The Honor Code
The Honor Code
The university expects both faculty and students to respect and follow the Honor Code. For students, this means that all academic work will be done by the individual to whom it's assigned, without unauthorized aid of any kind.
The Texas State University Policy and Procedure Statement UPPS No. 07.10.01, Honor Code, for academic integrity establishes the following:
- Instructor responsibilities
- Student Responsibilities
- Procedures for cases of academic misconduct (including rules about hearings and appeals)
It is the student's responsibility to be aware of the policy on academic misconduct. Students are strongly encouraged to communicate with their respective instructors if there is a question of whether or not a study practice, activity, or any other student behavior falls under the umbrella of academic misconduct. Do not put yourself in an untenable position because of your failure to receive approval from your respective instructors regarding student academic activity.
Violating the Honor Code
"Violation of the Honor Code" includes, but is not limited to, cheating on an examination or other academic work, plagiarism, collusion, and the abuse of resource materials.
Violating the Honor Code includes, but is not limited to:
Cheating
Cheating includes engaging or attempting to engage in any of the following activities:
- copying from another student’s test, paper, report, computer files, data listings, computer screens, programs, or from any electronic devices or equipment;
- using, during a test or assignment, printed, audio, or electronic materials not authorized by the person giving the test or assignment;
- without authorization, using, buying, selling, stealing, transporting, soliciting, copying, or possessing - in whole or in part - the contents of an un-administered test or other academic products (e.g., study guides, solution manuals, etc.);
- substituting for another student or permitting another person to substitute for oneself in taking an examination or preparing academic work;
- bribing or coercing another person to obtain an un-administered test or obtain information about an un-administered test or other academic products;
- purchasing or otherwise acquiring and submitting as one’s own work any research paper or other assignment prepared by another individual or by a firm. This section does not apply to the word-processing of the rough or final versions of an assignment by a professional service;
- submitting the same essay, thesis, report, or other project, without substantial revision or expansion of the work, in an attempt to obtain credit for work submitted in another course;
- seeking, receiving, or giving aid during examinations through electronic means (e.g., cell phone, email, text messaging, preprogrammed calculator, smartwatch); or
- using unauthorized materials or information from others for a take-home exam. It is expected that students do independent work for exams whether they are take-home or in-class. Students are expected to comply with the guidelines set by the instructor.
Collaboration and Collusion
Collaboration and Collusion includes the unauthorized collaboration with another person in preparing any work offered for credit. Examples include:
- collaborating, without authorization, with another person during an examination or in preparing academic work. In some instances, instructors may indicate permitted forms of collaboration with other students. If the instructor does not indicate that collaboration is permitted, it should be understood that none is permitted. Students are encouraged to seek clarification from their instructors regarding the acceptable parameters for collaboration should they be in doubt regarding assignments that require group work. Instructors are encouraged to make their policy regarding collaboration explicit both orally to the class and in writing with each assignment. Acknowledgment of collaboration is required when presenting authorship of student work.
Plagiarism
Plagiarism includes the appropriation of another’s work and the inadequately or inappropriately acknowledged incorporation of that work in one’s own written, oral, visual, or original performative work that is offered for credit. Examples include:
- submitting an assignment that was written during a prior semester or submitting the same assignment for more than one class simultaneously to include resubmitting substantial portions of previously written work for a current assignment, unless instructors in multiples courses are informed of and approve of the submission. Students should consult with their instructors if unsure of what work of their own they may use in preparing an assignment;
- copying from another student’s paper partially or entirely or from any source without proper citation such as a book, article, notebook, video, or other source material, whether published or unpublished;
- inserting a passage from the internet or any computer source into one’s paper without proper citation;
- appropriating another person’s computer programming work for submission as an assignment;
- failing to attribute material that comes from other media sources or failing to obtain proper permission for the use of such material when creating a web page, film, or musical composition as a course assignment;
- any other appropriation of another’s an intellectual property without proper attribution; or
- citing sources improperly, which includes failure to use quotation marks or other appropriate notation for direct quotes or for an author’s distinctive phrases, and following an author’s structure of writing and ideas, but rephrasing the sentences partially to give the impression that the whole passage reflects the student’s structure and ideas.
Fabrication
Fabrication includes intentional and unauthorized falsification or invention of any information or citation in an academic exercise. Examples include:
- furnishing false information or falsifying or distorting data;
- forging a signature to certify completion of an assignment or falsifying attendance records to fabricate proof of attendance;
- collaborating with another student to falsify attendance records to fabricate proof of attendance;
- fabricating data in support of laboratory or field work;
- intentionally misrepresenting one’s academic accomplishments; or
- fabricating or falsifying a bibliography.
Facilitating Academic Dishonesty
Facilitating Academic Dishonesty includes intentionally or knowingly helping or attempting to help another to violate any provision of this policy. Examples include:
- providing to other students one’s own work or that of others with the reasonable expectation that these will be used for the purpose of cheating or plagiarism. This includes not taking reasonable precautions to protect their own work;
- maintaining a file of exams or papers with the reasonable expectation that these will be used for the purpose of cheating or plagiarism;
- engaging in theft of other students’ notes, papers, homework, or textbooks for academic gain;
- using or manipulating any electronic means to assist another or self without authorization; or
- engaging in copyright infringements.