Tips for Academic Integrity and Scholastic Dishonesty

“Academic Integrity is a commitment to fundamental values: honesty, trust, fairness, respect, and responsibility. From these values flow principles of behavior that enable academic communities to translate ideals into action.” Specifically these values are defined as follows:

• Honesty: advances the quest for truth and knowledge by requiring intellectual and personal honesty in learning, teaching, research, and service.
• Trust: fosters a climate of mutual trust, encourages the free exchange of ideas, and enables all to reach their highest potential.
• Fairness: establishes clear standards, practices, and procedures and expects fairness in the interaction of students, faculty, and administrators.
• Respect: recognizes the participatory nature of the learning process and honors and respects a wide range of opinions and ideas.
• Responsibility: upholds personal responsibility and depends upon action in the face of wrongdoing.

(The International Center for Academic Integrity, 2014, p. 4)

Academic integrity is highly valued and seriously regarded at The University of Texas at El Paso. More specifically, students are expected to maintain absolute integrity and a high standard of individual honor in academic work undertaken at the University. At a minimum, you should complete any assignments, exams, and other scholastic endeavors with the utmost honesty.

• Acknowledge the contributions of other sources to your scholastic efforts;
• Complete your assignments independently unless expressly authorized to seek or obtain assistance in preparing them;
• Follow instructions for assignments and exams, and observe the standards of your academic discipline; and
• Beware of class group chats – do not exchange exams, homework, or quizzes.

A. Any student who commits an act of academic dishonesty is subject to discipline. Academic dishonesty includes but is not limited to cheating, plagiarism, collusion, the submission for credit of any work or materials that are attributable in whole or in part to another person without giving sufficient credit, taking an examination for another person, or any act designed to give unfair advantage to a student or the attempt to commit such acts.

A. Definitions for examples of Academic Dishonesty that are commonly found on college campuses can be found here.

A, The following are resources that students can use to stay academically honest:

1. Avoiding Plagiarism (PDF)
2. Deterring Academic Dishonesty Student Resource (PDF)