Academic Misconduct Policy

Preamble:

A Jayhawk does not lie, cheat, steal, or tolerate those who do.

The University of Kansas prohibits academic misconduct, and the faculty of the Department of Chemical & Petroleum Engineering in the KU School of Engineering are committed to investigating, prosecuting, and punishing academic misconduct when it occurs. This Guide is intended to help students better understand their obligations under University rules and avoid any misunderstandings about what constitutes academic misconduct.

Cheating

Definition:

Using or attempting to use unauthorized materials, information, notes, study aids or other devices or materials in any academic exercise. Unauthorized materials may include anything or anyone that gives a student assistance and has not been specifically approved in advance by the instructor or through these guidelines.

Examples of cheating:

  • During an examination, looking at another student's examination or using external aids (for example, books, notes, phones, un-authorized calculator use (for instance notes in the alphanumeric memory, computation programs or subroutines), conversation with others, or other electronic devices) unless specifically allowed in advance by the instructor.
  • Having others conduct research or prepare work that is presented as one’s own. This includes copying others work (whether the other party is willing or knowing; or not) and presenting it as one’s own; this is plagiarism[1].
  • Acquiring answers for any assigned work or examination from any unauthorized source; possibly copyrighted (federal law applies). This includes, but is not limited to, using the services of commercial term paper companies, purchasing or obtaining answer sets (solution keys, etc.) to homework, and obtaining information from students who have previously taken the examination. Possession of unauthorized solution keys, solution manuals, etc. in any form (electronic, physical copies, hand transcribed copies, partial copies thereof, etc.). Use of these materials constitutes one form of plagiarism (see more below). Many textbook solutions keys are separately copyrighted and the publisher has exclusive rights to decide who can or cannot obtained their copyrighted material.
  • Unauthorized collaboration with other students in the completion of assigned work. Some instructors will assign group/teamwork and will provide parameters. Some instructors will encourage group discussion of assignments (i.e. methodologies, solution methods), but require individual performance, i.e. learning of the work, calculating, etc. It is the responsibility of the student to seek clarification from their instructors.
  • Other similar acts.

Tips to Students on Avoiding a Cheating Violation

  • Do not consult others for assistance on an assignment without the instructor's prior approval or stated policy.
  • Do not use old notes or exams unless approved by the instructor, even if "everyone" is doing it.
  • Do your own work and be prepared for exams by studying.
  • Cheating is often a "desperation" act due to poor time management or lack of preparation. Do not wait until the last minute. It will always take longer to accomplish an assignment than you think it will, so plan accordingly.
  • If you are unsure whether an action might be considered cheating, discuss it with your instructor before you do it. Instructors will be appreciative of the student’s concern to learn better how to avoid misconduct and will not hold it against the student for asking.

Plagiarism

Definition:

The appropriation of another person's ideas, processes, results, data, work, or words (spoken or written) without giving appropriate credit.

Examples of plagiarism:

  • Intentionally, knowingly, or carelessly presenting the work of another as one’s own (i.e., without crediting the author or creator).
  • Failing to credit sources used in a work product in an attempt to pass off the work as one’s own.
  • Attempting to receive credit for work performed by another, including papers or work obtained in whole or in part from individuals or other sources.
  • Students are usually permitted to use the services of a tutor (paid or unpaid), a professional editor, or the University Writing Center to assist them in completing assigned work, unless the instructor explicitly prohibits such assistance. If the student uses such services, the resulting product must be the original work of the student. The service providers may not make significant intellectual contributions. Purchasing research reports, essays, lab reports, practice sets, or answers to assignments from any person or business is strictly prohibited. Sale of such materials is a violation of these rules and potentially State and/or Federal law.
  • Failing to cite the World Wide Web, databases and other electronic resources if they are utilized in any way as resource material in an academic exercise.
  • Failing to acknowledge the actual source from which cited information was obtained. For example, a student shall not take a quotation from a book review and then indicate that the quotation was obtained from the book itself.
  • Other similar acts.

General information pertaining to plagiarism:

  • Style Guides: Instructors are responsible for identifying any specific citation style/format requirement for the course to potentially avoid acts of plagiarism. Examples include, but are not limited to, American Psychological Association (APA) style and Modern Languages Association (MLA) style.
  • Direct Quotation: Every direct quotation must be identified by quotation marks or appropriate indentation and must be properly acknowledged in the text by citation or in a footnote or endnote.
  • Paraphrase: Prompt acknowledgment is required when material from another source is paraphrased or summarized, in whole or in part, in one's own words. To acknowledge a paraphrase properly, one might state: "To paraphrase Locke's comment..." and then conclude with a footnote or endnote identifying the exact reference.
  • Borrowed facts: Information gained in reading or research, which is not common knowledge, must be acknowledged.
  • Common knowledge: Common knowledge includes generally known facts such as the names of leaders of prominent nations, basic scientific laws, etc., basic historical information (e.g., George Washington was the first President of the United States.) Common knowledge does not require citation.
  • Works consulted: Materials that add only to a general understanding of a subject but whose ideas or concepts are not directly cited need not be footnoted or end-noted. Writers should be certain that they have not used specific information from a general source in preparing their work unless it has been appropriately cited. Some disciplines use footnotes, endnotes, and/or bibliographies which may allow consulting works be acknowledged. Writers should not include books, papers, or any other type of source in a bibliography, “works cited” list, or a “works consulted” list unless those materials were actually used in the research. The practice of citing unused works is sometimes referred to as “padding.
  • Footnotes, endnotes, and in-text citations: One footnote, endnote, or intext citation is usually enough to acknowledge indebtedness when a number of connected sentences are drawn from one source. When direct quotations are used, however, quotation marks must be inserted and acknowledgment made. Similarly, when a passage is paraphrased, acknowledgment is required.
  • Graphics, design products, and visual aids: All graphics, design products, and visual aids from another creator used in academic assignments must reference the source of the material.

Tips to Students for Avoiding a Plagiarism Violation

  • Trust in your own work. You are at the university to learn and your instructor does not expect you to write like the premier authority on a topic. The feedback in the form of grades, comments, etc. is part of the educational process.
  • It is usually acceptable to seek help with writing papers from the University Writing Center or other tutoring services. A good tutor will point out problems with your writing so you can revised the work. The tutor should not rewrite the work for you, develop an outline for you, or determine your point of view. If a tutor does such things and you turn the work in as your own, then this constitutes academic misconduct. If someone does try to rewrite sentences or sections of a paper for you, then they may have done the same for someone else and their rewrites may show up as plagiarism.
  • Understand what type of citation style you are supposed to be using.
  • Understand what Common Knowledge really is. Just because it is widely available, such as being on the internet, does not mean it is common knowledge. If you had to look it up, it probably is not common knowledge.
  • Keep good notes of what sources you are consulting and any information you are actually using from different sources. Software like One Note, RefWorks, or EndNote can help you manage citations. EndNote is currently free to students at KU.
  • If you have questions or are uncertain about your understanding of plagiarism and how to cite work correctly, talk to the instructor.

Complicity

Definition:

Intentionally or knowingly helping, or attempting to help, another to commit an act of academic misconduct.

Examples of complicity:

  • Knowingly allowing another to copy from one's paper during an examination or assignment.
  • Distributing test questions or substantive information about the test without the instructor’s permission.
  • Collaborating on academic work knowing that you will not be cited in the assignment.
  • Taking an examination or test or doing an assignment for another student.
  • Signing another's name on an academic exercise or attendance sheet.
  • Conspiring or agreeing with one or more persons to commit, or to attempt to commit, any act of academic misconduct.
  • Other similar acts.

Tips for Students on Avoiding a Complicity Violation

  • Do not show your assignments to others, just to be helpful or give them an idea of how to do it. Explain the general method, but it is up to them to actually do the work.
  • Never send the written work, computer file versions, pictures of written work, etc. of your assignments to friends or fellow students.
  • Do not share material from a class you took with a student currently taking it unless you know the instructor allows or encourages the use of old course materials.
  • Password protect your computers, accounts, and portable drives and do not give anyone else access.
  • Keep up with all printed or written copies of your drafts of assignments; do not leave them on shared community printers for extended periods of time.
  • Avoid sharing information about a test with someone in a different section of the course.
  • Do not agree to stand in for or sign someone's name in for attendance, even if they say they will just be a little late or be right back.
  • If you think someone may have cheated (or be planning to cheat) from help you gave them unintentionally, contact the person immediately to express your concerns; if the student does not address your concerns, contact the instructor immediately to discuss the issue. It is only academic misconduct for the person who unintentionally helped not to report the issue, not for the original help.
  • For “take-home” exams or individual-only assignments, you may have answered someone’s questions without initially knowing that the student was to do the assignment with no help from others. The student should report this to the instructor.
  • Students with authorized make-up exams or assignments may not consult others about what was on or not on the exam or assignment.
  • Students may not give any information about exams or assignments for which another student is receiving an authorized make-up. The student can neither confirm nor deny what is on the exam or assignment.

Fabrication/Falsification

(most common in Lab courses or undergraduate and graduate research)

Definition of Fabrication:

Making up data or results and recording or reporting them; submitting fabricated documents.

Definition of Falsification:

Manipulating research materials, equipment, or processes, or changing or omitting data or results such that the research is not accurately represented in the research record.

Examples:

  • The intentional invention and unauthorized alteration of any information or citation in any academic exercise.
  • Using "invented" information in any laboratory experiment, report of results or academic exercise. It would be improper, for example, to analyze one sample in an experiment and then "invent" data based on that single experiment for several more required analyses.
  • Changing information on tests, quizzes, examinations, reports, or any other material that has been graded and resubmitting it as original for the purpose of improving the grade on that material.
  • Providing a fabricated document to any University employee in order to obtain an excused absence or to satisfy a course requirement; altering an official document such as a transcript.
  • Changing the measurements in an experiment in a laboratory exercise so as to obtain results more closely conforming to theoretically expected or desired values.
  • Other similar acts.

These two areas are closely related in that one involves creation of information and the other involves manipulating it. The key is that one is misrepresenting information.

Tips to Students in Avoiding a Fabrication/Falsification Violation

  • Use data as it was created or provided. If the data contradicts your hypothesis or an experiment has failed and you know you do not have good data to use, talk to your instructor about your options.
  • Keep accurate notes on source material used in papers. Never just take a note after reading a given source, without also noting the source itself.
  • For classes that require a sign-in, talk to your instructor if you need to miss a class or leave after signing in for any reason (even if you think it will not be excused). If you have to leave a class midway through and do not feel you can interrupt the instructor, send the instructor an email or leave a voicemail message as soon as possible.
  • If the person providing a written note, such as doctors, has made an error on the date or conditions of the excused absence, contact them for a corrected note. Do not add to or "correct" information on the note.
  • Good statistical and/or error analysis often clarify data that may or may not fit your hypothesis.

Multiple Submissions

(most common in C&PE Lab and Design courses, elective and core courses that require semester project reports)

Definition:

Submitting substantial portions of the same work (including oral reports) for credit more than once without authorization from the instructor of the class for which the student submits the work.

Examples:

  • Submitting the same work for credit in more than one course without the instructor’s permission.
  • Making revisions in a paper or report (including oral presentations) that has been submitted in one class and submitting it for credit in another class without the instructor’s permission.
  • Representing group work done in one class as one’s own work for the purpose of using it in another class.
  • Other similar acts.

If the new paper will require a lot of additional work or learning of new material and skills, an instructor will sometimes approve you to use the earlier work. It is critical that you discuss this with the instructor before working on and especially before turning the assignment in.

Tips to Students for Avoiding a Multiple Submissions Violation

  • Choose different topics than you have written on in the past for papers or other class assignments.
  • If you have done a previous assignment on the topic, look at exploring it from a different perspective or emphasis.
  • Talk to the instructor about having explored the topic previously in another class, especially if there is a paper "on file" in SafeAssign (Blackboard), turnitin.com, etc. It may be that the instructor will encourage you to build on the research you have already done and be comfortable with you referencing the original paper.

Other Types of Misconduct

Classroom and Educational Experience Disruption

Students may not disturb the learning process for other students in the classroom, laboratory, etc. This may stem from talking while the instructor is talking, noises or disruption from electronic or other sources (books, newspapers, etc.); etc. This includes intentionally belligerent or disrespectful questions or comments made during class. In addition, threatening either physically or verbally (in writing) the instructor or fellow students inside or outside of class will also be construed as academic misconduct. This may also include threatening comments made on blog sites, social media, phone messages, email, letters, etc.

Abuse and Misuse of Access and Unauthorized Access

Students may not abuse or misuse computer access or gain unauthorized access to information in any academic exercise. “Hacking” is a form of academic misconduct.

Violation of Departmental or College Rules

Students may not violate any announced departmental, School, or University rules relating to academic matters.

Examples

  • Using someone's password or setting up an account with falsified personal data to get access to online test scores or answer keys.
  • Posing as a professor, instructor, TA, etc. to gain access to materials such as solution keys, etc.
  • Breaking in or using someone's keys (or door codes) without their permission to get into offices or cabinets for any reason including where exams or grades are kept.
  • Using data inappropriately, such as collecting or including identifiable information on participants when the results are supposed to be anonymous.

Tips for Students to Avoid Violations

  • Use ethical research conduct in all activities.
  • If you find that you have "accidental" access, such as a key working on multiple doors, bring it to the attention of someone in department administration.
  • Do not log in to a computer system using anyone else's password or access.

***

Policy Timeline and Notes:

  • “Violations & Sanctions” yet to be approved.
  • Revision Approved 1/15/2015
  • Modified 8/21/14 after consultation with KU Legal Counsel
  • “User Guide” Reviewed and Modified by suggestions from Associate General Counsel, Mike Leitch 8/19/14.
  • Unanimous Approval by Faculty 12/5/13 for implementation starting with Spring 2014 Semester
  • Initial Policy developed by ad hoc C&PE Ethics Committee Fall 2013
  • Members: Kyle Camarda (ex officio), Prajna Dhar, Jordan Hildebrand (Soph.), Anahita Khanlari (Grad. Student), Karen Nordheden, Nicole Rissky (Senior), Aaron Scurto, Jessica Swenson (Junior), Susan Williams

[1] NOTE: Portions of this Code are used in part or in whole BY PERMISSION from the Texas A&M University’s Honor Code and subsequent policies. Authorization of its use granted from the Aggie Honor System Office, Director Timothy Powers 9/12/13 (AMS personal communication).