Academic Integrity

Academic Integrity: Why is it so important?

    Perhaps more than any other institution in society, the system of higher education rests on a foundation of mutual trust, which, in turn, is based on the expectation that all participants in the system operate under the highest standards of professional and personal integrity.

    As students, you trust that your instructors will teach you what we honestly believe you need to know; that what we teach you is right, is the truth; that when we evaluate your work, assign grades to your papers and tests, we base those evaluations on our honest assessment of the quality of the work - not on any personal likes or dislikes, unstated or irrelevant standards.

    As faculty, we trust that you are here because you want to learn, that you are putting forth your best effort in all of your work, that the work you submit as your own is your own, and that you are not lying and cheating.

    But most important is the trust that the rest of society places in the University - and the need to protect and preserve that trust. Society trusts that when the University of Illinois confers a degree on a student, that degree means the University certifies that the individual has acquired the skills and knowledge required for a degree in a given field of study. In other words, Carle Foundation Hospital and Provena-Covenant Medical Center trust that when the University of Illinois College of Nursing or College of Medicine faculty awards a degree to one of you, you have acquired the knowledge and demonstrated the skills necessary to be trusted with the life of patients, to know proper procedures and protocols, to be able to solve problems quickly. The Urbana, Peoria, Rockford and Effingham school districts trust that when the University certifies you to teach, you have the knowledge and skills necessary to become a competent teacher to whom we can entrust the development of our children.

    If even one student obtains a degree from the University through academic dishonesty - through the use of cheating, plagiarism or lying - that single instance harms us all. It diminishes the trust that each of us has in one another - and diminishes the trust that society places in the University. In other words, the academic dishonesty of any one student at UIUC diminishes the value of your degree.

    For that reason, it is critical that all of us, not just faculty and administrators, but each of you as well, knows what constitutes academic dishonesty and that each of you does everything you can to ensure that you yourself and all of your colleagues adhere to the highest standards of academic integrity.

Academic Dishonesty: Definitions

  As discussed above, academic integrity is a preeminent value at this institution. Dishonesty is against university as well as community standards of ethical behavior. Academic dishonesty is defined as: plagiarism, cheating or otherwise obtaining grades under false pretenses. The following is a summary of the the UIUC code of conduct, pertaining to all students.

    Plagiarism is defined as submitting the language, ideas, thoughts or work of another as one's own. Examples of plagiarism include, but are not limited to:

• use of direct quotations without quotation marks and without credit to the source;
• paraphrasing or using direct quotations within quotation marks without credit to the source;
• failure to provide adequate citations for material obtained through electronic research;
• downloading and submitting work from electronic databases without citation;
• submitting material created/written by someone else as one's own, including purchased term/research papers;
• allowing someone to copy or submit one's work as his/her own;
• participation in a group project which presents plagiarized materials;
• submitting the same paper in more than one course without the knowledge and approval of the instructors involved;
• assisting in the act of plagiarism by allowing one's work to be used in this fashion;
• aiding and abetting another student's dishonesty.

    Cheating is defined generally as copying from someone else's exam, homework, or laboratory work. Types of cheating include, but are not limited to:

• using notes or other materials during a test or exam without authorization;
• obtaining or providing unauthorized information during an examination through verbal, visual or unauthorized use of books, notes, text and other materials;
• obtaining or providing information concerning all or part of an examination prior to that examination;
• taking an examination for another student, or arranging for another person to take an exam in one's place;
• altering or changing test answers after submittal for grading, or after grades have been awarded;
• fabricating or inventing information for use in an experiment or other academic endeavor without notice to or authorization from the instructor or examiner.

    Students unclear about the proper use and citation of sources, or the details and guidelines for any assignment, should discuss their questions with the instructor. For more details about plagiarism and cheating in an academic context, click here.

    Disciplinary procedures for infractions of academic integrity may include (in descending order of severity) any one or combination of the following: (1) suspending or dismissing the student from the University; (2) canceling the student's enrollment in the class without a grade; (3) filing a final grade of "F"; (4) awarding a failing grade on the test or assignment in question; (5) requiring the student to retake the test or resubmit the paper; (6) sending written notice of warning to the student with a copy to the student's permanent file and to the Senate Committee on Student Discipline.

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