Academic Misconduct

First, all students at OSU are responsible for reading and understanding the Student Code of Conduct IN FULL. Ignorance of these policies is no excuse, and a committee will not look favorably on students who neglect to familiarize themselves with their responsibilities. I'd like to draw your attention to pages 2-3, which specifically prohibit plagiarism and sharing information related to tests.

Second, if it is not explicitly stated in your syllabus, it is assumed (for ANY course) that assigned quizzes, exams, and exercises are to be completed independently, unless specifically assigned as group work. You may not collaborate on tests, share answers, view each others' attempts and/or results, or otherwise assist another student while he or she is attempting a quiz or exam! You may discuss the assigned readings, chapter sections, post questions and responses to the Carmen forum, and otherwise discuss the material presented in your textbook and in course modules downloaded from Content.

Third, plagiarism is dealt with very harshly. Plagiarism is passing any other person's work as your own. This is not limited to willful purchases of entire essays, but can be applied to forgetfulness as well. A single phrase, less than a sentence long, must be set off in quotation and cited, if you are not the original composer. Altering the wording of a statement, paraphrasing, or otherwise modifying an idea found in a source must also be cited. If it is not your original idea, you must CITE it!

Finally, I do not have a pet peeve against cheating or plagiarism. I do not "hate" students who make mistakes or poor judgement. Nobody is perfect and I do not claim to have always been a model student myself. However, I do not have the luxury of deciding whether or not to report academic misconduct. I can not penalize students for cheating or plagiarism, but the committee on academic misconduct (COAM) can and will make determinations about guilt or innocence. They are a neutral third party in all cases and are committed to handling each case fairly. I am required to report each and every suspected incident, without exception. The penalties to instructors who fail to report suspected incidents are quite severe. So, I will report any suspicion of misconduct, whether or not I personally believe it is worth penalizing.

That being said, I do have one "pet peeve" that bears mention, which does make me angry. That is students who do not contact me when they are having difficulty in my class. If you are having difficulty with something on Tuesday and you wait until Friday to ask for an extension, or you ask another student to see their work because the dropbox is about to close and I find out about it, I do take it personally. I check in on this course every day and I spend every Monday morning glued to my office chair to be available to my students. If you know that something in the foreseeable future