The University of Scranton’s Academic Code of Honesty states that “The University seeks to educate students who have strong intellectual ambition, high ethical standards and dedication to the common good of society.” As the Dean of the College of Arts and Sciences, I am committed to maintaining these high standards of honesty and academic integrity. As a student at the University of Scranton, you will find that our faculty share this commitment. The academic integrity tutorial will help you to make clear that the work you submit for your classes is your own. Moreover, it will help you to understand the conventions and ethical standards of academic scholarship, as well as your responsibilities as a member of a community committed to academic inquiry. We urge you to complete the tutorial with care.

The faculty who teach graduate courses expect all students to refrain from the following:

Cheating: Practicing or the attempt to practice dishonesty or deception in the taking of tests or in the preparation and submission of academic work pretending that it is one’s own; copying or attempting to copy from another person’s test, paper, or other graded work in a course; using or intending to use, during a testing period, any notes or other prepared materials that a student is not permitted to consult.

Collusion: The conscious cheating of two or more persons; allowing another to copy tests, papers, or other graded course work without the express consent of the instructor; aiding or abetting another person in the act of cheating.

Lying: Committing a forgery or uttering a statement known to be false or dishonest, orally or in writing, for the purpose of, or having the effect of, protecting or improving a grade in a course or in one’s academic record; also, uttering a statement known to be false or deceitful in a College judicial proceeding to protect another person from apprehension or punishment for a violation of academic integrity.

Plagiarism: The act of willfully copying information—an idea, a sentence, several sentences, or a significant part of a sentence—that has been written by someone other than the person submitting the paper, and neglecting to indicate, through the use of quotation marks or notation, that the material has been copied. This includes, but is not limited to, information derived from reference materials, themes, reports, writings of a fellow student, or information obtained through any form of electronic media.

Stealing: Attempting, whether successful or not, to take, in an unauthorized manner, any academic material that belongs to an instructor or to the University. This includes, but is not limited to, tests, papers, roll books, and assignments.

Very truly yours,

Dr. Brian Conniff - Academic Dean of the College of Arts & Sciences