Academic Integrity Policy

All students, regardless of level or school, are responsible for following the St. John Fisher University Academic Integrity Policy in addition to any other individual school's or program's academic expectations and/or professional standards.

Every student is expected to demonstrate academic integrity in all academic pursuits at all times. If a student suspects that another student has violated the Academic Integrity Policy, he or she should contact the instructor for that course and provide support for that suspicion. Any finding of responsibility and associated sanctions for a violation of the Academic Integrity Policy is retained per the University Records Policy.

Note: If a student is found responsible for two violations of the Academic Integrity Policy, the student will have a hearing with the Academic Integrity Committee to address the pattern of behavior. The committee may assign additional sanction(s) up to and including an Academic Integrity Dismissal from the University.

Violations of the Academic Integrity Policy include, but are not limited to:

I. Cheating

  1. Possession of unauthorized material (e.g. books, notes) that could be used during an exam, quiz, test, etc.
  2. Hiding or positioning of notes or other tools for the purposes of cheating on an exam, quiz, test, etc.
  3. Unauthorized possession of, or knowledge of, an exam, quiz, test, etc., prior to its administration
  4. Looking at another person's exam, quiz, test, etc. without permission of the instructor
  5. Marking an answer sheet in a way designed to deceive the person correcting it
  6. Altering a graded work after it has been returned
  7. Unauthorized access to internet resources or an electronic device(s), including generative Artificial Intelligence (AI), during an exam, quiz, test, assignment, etc.

II. Plagiarism

  1. Representing another person's work or generative AI's output as one’s own, or attempting "to blur the line between one's own ideas or words and those borrowed from another source" (Council of Writing Program Administrators, January 2003)
  2. The use of an idea, phrase, or other materials from a written or spoken source without acknowledgment
  3. Submitting work that was procured through sale or trade

III. Duplicate Submission of Work

  1.  Submitting the same, or substantially the same, piece of work to more than one instructor without the express permission of all instructors involved

IV. Facilitation of Academic Dishonesty

  1. Giving improper aid to another student or receiving such aid from another student or source prior to or during an in-class or take-home exam, quiz, test, assignment, etc., without the express permission of the instructor
  2. Retaining, reproducing, possessing, using, or circulating previously given materials when indicated that they are to be returned to the instructor at the conclusion of the exam, quiz, test, etc.
  3. Taking a test for someone else or allowing someone else to take a test for you
  4. Allowing another person to do one's work and submitting that work under one's own name
  5. Providing work to another student to submit as their own
  6. Allowing a person to put their name on a group work submission when they did not work on the assignment

V. Falsifying Data or Research

  1. Fabricating information, data, or citation as part of a laboratory, fieldwork, or other scholarly investigation
  2. Knowingly distorting, altering, or falsifying the data
  3. Using data acquired by another student without the consent of the instructor
  4. Failing to include an accurate account of the method by which the data were gathered or collected
  5. Representing the research conclusions of another as one's own
  6. Undermining or sabotaging the research investigations of another person
  7. Obtaining and/or reporting research data in an unethical and intentionally misleading manner

VI. Obstructing Library Use and/or Access to Materials

  1. Any action that deprives others of equal access to library materials such as hiding, selling, destroying, mutilating, removing, or deliberately damaging library materials

VII. General Academic Misconduct

  1. Actions that violate standards of ethical or professional behavior established by a course or a program
  2. Theft, mutilation, or destruction of another student's academic work, including books, notes, computer programs, papers, reports, laboratory experiments, data, etc.
  3. Using means other than academic achievement or merit to influence one's academic evaluation
  4. Attempts to bribe an instructor for academic advantage
  5. Actions or behaviors that violate standards for ethical or professional behavior established by a course or program in an off-campus setting that could damage the University's relationship with community partners and affiliated institutions