Philosophy and Definitions
Philosophy
Rather fail with honor than succeed by fraud.
--
Sophocles
Knowledge without integrity is dangerous and dreadful.
-- Samuel Johnson
It is better to deserve honors and not have them than to have them and not deserve them.
-- Mark Twain
The healthy functioning of the undergraduate learning community depends upon the five fundamental values of academic integrity: honesty, trust, respect, fairness, and responsibility (The Fundamental Values of Academic Integrity brochure, published by
The Center for Academic Integrity, Duke University, October 1999). These principles serve as the cornerstones of intellectual life in and out of the classroom at Furman. As an institution committed to excellence in higher education, as well as the development of personal responsibility, Furman expects all members of the community to uphold and comply with the highest standards of academic conduct. Violations of the ethical standards of the institution will have severe consequences.
As a student at Furman, you have a serious responsibility to uphold academic integrity:
- First and foremost, you must behave honorably in your own academic work. This means you must be aware of what constitutes academic misconduct (see below for some examples).
- If you are uncertain of what is permissible for a particular assignment, it is your responsibility to ask your instructor for clarification. If you have a doubt, ask!
- Read all materials available to you regarding academic integrity (including all links on the "Student Overview" portion of this web site). Ignorance of what constitutes academic misconduct is not an acceptable defense for violating the community standard.
- Commit yourself to promoting academic integrity among your peers. Set the standard for honesty and encourage others to do the same.
- If you suspect that a fellow student is cheating, notify the professor immediately.
Definitions
Below are some examples (not an exhaustive list) of academic misconduct. Remember to ask your course instructor to clarify what is permissible. Don't assume that what applies in one course automatically extends to another!
CHEATING
- Using unauthorized notes or study aids (such as test files), or information from another student or student's paper on an assignment or examination.
- Representing someone else's work as your own.
- Fabricating or falsifying data.
- Turning in the same assignment in two different classes without the express permission of the instructor.
- Turning in a new version of an assignment completely previously (in high school or college) without the express permission of the instructor.
PLAGIARISM
- Representing someone else's ideas, words, expressions, statements, pictures, graphs, organizational structure, etc., as your own without proper acknowledgment or citation. Please note that this applies to material drawn from any source, including the Internet. You should consult with your instructor about the proper citation format for Internet sources.
- Copying word for word from another source without proper attribution.
- Paraphrasing another's written ideas and presenting them as one's own.
UNACCEPTABLE COLLABORATION
- Submitting as one's own work the product of collaboration with another student or students.
- Working with other students on an assignment intended to be done individually.
FACILITATING MISCONDUCT
- Providing material or information (e.g., term papers, data, answers to questions, information about a test already taken) to another person, either deliberately or inadvertently, with the knowledge that these materials or information could be used improperly.
OTHER TYPES OF MISREPRESENTATION
- Falsifying one's attendance at a Cultural Life Program event (see The Helmsman, "Administrative Polices").
- Lying to a University official (instructor, administrator, staff member).
- Forging an official document.
Important Reference Documents