Academic Integrity

The high academic standard at the University of California, Berkeley, is reflected in each degree that is awarded. As a result, it is up to every student to maintain this high standard by ensuring that all academic work reflects his/her own ideas or properly attributes the ideas to the original sources. Individual departments often have their own ways of citing and attributing work, so it is the responsibility of each student to seek that information out if it is not otherwise provided through a syllabus, course website, or other means.

Collaboration and Independence

Reviewing lecture and reading materials and studying for exams can be enjoyable and enriching things to do together with one’s fellow students. We recommend this. However, homework assignments should be completed independently and materials turned in as homework should be the result of one’s own independent work. Some assignments, namely the preparation for the debate arguments, are meant to be done together in a group.

Cheating

Anyone caught cheating on a quiz or exam will receive a failing grade and will also be reported to the University Office of Student Conduct. In order to guarantee that you are not suspected of cheating, please keep your eyes on your own materials and do not converse with others during the quizzes and exams.

Plagiarism/Self-plagiarism

You must be original in composing the writing assignments in this class. To copy text or ideas from another source (including your own previously, or concurrently, submitted coursework) without appropriate reference is plagiarism and will result in a failing grade for your assignment and usually further disciplinary action. For additional information on plagiarism, self-plagiarism, and how to avoid it, see the following guide on citations and plagiarism.

Academic Integrity and Ethics

Cheating on exams and plagiarism are examples of violations in the realm of ethics and integrity. Honesty, integrity, and ethical behavior are of great importance in all facets of life. They are so important that it is generally assumed that one has learned and internalized these qualities at an early age. As a result, these issues rarely get explicitly addressed by the time one gets to be a university student. However, it cannot be overstated just how important honesty is to the academic enterprise.

Turnitin

UC Berkeley's honor code states "As a member of the UC Berkeley community, I act with honesty, integrity, and respect for others." As a tool to promote academic integrity in this course, written work submitted via bCourses may be checked for originality using Turnitin. Turnitin compares student work to a database of books, journal articles, websites, and other student papers. This creates an opportunity for students to improve their academic writing skills, by ensuring that other sources have been properly cited and attributed. For more information about Turnitin at UC Berkeley, visit http://ets.berkeley.edu/academic-integrity.