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Academic integrity is a concept used to address the many facets of authenticity within a student's work. A student who upholds a high standard of academic integrity maintains that the work he or she turns in is authentic and true to the knowledge he or she has acquired.

The technology age has certainly helped people have fast access to any and all information on the web. Because of this, you will see Academic Integrity becoming more of a standard in educational institutions as they begin to hold students to higher accountability measures.

It is important that as you take courses online, you are equipped to appropriately utilize technology. The Internet can be a powerful research tool. The key is to know how to use it and what is appropriate.

Academic Integrity means...

• Your work on each assignment will be completely your own
• Your collaboration with another classmate on any assignment will be pre-approved by your instructor
• You will not practice plagiarism in any form
• You will not allow others to copy your work
• You will not misuse content from the Internet

Plagiarism is mentioned above. What is plagiarism exactly?

Plagiarism is copying or using ideas or words (from another person, an online classmate, or an Internet or print source) and presenting them as your own.

Some examples of plagiarism:

• Buying or obtaining a free paper from a research service or term paper mill and turning it in as your own.
• Turning in another student's work without that student's knowledge.
• Turning in a paper a peer has written for the student.
• Copying a paper from a source text without proper acknowledgment.
• Copying materials from a source text, supplying proper documentation, but leaving out quotation marks.
• Paraphrasing materials from a source text without appropriate documentation.

Please be aware that instructors utilize a myriad of technologies to check student work for authenticity. In order to maintain the integrity of all grades, instructors may choose to facilitate random discussion-based assessments and/or face to face exams. If an instructor confirms that a student has plagiarized work in any manner, the student will be subject to consequences determined by their school and may be removed from the course with a failing grade.

How to avoid plagiarism

When research is involved for class work, most often you will be asked to either cite, quote, paraphrase, or summarize your findings. These are appropriate ways to acknowledge other people's findings.

• cite: to quote as an authority or example (© 2013 yourdictionary.com)
• quote: to repeat or cite, as for authority or illustration (© 2013 Webster's)
• paraphrase: a re-statement of the meaning of a passage of work, etc. (© 2013 Webster's)
• summarize: a brief account of the substance or essential points of something spoken or written (© 2013 Webster's)

The web sites listed here will further define plagiarism and will offer the tips to students on how to avoid plagiarism:

• View the Tutorial on Plagiarism for important information about using your own words when you complete your assignments.
• What is plagiarism? Georgetown University

Whenever you quote, paraphrase or summarize other people's ideas, then it is appropriate to acknowledge the source. When quoting someone's ideas, you should place the idea in quotation marks, and then make a note in parentheses next to it citing the author, source and date.

Always think…. did this idea originally come from me or from someone else? If it originally came from someone else, then remember to play it safe and cite the content with the author and source.

What is "common knowledge"?

Common knowledge includes facts that are commonly found in a variety of places, and are most likely items that people know. An example of common knowledge would be: George Washington was the first president of the United States. Another example would be: The sky is blue. Although you may find these items written somewhere, you do not need to cite them, as they are common facts of knowledge.

Working in Groups

There are times when working together is appropriate. Group work is a valuable aspect of the educational process. What is important to remember is that group work means that a group of students work together by sharing ideas and concepts regarding their assignment. Many times a teacher will ask you to work in a group. It is important that when working in groups you:

1. Let your instructor know who the group members are and
2. Submit the results or responses in the individual's own words, unless otherwise specified by your instructor.

Appropriate Use of Usernames and Passwords

Many institutions that utilize online learning require a student to login to their course in order to have access. Please be aware that usernames and passwords are to be kept private. Sharing your username and password with other students is inappropriate.

But how will my instructor KNOW if I plagiarized?"

Online instructors have a variety of resources available to them for checking authenticity in student's work. In many cases, it is easier for an online instructor to verify authenticity in a student's work than a traditional classroom instructor. As many resources are available to students, it is equally matched in the resources for instructors to verify.

When in need of assistance or clarification in your course, the honest solution is to reach out to your teacher for recommendations of resources, help sessions, and tutorials.