limited to, uploading work to a tutoring website or sharing work with friends, roommates, and classmates.
The Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association, (7th, 2020) indicates “Plagiarism is the act of presenting the words, ideas, or images of another as your own; it denies authors or creators of content the credit they are due, whether deliberate or unintentional, plagiarism violates ethical standards in scholarship” (p. 254). Students must not take credit for work that is not their own. Plagiarism is a moral, ethical, and legal offense.
Examples of plagiarism include:
- Copying another person's or program's actual words without the use of quotation marks, source citation, or footnotes.
- Presenting another person's or program's ideas or theories in your own words without citing the source.
- Failing to acknowledge contribution and collaboration from others or artificial intelligence (AI) programs.
- Using information that is not common knowledge without citing the source.
- Submitting downloaded papers or parts of papers, "cutting and pasting," or paraphrasing or copying information from Internet sources without proper acknowledgment of a source. This includes copying from artificial intelligence (AI) and predictive text programs.
- Submitting papers acquired or purchased from another individual or organization.
- Submitting an original paper or work completed for one course to meet the requirements for another course (self-plagiarism as per the 7th edition of the APA manual, p. 256).
Sanctions
Because the matter of cheating cumulatively leads to dismissal, faculty are required to report each case to the appropriate university administrators who in turn reports the case to the academic leader of the specific college/school. Evidence must be in hand before any action will be taken to confront and accuse a student of cheating.
Any student apprehended and charged with cheating, including plagiarism, during his or her college matriculation, shall receive the following discipline:
- First incident of cheating: no credit (i.e., no points given) in paper, assignment, or exam.
- Second incident of cheating: failure in the course involved.
- Third incident of cheating: dismissal from the university.
- Students in graduate programs or graduate courses are expected to understand clearly the nature of cheating and are subject to dismissal from the university for any egregious act of academic dishonesty or cheating, without the need to follow the steps listed above.
- Discovery of any dishonest action for students who have been awarded an IWU degree may result in rescinding of said degree without the need to follow the steps listed above.
A student who is not satisfied with the disciplinary action may follow the grievance and appeal policies of the appropriate academic unit.
University Records: Falsifying or forging any university record or using unauthorized access to any university system is considered a dishonest action and is subject to review and possible sanctions. Incidents of such will be investigated and judged by the appropriate academic leader. It is the responsibility of each student to be aware of policies regulating academic conduct including definitions of academic dishonesty, the possible sanctions, and the appeals process.
Falsification of Academic Records or University Documents: Falsification of academic records or documents includes but is not limited to altering any documents affecting academic records; forging signatures; or falsifying information of an official document such as a grade report, ID card, financial receipt, or any other official university letter or communication. This includes information downloaded (printed) from student information available via Web (online) services.
Unauthorized Access to Computerized Academic or Administrative Records or Systems: Unauthorized access to computerized academic or administrative records or systems means viewing or altering the university's computer records without authorization; copying or modifying the university's computer programs or systems without authorization; releasing or dispensing information gained through unauthorized access; or interfering with the use or availability of computer systems information.
Students who are found to have falsified university documents or participated in unauthorized access to computerized academic or administrative records or systems are subject to the following sanctions:
Sanctions:
- Dismissal from the university for a single incident.
- Discovery of any dishonest action for students who have been awarded an IWU degree may result in rescinding of said degree.
- The university may consider legal action for any individual found to have participated in these actions.
A student who is not satisfied with the disciplinary action may follow the grievance and appeal policies of the appropriate academic unit.
