What is Academic Integrity?

Academic integrity is essential to maintaining an environment that fosters excellence in teaching, research, and other educational and scholarly activities.  Thus, The Ohio State University and the Committee on Academic Misconduct (COAM) expect that all students have read and understand the University’s Code of Student Conduct, and that all students will complete all academic and scholarly assignments with fairness and honesty.  Students must recognize that failure to follow the rules and guidelines established in the University’s Code of Student Conduct and in the syllabus for any given course may constitute “academic misconduct.”

The Ohio State University’s Code of Student Conduct (Section 3335-23-04) defines academic misconduct as: “Any activity that tends to compromise the academic integrity of the University, or subvert the educational process.”  Examples of academic misconduct include (but are not limited to) plagiarism, collusion (unauthorized collaboration), copying the work of another student, and possession of unauthorized materials during an examination.  Ignorance of the University’s Code of Student Conduct is never considered an “excuse” for academic misconduct, so I recommend that you review the Code of Student Conduct and, specifically, the sections dealing with academic misconduct. (Academic Integrity, 2015)

The information above comes directly from the Committee on Academic Misconduct (COAM).  COAM is responsible for maintaining the academic integrity of the university.  Be aware that all faculty are reminded at the beginning of every semester that all cases of alleged academic misconduct must be reported to COAM.

Academic misconduct involves more than just cheating.  Academic misconduct encompasses many forms of fabrication; dishonesty; alteration of grades; violation of course guidelines and policy; and much more.  The Code of Student Conduct is in place to protect the reputation of the university, students, and scholarly work of many faculty in higher education.

As an international students, Ohio State’s parameters for academic integrity and misconduct may be different than what you’re used to. Many new international students find that academic integrity is taken more seriously in the U.S. than in their home country.  At Ohio State, as at all institutions in the U.S., students are not allowed to cut and paste information from the internet without giving the author appropriate credit.  This is done by providing a citation from the location in which they found it and using quotation marks around the wording in question, as well as including the source in the bibliography for the assignment.

Other sources of information on academic misconduct (integrity) to which you can refer include:

The Committee on Academic Misconduct web pages (oaa.osu.edu/coam/home.html)

Ten Suggestions for Preserving Academic Integrity (oaa.osu.edu/coam/ten-suggestions.html)

Eight Cardinal Rules of Academic Integrity (www.northwestern.edu/uacc/8cards.html)

 

Academic Integrity. (2015). Retrieved from http://oaa.osu.edu/coamfaqs.html