ACADEMIC INTEGRITY POLICY

Immaculata University, through its faculty, staff, and students, strives to create an environment of trust, mutual respect, and integrity that fosters scholarly pursuits in an academically challenging and supportive setting. To further the pursuit of truth and the exercise of honest, intelligent inquiry, the University maintains an academic integrity code that promotes the assumption of personal responsibility and integrity and prohibits all forms of academic dishonesty.

Academic Code of Conduct

Immaculata University’s Academic Code of Conduct is designed to assist in the development of a supportive and productive learning environment. It is both a description of the University’s ethical expectations of students as well as a guarantee of students’ rights and responsibilities as members of a learning community. The Academic Code of Conduct provides clarity related to policy and procedure regarding academic conduct.  

The two most common form of academic dishonesty are cheating and  plagiarism. Other forms of academic dishonesty are also described in Academic Code of Conduct. 

1. Cheating is defined as using, or attempting to use, in any academic exercise materials, information, study aids, or electronic data that the student knows or should know is unauthorized. Cheating also encompasses the provision or acceptance of any unauthorized assistance during an examination or assignment to be completed individually, including but not limited to talking to another student, viewing, or copying another student’s examination or assignment, making or receiving gestures from another student, employing Artificial Intelligence (A.I.) - generated content, or engaging another person to complete an assessment or examination in place of the student. 

2. Plagiarism is failing to acknowledge adequately the source of words or ideas which are not one’s own. Plagiarism includes, but is not limited to: 

1. 1. 1. The quotation or other use of another person’s or A.I.-generated words, ideas, logic, opinions, thoughts, or theories without use of quotation marks and acknowledgment of the source;  

      2. The paraphrasing of another person’s or A.I.-generated words, ideas, logic, opinions, thoughts, or theories without acknowledgment of the source; 

      3. The quotation or other use of facts, statistics, or other data or materials that are not clearly common knowledge without acknowledgment of the source;

      4. Copying or purchasing all or any portion of another’s academic, research, or creative work - even with the creator’s knowledge and permission - and submitting it, in part or in its entirety, as one’s own. This includes material available through the Internet or other electronic sources , including A.I. generated content, and any material that has copyright protection. Students are hereby advised that, when such material has been copyrighted, its unauthorized use constitutes not only a breach of academic integrity but also a violation of law that could lead to civil or criminal penalties. 

The University considers plagiarism by a student to be a serious violation of professional and academic ethics and standards; ignorance of the rules governing plagiarism is not an excuse. When in doubt, students should seek clarification from the instructor who issued the assignment. A finding of plagiarism may result in the imposition of a serious academic penalty such as, but not limited to, suspension, receipt of a failing grade, non-continuation or expulsion.  

To read more about other forms of Academic Dishonesty please refer to the current Academic Catalog.

Things to keep in mind:  

Your submissions can take anywhere from 15 minutes to several hours, depending on Turnitin’s server load.  After you submit a paper for the first time, you must wait 24 hours to resubmit.  Turnitin will only accept Microsoft Word files.  Be sure to select the right file from your computer.  Your Instructor will likely also require you to submit both a copy of your paper and the Similarity Report of the paper directly to him/her. 

Best Practices for Using Turnitin:

We recommend that you submit your work early as a draft; in doing so, you will have the opportunity to view your submission and its Turnitin score (which should appear within 12-24 hours).  This draft submission before the final due date allows you time to ensure everything is properly cited, make any final adjustments (if needed), and then submit the final version of your assignment. Don't forget to change your submission from “draft” to “final” version on Moodle before your deadline. The assignment will be graded in accordance with the University Academic Integrity Policy in the course catalog as indicated on your course syllabus. For additional information on this policy, please reference the material published in the course catalog..