Academic Integrity

The University System supports and promotes academic honesty and personal integrity. Academic dishonesty can take the following forms:

• Submitting another person's work
• Writing a paper for someone else
• Working in a group effort without faculty consent
• Buying a paper from a research service
• Getting outside help or giving outside help without a teacher's expressed permission
• Submitting the same work for credit without approval (e.g. submitting the same assignment twice for different courses)

Any form of academic dishonesty has no place in higher learning. The University System does not tolerate dishonest efforts by its students.

The most frequently observed form of academic dishonesty is plagiarism. Plagiarism is the adoption or incorporation of another's ideas without proper attribution of the source. It is more simply defined as taking the writings of another person or people and representing them to be one's own.

To avoid plagiarism, a student must credit the sources used when writing as essay, research paper, or other assignment in accordance with the appropriate style manual or format required in the student's course. Specific approaches to appropriate citation are found in various writing style handbooks. The required citation style for each course is specified in the syllabus for each course.

It is the student's obligation to read, understand, and comply with the University System's plagiarism policy. If the student does not understand this policy, s/he needs to ask his or her professor for assistance before a plagiarism problem arises. Students should note that plagiarism can result in dismissal from the University System.

Consequences of Academic Dishonesty

Students who are guilty of academic dishonesty can expect to be penalized. Any student who knowingly assists another student in dishonest behavior is equally responsible. Students who are found guilty of plagiarism will have an entry made in their student record. An additional violation of the standards of academic honesty may result in dismissal from the University System. Academic dishonesty is considered an Adverse Action. Details regarding Academic Dishonesty and other adverse actions can be reviewed in the Student Rights and Responsibilities section of the Student Handbook.

Professors shall have the authority to deal with instances of academic dishonesty in a variety of ways including, but not limited to, the following:

• Work may be redone for full or partial credit.
• Alternate assignments may be given for full or partial credit.
• Work may not be redone and no credit will be given for that particular assignment.
• The student may be given an "F" in the course.

If an instance of plagiarism is suspected the faculty member shall immediately contact the student involved, provide evidence of cheating or plagiarism, discuss the matter, determine whether an infraction has occurred, and decide on a penalty.

Faculty members must also report any academic integrity incident to their Department Chair and the Registrar. The Registrar will ensure an entry is made in the student's file. Supporting documentation, in the case of a plagiarized paper or other cheating, will be forwarded to the Registrar at registrar@apus.edu for proper archiving. Following two documented instances of academic dishonesty, action will may be initiated that could lead to the student's dismissal from the University. The student has the right to appeal all adverse actions through the appeal process published in the Student Handbook.