Academic Integrity Policy

The Elaine Marieb College of Nursing follows the University of Massachusetts Amherst Academic Honesty Policy as written in the Undergraduate Academic Regulations.

All members of the University community must participate in the development of a climate conducive to academic honesty. While the faculty, because of their unique role in the educational process, have the responsibility for defining, encouraging, fostering, and upholding the ethic of academic honesty, students have the responsibility of conforming in all respects to that ethic.

Intellectual honesty requires that students demonstrate their own learning during examinations and other academic exercises, and that other sources of information or knowledge be appropriately credited. Scholarship depends upon the reliability of information and reference in the work of others. Student work at the University may be analyzed for originality of content. Such analysis may be done electronically or by other means. Student work may also be included in a database for the purpose of checking for possible plagiarized content in future student submissions. No form of cheating, plagiarism, fabrication, or facilitating of dishonesty will be condoned in the University community. 

Academic dishonesty includes but is not limited to:

• Cheating - intentional use, and/or attempted use of trickery, artifice, deception, breach of confidence, fraud and/or misrepresentation of one's academic work.
• Fabrication - intentional and unauthorized falsification and/or invention of any information or citation in any academic exercise.
• Plagiarism - knowingly representing the words or ideas of another as one's own work in any academic exercise. This includes submitting without citation, in whole or in part, prewritten term papers of another or the research of another, including but not limited to commercial vendors who sell or distribute such materials.
• Facilitating dishonesty – knowingly helping or attempting to help another commit an act of academic dishonesty, including substituting for another in an examination, or allowing others to represent as their own one’s papers, reports, or academic works.

Sanctions may be imposed on any student who has committed an act of academic dishonesty. Any person who has reason to believe that a student has committed academic dishonesty should bring such information to the attention of the appropriate course instructor as soon as possible. Formal definitions of academic dishonesty, examples of various forms of dishonesty, and the procedures which faculty must follow to penalize dishonesty are detailed on the Academic Honesty website.

Appeals must be filed within ten days of notification by the Academic Honesty Office that a formal charge has been filed by an instructor that they suspect dishonesty. Contact the Academic Honesty Office for more information on the process. The Ombuds Office is also available to support individuals engaging with the Academic Honesty process. The Provost’s Office is where appeals are processed and filed.

FA 02/19; 9/21/22; 5/17/23.