Academic Honesty and Dishonesty

“Academic honesty” means demonstrating and upholding the highest integrity and honesty in all the academic work that you do. In short, it means doing your own work, not cheating, and not presenting the work of others as your own. The opposite of that is Academic Dishonesty, which Westmoreland takes very seriously. As stated in the Westmoreland Student Handbook (page 22), "Academic dishonesty in any form will not be tolerated."

At Westmoreland, academic dishonesty includes, but is not limited to, the following:

Cheating

Handbook Statement: the use or attempted use of unauthorized materials, information, or other aids in an academic exercise.

Explanation: Cheating can be a form of crib notes, looking over someone’s shoulder during an exam, or any forbidden sharing of information between students regarding an exam or exercise. Many elaborate methods of cheating have been developed over the years—from hiding notes in the bathroom toilet tank to storing information in graphing calculators, cell phones, and other mobile devices.

Fabrication

Handbook Statement: The unauthorized falsification or creation of any information or citation in an academic environment. 

Explanation: Fabrication is the falsification of data, information, or citations in an academic assignment. This includes making up citations to back up arguments or inventing quotations. Fabrication is most common in the natural sciences, where students sometimes falsify data to make experiments “work” or false claims are made about the research performed.

Facilitating academic dishonesty

Handbook Statement: Helping or attempting to help another to commit a dishonest academic act.

Explanation: Helping another student commit a dishonest act, even if the help does not benefit one's own work, is another form of academic dishonesty. For example, a student who illicitly conveys answers to a friend during a test would be cheating, even though the student’s own work is in no way affected.

Plagiarism

Handbook Statement: The use of the works of another as one's own in any academic environment.

Explanation: Plagiarism is considered the adoption or reproduction of original intellectual creations (such as concepts, ideas, methods, pieces of information or expressions, etc.) of another author (whether an individual, group, or organization) without proper acknowledgment. This can range from borrowing a particular phrase or sentence to paraphrasing someone else’s original idea without citing it. Plagiarism is considered a very serious offense and can result in punishments such as a failing grade on the particular assignment, the entire course, or even being expelled from the college.

The most common form of plagiarism is copying and pasting online material without crediting the source.

According to “The Reality and Solution of College Plagiarism” created by the Health Informatics Department of the University of Illinois at Chicago, there are ten main forms of plagiarism that students commit:

Avoiding Plagiarism

The best way to avoid plagiarism is to always, always, always cite your sources. Below are some useful guidelines to help you avoid plagiarism and show academic honesty in your work:

• Quotes: If you quote another work directly in your work, cite your source.

• Paraphrase: If you put someone else’s idea into your own words, you still need to cite the author.

• Visual Materials: If you cite statistics, graphs, or charts from a study, cite the source. Keep in mind that if you didn’t do the original research, then you need to credit the person(s) or institution, etc., that did.

There are many citation tools online to help you create and track references as you go. For example, citation tools are available in Google Docs and Microsoft Word. So if you've saved the list of websites you visited, you can use either of those tools to easily and properly cite your sources.

Lastly, if you’re in doubt about whether something constitutes plagiarism, cite the source or leave the material out. Better still, ask for help. You can reach out to your instructor (they will more than appreciate that you asked), Tutoring & Learning Services, the Library, or Westmoreland's online tutoring tool Brainfuse.

Be honest about your ideas, and give credit where it’s due.

Using Generative AI Tools Responsibly

As you can imagine, Generative Artificial Intelligence (AI) tools concern faculty greatly. The reason is that these tools are outstanding at generating "new" (is it new?) "information" (is it reliable?) quickly, making it easier for you to "complete" (is it complete?) "your" (is it yours?) homework. So how can you use these tools responsibly so that faculty can trust what they're receiving is human-generated? A good start is to review the Westmoreland AI Student Research Guide.

Keep in mind two key points about generative AI tools:

• They are great at helping you get started on an assignment.

• They are great at "hallucinating" information. There are numerous examples of people trusting content generated by AI tools only to find the information and sources cited were completely made up.

In general, the faculty at Westmoreland are not opposed to you using generative AI tools, as long as it's done with respect to the work, to them, to your classmates, and to yourself. If you aren't sure that your instructor permits AI use, check the course syllabus first, then reach out to them if needed.

Working with Instructors

Of all the teachers you’ve had in your life, which one do you remember most fondly? If you’re lucky, you’ve got someone in mind—a teacher who encouraged and inspired you and perhaps played a role in shaping the person you are today.

That same teacher could well be thinking similar thoughts about you!—because for every favorite teacher, there is also a favorite student. The regard often goes both ways.

Now think about how that relationship would be affected if you were dishonest about your work. What about being dishonest with a teacher whom you've never met? How would that affect their perception of you or your trajectory in the course?

Building healthy relationships and working with your instructors are vital to your success in college. And part of any relationship is healthy communication. Aside from having integrity, how can you ensure communication with your instructor is healthy? Let's take a look at what you can do.

Benefits of a Healthy Relationship

You may be surprised to discover that instructors enjoy getting to know you. The human dimension of college really matters, and as a student, you are an important part of your instructor’s world.

Your relationship with your instructors can also be among the most meaningful experiences in college. It can help you feel more comfortable connecting to the college community, and students who communicate with their instructors regularly are less likely to become dispirited and drop out.

Most instructors are happy to work with you during their office hours, talk a few minutes after class, respond to texts, talk on the phone, or engage in online discussions. Again, surprising? Sure, but don't forget, your instructors are people, too.

Getting to know your instructor is also a valuable way to learn about an academic field or a career. Maybe you don’t know for sure what you want to major in or what people with a degree in your chosen major actually do after college. Most instructors will gladly share information and insights with you. All you have to do is ask.

Also, there may come a time when you need a reference or a letter of recommendation for an internship or job application. Building relationships with your instructors puts you in an ideal position to ask for something like a letter of recommendation later on.

Communicating Professionally and Respectfully

Healthy relationships begin and end with respect. As you would like to feel respected as a student, so too would an instructor. Remember, your education is a collaborative process that works best when students and instructors freely communicate ideas, information, and perspectives.

Keep in mind, respecting your instructors doesn't mean "fearing"them. As you get to know them better, you’ll learn their personalities and find appropriate ways to talk to them. Below are some tips for communicating with and building a respectful relationship with your instructors.

Emailing with Instructors

Westmoreland email is the official means of communication at Westmoreland. If you receive any information from Westmoreland, it's going to your student email account. Same with information about your courses: Your instructor will send everything to your Westmoreland email account.

That being said, emailing (or texting) with instructors is different than communicating with friends. You and your friends might have developed a "friend language" that you use when you speak with each other. Even with other students, you may adopt shortcuts, such as not spelling out full words, ignoring capitalization and punctuation, and not focusing on grammar or using full sentences. Communicating with your instructor this way is considered unprofessional, and they may have difficulty deciphering your message.

To make the most of your digital communication with instructors, use a professional, respectful tone and fairly formal style. Here are some other tips:

Lastly, do not send an email if you are upset. Wait until your feelings have dissipated and you're able to type in a reasonable tone. With any important message, it’s a good idea to wait and review the message later before sending it. You may have expressed an emotion or thought that you will think better about later. Many problems have resulted when people send messages too quickly without thinking.

f you need someone to talk to, contact one of the counselors in our Student Success office by calling 724-925-4000. You can also learn more about Westmoreland support services on the Community Resources page.

Grade Disputes

The most common “conflict” that students experience with instructors is feeling that they’ve received a lower grade than they deserve. This may be especially true for new students not yet used to the higher standards of college. It can be disappointing to get a low grade but try not to be too hard on yourself or the instructor. Contrary to popular belief, instructors do not hold grudges, so if you've received a low grade, rest assured, it's not personal.

If you genuinely believe you should have a higher grade, talk with your instructor. Not only might the rationale surprise you, but you also might learn something that will help you on future assignments. But don't forget: Like you, instructors want to be treated with respect. Take time to consider your words before meeting with your instructor so that you can communicate your concerns professionally and be prepared to receive constructive feedback. 

Here are guidelines for talking about a grade or resolving any other problem or disagreement with your instructor:

During the conversation, ask what you can do to improve the grade or how to do better next time. Can you rewrite the paper or do any extra-credit work to help make up for a test score? While you are showing that you would like to earn a higher grade in the course, also make it clear that you’re willing to put in the effort and that you want to learn more, not just get the higher grade.

If there is no opportunity to improve on this specific project, ask the instructor for advice on what you might do on the next assignment or when preparing for the next test. You may be offered some individual help or receive good study advice, and your instructor will respect your willingness to make an effort—as long as it’s clear that you’re more interested in learning than getting a good grade.