As an academic community dedicated to the creation,
dissemination, and application of knowledge, Rutgers University is committed to
fostering an intellectual and ethical environment based on the principles of
academic integrity. Academic integrity is essential to the success of the
university's educational and research missions, and violations of academic
integrity constitute serious offenses against the entire academic community.
This academic integrity policy is designed to guide students as they prepare
assignments, take examinations, and perform the work necessary to complete
their degree requirements.The principles of academic integrity require that a student:
- properly acknowledge and cite all use of the
ideas, results, or words of others.
- properly acknowledge all contributors to a given
piece of work.
- make sure that all work submitted as his or her
own in a course or other academic activity is produced without the aid of
unsanctioned materials or unsanctioned collaboration.
- obtain all data or results by ethical means and
report them accurately without suppressing any results inconsistent with his or
her interpretation or conclusions.
- treat all other students in an ethical manner,
respecting their integrity and right to pursue their educational goals without
interference. This requires that a student neither facilitate academic
dishonesty by others nor obstruct their academic progress.
- uphold the canons of the ethical or professional
code of the profession for which he or she is preparing.
Adherence to these principles is necessary in order to ensure
that:
- everyone is given proper credit for his or her
ideas, words, results, and other scholarly accomplishments.
- all student work is fairly evaluated and no
student has an inappropriate advantage over others.
- the academic and ethical development of all
students is fostered.
- the reputation of the university for integrity
in its teaching, research, and scholarship is maintained and enhanced.
Failure to uphold these principles of academic integrity
threatens both the reputation of the university and the value of the degrees
awarded to its students. Every member of the university community therefore
bears a responsibility for ensuring that the highest standards of academic
integrity are upheld.
The university administration is responsible for working
with faculty and students to foster a strong institutional culture of academic
integrity, for providing effective educational programs that create an understanding
of and commitment to academic integrity, and for establishing equitable and
effective procedures to deal with allegations of violations of academic
integrity.
The faculty shares with the administration the
responsibility for educating students about the importance and principles of
academic integrity. Faculty members [For purposes of the Academic Integrity
Policy, the term faculty member includes not only tenured, tenure-track, and
nontenure-track faculty members, but also part-time lecturers, coadjutants,
TAs, staff members, and administrators who are serving as the instructor of
record in a course; i.e., the instructor responsible for assigning final course
grades.] are expected to inform students of the particular requirements
regarding academic integrity within their specific courses, to make reasonable
efforts to minimize academic dishonesty, and to respond appropriately to
violations of academic integrity. Faculty members are strongly encouraged to
provide a statement concerning academic integrity and a link to the Academic
Integrity Policy on their course syllabi.
Students are responsible for understanding the principles of
academic integrity and abiding by them in all aspects of their work at the
university. Students are also encouraged to help educate fellow students about
academic integrity and to bring all alleged violations of academic integrity
they encounter to the attention of the appropriate authorities.
To promote a strong culture of academic integrity, Rutgers
has adopted the following honor pledge to be written and signed on examinations
and major course assignments submitted for grading: On my honor, I have neither
received nor given any unauthorized assistance on this examination
(assignment). In addition, students are required to take an online tutorial and
pass an online examination on academic integrity in their first semester at
Rutgers and to affirm periodically that they understand the Rutgers Academic
Integrity Policy and will abide by it in all their academic work.
The complete Academic Integrity Policy can be found at http://academicintegrity.rutgers.edu/policy-on-academic-integrity.