The Esntial Guide to Academic Integrity
at Cornell
Office of the Vice Provost for Undergraduate Education
August 2014
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Table of Contents
Letter to New Students (2)
Code of Academic Integrity (4)
Acknowledging the Work of Others (16)
Dealing with Online Sources (24)
Working Collaboratively (29)
Cornell Online Resources (30)
What’s the Matter with Cheating? ......................................back cover How to Avoid Cheating .....................................................back cover
For an electronic version of this document plea ll.edu/AcademicIntegrityPamphlet.pdf
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The Esntial Guide to Academic Integrity
LETTER TO NEW STUDENTS
Dear New Students,
Welcome to Cornell University. We anticipate that your studies here will be both stimulating and rewarding. Before beginning your class, however, it is crucial to understand Cornell’s requirements for academic integrity. Many first-year students do not appreciate that academic integrity is more rigorous and complicated in college than in high school, and frequently students are not prepared to meet the new academic integrity standards.
T o help you learn Cornell’s requirements and key concepts of academic integrity, we have prepared this booklet for you. The first document in
the booklet is Cornell’s Code of Academic Integrity. All Cornell students
are responsible for reading the Code and understanding and abiding by it. The Code is broad; in regard to your cour assignments, it encompass the work of all our academic disciplines and ways of learning, whether it be taking an exam, writing a paper, working with data, working in a lab, designing in a studio, or collaborating on a group project.
The cond document, Acknowledging the Work of Others, discuss plagia-rism, the u or adaptation of another person’s words or ideas without acknowledgement. Plagiarism is the most common form of academic integ-rity violation at Cornell.
The third piece, Dealing with Online Sources, walks you through a writing assignment and helps you avoid the perils of using online sources.
The fourth and very short piece, Working Collaboratively, helps you think about the special academic integrity issues associated with group work.
T owards the end of the booklet, you will find a list of helpful online sources.
Finally, at the back of the booklet, you will find strategies to avoid cheating and some of the pitfalls of cheating. The perspectives come from Cornell students, faculty, and alumni who shared their views in the film Cheating shown during New Student Orientation.
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The Esntial Guide to Academic Integrity We recommend that you cloly read all the materials before you start class and reread them as necessary when you begin work on class assign-ments. Academic integrity violations are easily avoidable if you understand the concepts and expectations. If you are uncertain of the concepts in this booklet or would like additional guidance, refer to the Web
resources on page 30 of this booklet. When you are uncertain of your instructor’s expec-tations, ask your instructor. Rules vary from class to class and sometimes from assignment to assignment. Instructors create different types of rules for pedagogical purpos and to ensure fairness. When in doubt, ask.
If you find yourlf falling behind in your work, we caution you not to take inappropriate shortcuts to complete assignments. New students sometimes have trouble with procrastination, poor time management, excessive extra-curricular or academic commitments, or incurity about academic abilities. If you are having such difficulties with your work or having personal or family problems, talk to your instructor, explain your situation, and ask for an extension. Remember, though, if you do not get an extension, a grade penalty for a late assignment is better than an academic integrity violation for cheating. Also remember that you can speak to your faculty advisor, the advising office in your college, and Gannett Counling and Psychological Services about problems and worries you are experiencing.
Academic honesty is esntial for you to flourish—to learn the materials, develop intellectual skills, gain lf-confidence, earn lf-respect and the respect of others, and learn to manage your time. Indeed, honesty is the foundation of our academic endeavors. As our Code of Academic Integrity st
ates, “the values most esntial to an academic community are grounded on the concept of honesty with respect to the intellectual efforts of onelf and others.”
Cordially,
W . Kent Fuchs
Laura Brown Provost Senior Vice Provost for
Undergraduate Education
Letter to New Students
