Academic Honesty (Policy 24)

Academic Honesty pertains to all methods of fulfilling academic requirements at Governors State University. The University strives to create a learning environment that promotes innovation, academic integrity, and responsible use of technology. 

Students submit academic work—including but not limited to exams, research papers, theses, dissertations, capstone projects, presentations, written assignments, speeches, videos, films, performances, creative works, group projects, and all other materials and assessments created by students in the course—to demonstrate their own understanding of course content. Therefore, all academic work submitted by students must be their own and not the work of someone else, unless otherwise permitted by the instructor. All academic work must be completed in accordance with the University’s academic regulations, the course syllabus, and direction(s) from the course instructor(s). The following guidelines are appropriate ways to use the ideas and work of others in academic work, and violation of these guidelines constitutes a student violation of Academic Honesty (Policy 24):

1. When someone else’s work or scholarship is used in academic work, the source must be given credit. Unless otherwise specified by the instructor, it must not be stated or implied that this work is the student’s own work: 
   1. When using direct quotes, all such material should be enclosed in quotation marks or otherwise set off, and the source of the material acknowledged and cited; 
   2. When paraphrasing another author(s)’s material, the source must be acknowledged and cited unless the information is common knowledge in the discipline, and all paraphrasing must be in the student’s own words and substantially different than the source material; 
   3. When using unpublished data or ideas of another author, these ideas should be utilized only with the consent of that author and properly acknowledged and cited; 
   4. When academic work is prepared jointly with one or more other authors and with the permission of the instructor (e.g., a group project or team paper), the contributions of all contributors to this academic work shall be clearly explained, acknowledged, and cited; and 
   5. When academic work is prepared by another author, such material shall only be submitted with the instructor’s permission, and appropriately acknowledged and cited. 
2. Students always must use the citation style and procedures specified by the instructor. 
3. The same piece of academic work should not be submitted for credit in more than one course without the permission of all instructors involved. 
4. Hypothetical data should be submitted only with the permission of the instructor to do so, and should be clearly labeled as such.
5. Students should refuse to make work available to another person who intends to submit part or all of that academic work as if they had written it. 
6. Students may neither give, request, nor utilize assistance during an examination or other assessment without the instructor’s permission. 
7. In all academic work, students must conduct themselves with honesty when interacting with others, including the instructor, other students, or classroom guests.

Additional examples of student violations of Academic Honesty (Policy 24) include but are not limited to:

1. Submitting, as one’s own academic work, the work of another writer or commercial writing service; 
2. Knowingly buying or otherwise acquiring and submitting any academic work created by someone else; 
3. Submitting, as one’s own, any academic work in which portions were produced by someone acting as tutor or editor; 
4. Collaborating with others on academic work without authorization of the instructor; 
5. In addition to oral or written academic work, plagiarism may also involve using, without permission and/or acknowledgment, computer programs or files, research designs, ideas and images, charts and graphs, photographs, creative works, assignments, and other types of information that belong to someone else; 
6. Facilitating violations of Academic Honesty; and 
7. Fabricating or falsifying data and other content.

When using generative Artificial Intelligence (AI) tools, students must adhere to the following guidelines to remain in compliance with Academic Honesty (Policy 24) and the Policy on the Use of Generative Artificial Intelligence. Failure to do so constitutes a student violation: 

1. Students may use generative AI tools, with instructor permission, to expand their understanding of course content—not as a substitute for their own academic work; 
2. Students who wish to use generative AI tools shall obtain prior permission from the instructor before using generative AI tools to complete academic work. When such permission is granted, students must cite AI-generated content using the citation procedures specified by the instructor, aligned to appropriate protocols used in the discipline; 
3. AI-generated content submitted as a student’s own academic work but without citation, and/or without prior permission from the instructor—including all academic work including research papers, writing assignment, assessments, or other academic work—is not permitted. 

Instructors maintain original jurisdiction over course grades and student violations of Academic Honesty (Policy 24) within courses taught by the instructor. When an instructor alleges a violation of Academic Honesty (Policy 24), the student shall be provided the opportunity to resolve the allegation with the instructor. The instructor shall communicate the Academic Honesty allegation to the student, and the student shall be provided an opportunity to respond. The instructor shall follow the course syllabus and may issue a sanction no greater than a failing grade for the course. Students retain the right appeal the instructor’s decision under Student Grievance (Policy 5).

The instructor may provide a final report to the Dean of Students, for recordkeeping purposes, indicating the instructor’s decision, with a copy of this report maintained by the Dean of Students in accordance with the Student Records Policy (12), as well as applicable federal and state laws. The Dean of Students shall regularly monitor the report records and initiate an investigation and appropriate processes for repeated violations of Academic Honesty (Policy 24). The instructor may provide their final decision to Division/Department Chairs and academic Deans, as appropriate. 

The instructor may also request additional action by the Dean of Students for investigation under Student Conduct (Policy 4). The Dean of Students investigation shall consider the context of the alleged violation, the student’s previous record of Academic Honesty (Policy 24) violations, and the severity of reported violation(s) in each case, with discipline up to and including dismissal from the University as defined in Student Conduct (Policy 4). 

In addition, Division/Department Chairs and Deans may also request additional action(s) by the Dean of Students under Policy 4 (Student Conduct) in cases of repeated violations across multiple courses, programs, and/or semesters. In addition to instructor’s original jurisdiction for course grades, individual colleges, divisions/departments, and programs also may establish additional program procedures for Academic Honesty (Policy 24) violations within individual programs, with program disciplinary actions up to and including dismissal from the program. 

This policy is not intended to discourage students from studying together or from engaging in group projects, as approved by the instructor.