Skip Navigation

Plagiarism Policy

PLAGIARISM DEFINITION

Plagiarism means the offering of someone else’s words, ideas, or conceptions as if they were one’s own. Plagiarism is a prime intellectual offense in that the borrower is faking the learning process. No learning community can thrive if its members counterfeit their achievements, deceive their professors, and take unfair advantage of their fellow students. Since the integrity of the whole academic community is thus at stake, the penalties are high.

DEGREES OF PLAGIARISM

Various types and levels of plagiarism are recognized, and all are unacceptable in submitted assignments. Unless an instructor specifies otherwise, the following general definitions apply.

Minimal plagiarism is defined as doing any of the following without attribution:

  • Inserting verbatim phrases of 2-3 distinctive words.
  • Substituting synonyms into the original sentence rather than rewriting the complete sentence.
  • Reordering the clauses of a sentence.
  • Imitating the sentence, paragraph, or organizational structure, or writing style of a source using a source’s line of logic, thesis or ideas.

Substantial plagiarism is defined as doing any of the following without attribution:

  • Inserting verbatim sentences or longer passages from a source.
  • Combining paraphrasing with verbatim sentences to create a paragraph or more of text.
  • Repeatedly and pervasively engaging in minimal plagiarism.

Complete plagiarism is defined as doing any of the following without attribution:

  • Submitting or presenting someone’s complete published or unpublished work (paper, article, or chapter).
  • Submitting another student’s work for an assignment, with or without that person’s knowledge or consent.
  • Using information from a campus file of old assignments.
  • Downloading a paper from a web site.
  • Buying a paper from a mail order company or web site.
  • Reusing or modifying a previously submitted paper (e.g., from another course) for a present assignment without obtaining prior approval from the instructors involved.

ACADEMIC DISHONESTY

Types of academic dishonesty include, but are not limited to:

Cheating, which includes submitting the work of another person as one’s own work or using aids such as generative artificial intelligence (software that can produce various types of content) without prior instructor permission. 

Self-Plagiarism (or Recycling Fraud), which is the re-submission of part or all of one’s own work to fulfill academic requirements in the same course or in other courses without providing proper acknowledgment of the original work with accurate citations.

Fabrication, which is the falsification or invention of information or data in any academic undertaking.

Facilitating Academic Dishonesty, which involves assisting someone in an act of dishonesty.

SANCTIONS

Any instructor who has assembled evidence of plagiarism will first offer the student a chance to provide an alternate explanation of the evidence or to admit fault.

Plagiarism may occur intentionally or unintentionally, but intent is not a factor in determining whether plagiarism has occurred or what consequences apply. Pleading ignorance of the rules does not prevent the consequences from being applied.

MINIMAL PLAGIARISM

When instances of minimal plagiarism are detected, the instructor can use these situations as an educational opportunity to discuss with the student the nature of plagiarism and the values of scholarship. At the professor’s discretion, assignments may be rewritten and resubmitted, with or without a grade penalty. Repeated instances of minimal plagiarism may, at the professor’s discretion, be treated as substantial plagiarism. If the professor plans to exercise his or her discretion in cases of minimal plagiarism, procedures and consequences should be clearly described in the course syllabus.

SUBSTANTIAL PLAGIARISM

  • First offense: Ordinarily, the student receives a failing grade on the assignment that has been plagiarized, and notice of this is forwarded to the Director of the Ph.D. in Global Leadership program.
  • Second offense: Ordinarily, the student receives a failing grade in the course, and is forwarded to the Director of the Ph.D. in Global Leadership program.
  • Third offense: The student should be recommended for expulsion from the Ph.D. in Global Leadership program. Action is taken at the discretion of the Director of the Ph.D. in Global Leadership program.

COMPLETE PLAGIARISM

  • First offense: The student receives a failing grade in the course, and notice of this is forwarded to the Director of the Ph.D. in Global Leadership program for possible program dismissal.
  • Second offense: The student is expelled from the Ph.D. in Global Leadership Program. Action is taken at the discretion of the Director of the Ph.D. in Global Leadership program.

REV 1 – 4/11/2024

)