Academic Integrity

Academic integrity is a basic guiding principle for all academic activity at the University, and all members of the community are expected to adhere to this principle. Consistent with this expectation, the University's Code of Conduct states that all students should act with personal integrity, respect the dignity, rights and property of others, and help create and maintain an environment in which all can succeed through their efforts.

Academic Integrity is the pursuit of scholarly activity in an open, honest, and responsible manner. It includes a commitment not to engage in, or tolerate, acts of falsification, misrepresentation, or deception. Such acts violate the fundamental ethical principles of the University community and compromise the efforts of others.

Academic Integrity is the pursuit of scholarly activity in an open, honest, and responsible manner. It includes a commitment not to engage in, or tolerate, acts of falsification, misrepresentation, or deception. Such acts violate the fundamental ethical principles of the University community and compromise the efforts of others.

The Penn State University Policy on Academic Integrity applies to all work turned in for grading. Unethical behavior will not be tolerated. The sanctions imposed for academic dishonesty may range from a reduced assignment grade to a failing course grade along with further disciplinary action by University officials.

Violations of Academic Integrity include (but are not limited to):

CHEATING OR COPYING ON A TEST: Using crib sheets; pre-programming a calculator; using notes or books during a closed book exam.  Looking at other unsuspecting students' exams and copying; copying in a complicit manner with another student; exchanging color coded exams for the purpose of copying; passing answers via notes; discussing answers in exam.

PLAGIARISM TAMPERING WITH WORK: Fabricating information and/or citations; copying from the Internet or submitting the work of others from professional journals, books, articles and papers; submitting other students' papers or lab results or project reports and representing the work as one's own; fabricating, in part or total, submissions and citing them falsely.

UNAUTHORIZED POSSESSION GHOSTING or MISREPRESENTATION: Buying or stealing exams; failing to return exams on file; selling exams; photocopying exams;  any possession of an exam without the faculty member's permission.  Having another student take a quiz, an exam, or perform an exercise or similar evaluation in one's place.

ACTS OF AIDING OR ABETTING ALTERING EXAMS: Facilitating academiclly dishonest acts by others; unauthorized collaboration of work; permitting another to copy from exam; writing a paper for another; inappropriately collaborating on home assignments or exams without permission or when prohibited. Changing incorrect answers and seeking favorable grade adjustments with instructor returns graded exam for in-class review and subsequently collects them, asserting that the instructor made a mistake in grading.  Other forms may include changing the letter and/or the numerical grade on a test.

SUBMITTING PREVIOUS WORK COMPUTER THEFT: Electronic theft of computer programs or other software, data, images, art, or text belonging to another.

For more information on Academic Integrity visit::

• The University Faculty Senate website, Policies for Students (in particular, see Academic Integrity - policy 49-20)
• The PSU Student Affairs website for Policies, Rules, and Discipline Procedure