All students are expected to abide by the University’s motto of “Honor and Excellence.” Honor before excellence means, among others, abiding and living by the Code of Student Conduct, particularly the rules on academic integrity. 

“Academic integrity means being honest in your academic work, being fair to others, and taking responsibility for your learning.”[1] The opposite of academic integrity is academic or intellectual dishonesty.  

What is intellectual dishonesty?

Intellectual dishonesty is defined as “any fraudulent act performed by a student to achieve academic advantage or gain for oneself or others (emphasis supplied)” (Art. III, no. 15 of 2012 Code of Student Conduct).  

What acts constitute intellectual dishonesty?

Intellectual dishonesty includes but is not limited to the following acts: 

1. Plagiarism or “the appropriation of another person’s ideas, processes, results or words without giving appropriate credit” (Art. III, no. 15(a)). Plagiarism includes —

   • • Submitting someone else's work as your own

     • Copying words or ideas without acknowledging the source

     • Not enclosing quoted text in quotation marks

     • Giving incorrect information about the source of a quotation (e.g. indicating the wrong source)

     • “[C]hanging words but copying the sentence structure of a source”[2]

     • Patchwriting, which is “copying so many words or ideas from a source that it makes up the majority of your work, whether you give credit or not”[2]

2. Fabrication, falsification, distortion/destruction of research data (Art. III, no. 15(b))

   • • Fabrication is “making up data or results.”

     • Falsification is “manipulating research materials, equipment, or processes or changing or omitting data or results such that the research is not accurately represented in the research record”

     • Distortion of data is inaccurately representing or reporting data, for example by cherry picking (taking only parts of the data to prove a preferred conclusion), statistical manipulation, and graphical complexity (presenting data in such a way as to make it difficult to understand) 

     • Destruction of data

3. Cheating (Art. III, no. 15(c)), which can take the form of — 

   • • Copying answers to exams, homework, projects, laboratory experiments, term papers, etc. 

     • Providing means or accessing means to copy an exam and other learning activities 

     • Possessing and/or using cheat devices during exams

     • Allowing another person to take the exam in one’s name

     • Impersonating or allowing someone else to impersonate oneself in an academic activity

     • Manipulating a corrected exam paper

4. Submitting [the] same work in two or more courses without the instructor’s consent (Art. III, no. 15(d))

5. Other acts analogous to the aforementioned (Art. III, no. 15(e)), such as the following:

   • • Using academic commission services to fulfill course requirements (e.g. paying someone to write your term paper)

     • Hacking Moodle quiz/tests to reveal answers

     • Passing off the work of an AI (artificial intelligence) tool, such as ChatGPT, as your own**

**Note: Students should take responsibility for their own learning and should refrain from relying on generative AI models, such as ChatGPT. Should you need to use AI as a study tool, refer to this guide to how to use AI responsibly. 

Who decides when a student is intellectually dishonest? 

“The University has the right to define standards and norms of proper conduct of students, and therefore considers departures from said standards as acts of misconduct and as violations of this Code. xxx The faculty has the right to define standards of intellectual honesty on students and exact norms of academic scholarship.” (2012 Code of Student Conduct, p.1)

In other words, following University rules, it is the faculty that assesses whether a student has committed intellectual dishonesty, without prejudice to the student’s right to due process.

What are the consequences for committing intellectual dishonesty? 

Sanctions for intellectual dishonesty will depend on the severity of the offense. Possible sanctions are:

• Suspension for a minimum of one (1) semester

• Expulsion

• Withdrawal of degree

• Withdrawal of honors

• Disqualification from graduation with honors

• Cancellation of registration

• Withdrawal of IT privileges as defined by the IT policies of the College, and other resources of the University

Download and study the Code of Student Conduct here. Refer to pages 6-20 to know more about the specific forms of student misconduct and their corresponding sanctions.