Honor Code

Integrity & Honesty

The first law of academic life is intellectual honesty. It is the responsibility of every member of the USCB community to uphold and maintain the high academic standards of the University. Students of the University are expected to be honest and forthright in their academic endeavors. To falsify the results of one’s research, to steal the words or ideas of another or to cheat on an examination corrupts the essential process by which knowledge is advanced.

All students enrolled at USCB, whether full-time or part-time, shall be subject to the Academic Code of Conduct (The Honor Code). The Chancellor of USCB is the final authority in all matters concerning academic accountability.

The Executive Vice chancellor for Academic Affairs is responsible for maintaining and enforcing the Academic Code of Conduct. The Executive Vice Chancellor for Academic Affairs is also responsible for executing any sanctions resulting from violations of the Code and for keeping records

Honor Code Responsibilities

The USCB Honor code establishes the general standards of academic accountability for students at USCB. All members of the academic community of the University share the responsibility to advance, support and enforce academic honesty and integrity. The following obligations must be assumed by students and faculty of the University in order to meet this responsibility:

• Prepare thoroughly for examinations and assignments
• Take the initiative to prevent other students from copying exams or assignments
• Discourage dishonesty among other students
• Refuse to assist students who cheat
• Report observed cases of academic dishonesty immediately
• Maintain the confidentiality of examinations by not disclosing any information, whether directly or indirectly, to another student still to write that same examination
• Consult with faculty and other sources to clarify the definition of plagiarism
• Learn to recognize techniques of proper attribution of sources used to prepare written work and identify allowable resource materials or aids to be used during examinations or completion of any graded work
• Conduct all academic work within the letter and spirit of academic honesty, which prohibits giving or receiving unauthorized aid in the academic process
• Discuss the issues of cheating, academic misconduct, fabrication and plagiarism at the beginning of each semester and before major exams or assignments
• Make sure students understand the reference requirements for assigned papers and the extent of collaboration expected or allowed on class or team projects
• Verify faculty signatures on change of grade forms
• Exercise caution in the preparation, duplication and security of examinations to ensure that students cannot gain improper advance knowledge of their contents
• Specify prior to an examination or assignment what materials (books, notes, equipment, etc.) students may have in their possession or to what degree they may collaborate; and
• Prepare new exams each semester or administer alternate forms of the same exams.

HONOR VIOLATIONS

The following acts of academic dishonesty are considered violations of the USCB Honor Code and subject the student to disciplinary action:

Lying

Lying includes the deliberate misrepresentation of any situation or fact, in part or whole, for the purpose of avoiding or postponing the completion of any assignment, duty, test or examination in the course, internship or program.

Plagiarism

Plagiarism is the representation of someone else’s words, ideas or data as one’s own work. All work for credit that includes the words, ideas or data of others must acknowledge the source of that information through complete, accurate and specific references and, if verbatim statements are included, quotation marks. By placing his or her name on work submitted for credit, the student certifies the originality of all work not otherwise identified by appropriate acknowledgments. Students will avoid charges of plagiarism by acknowledging indebtedness:

• Whenever they quote another person’s actual words;
• Whenever they use another person’s idea, opinion or theory, even if this is completely paraphrased in their own words; and
• Whenever they borrow facts, statistics or other illustrative materials, unless the information is common knowledge

Persons commit plagiarism when they:

• Submits another person’s work in lieu of their own work;
• Submits the work, sentences, ideas, conclusion and/or examples from a source (a book, an article, another student’s paper, etc.) without acknowledging the source; or
• Knowingly aids another student in plagiarizing an assignment or allows another student or students to complete all or part of his or her course work and/or examination.
• Commits self-plagiarism, i.e. submitting the same work in more than one course.

Plagiarism, even a first offence, may result in a failing grade for the assignment or the course in addition to any sanctions assigned by the Honor Court or EVCAA. For more information on plagiarism, please visit the USCB Library website at http://uscb.edu/library/plagarism.htm .

Bribery

Bribery involves the offering, giving, receiving or soliciting of anything of value to obtain a grade or consideration a student would not expect to achieve from his or her own academic performance.

Cheating

Any conduct during a program, course, quiz, examination or any other assignment which involves the unauthorized giving, receiving, offering or soliciting of information. Cheating includes, but is not restricted to, the following:

• The submission of another person’s work in lieu of one’s own work;
• Unauthorized use of laboratory reports, term papers, thesis or other written materials, in whole or in part;
• The buying, selling, theft, obtaining, using or giving of any examination or quiz prior to its administration;
• Unauthorized use of any electronic or mechanical device during any assignment or examination;
• Use of prepared materials, notes, or texts other than those specified and permitted by the instructor during an examination or quiz;
• Unauthorized collaboration on any test, assignment or project.