What Can Students Do to Avoid Academic Dishonesty

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Many incidents of academic dishonesty occur because a student does not know the correct way to do something. Examples are not citing sources and copying/pasting from a web site. In other situations, students are simply making a poor decision. Following are some suggestions to avoid academic dishonesty:

Plan ahead and use your time wisely. Mistakes can often be avoided if you are not in a rush to complete your assignment or take an exam in which you are not prepared. In using time management well, it allows you time to ask your professor questions.

Talk to your professor. If you can't make a deadline for an assignment, talk to your professor. If the professor isn't able to grant you an extension, you're better off taking a zero for the assignment rather than copying/submitting someone else's work and be charged with academic dishonesty.

Read the syllabus for every class. By reading the syllabus, you will know what the course expectations are, including academic dishonesty. It is to your benefit to know the expectations of the faculty member. While some faculty members may reduce your grade on an assignment/paper/quiz/test, other faculty members may give you a grade of F in the class.

Understand the difference between paraphrasing and plagiarism. Paraphrasing is restating text or a passage in your own words. This is acceptable. Plagiarism is using someone else's thoughts or language and presenting them as your own work. This is academic dishonesty. To avoid plagiarism, correctly cite your sources. Take good notes, so you know where you got your information. When in doubt, cite your source. If you have questions or are uncertain, talk with your professor.

Seek help if you need it. Your professor has office hours; make use of them. Don't be afraid to ask questions. Stop by UMD's Tutoring Center if you need extra academic support.

Test Yourself

Which of the following are prohibited conduct?

• submitting a paper in a current class (which you wrote in a previous class) without your faculty member's approval
• attending a class for someone else
• circulating test materials without your faculty member's approval
• altering, forging, or misusing a University academic record
• forging the signature of any member of the University community
• taking a test for someone else

Answer: These are all considered academic dishonesty, and more examples can be found in the UMD Student Academic Integrity Policy. In addition, check out Did You Know?