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G55 Goldwin Smith
Ithaca, NY 14853
607-255-5004

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Academic Integrity in the College of Arts and Sciences

Academic integrity is the heart of intellectual life -- both in learning and in research. All members of the university community simply must support each other's efforts to master new material and discover new knowledge by sharing ideas and resources, by respecting each other's contributions, and by being honest about their own work. Otherwise the university will fail to accomplish its most central and important goal.

All incoming students receive a copy of Cornell's Code of Academic Integrity and policy about acknowledging the work of others. Every student is responsible for understanding his or her rights and responsibilities under the code. Students should read the policy carefully, and not assume that they understand what integrity and cheating are and are not. Academic integrity implies more here at the university than it usually did in high school. The standards of integrity are those that prevail in professional life. This means that students must acknowledge and cite ideas they adopt from others (not just direct quotations) and help they receive from colleagues. With productive emphasis on collaborative learning and writing, students must understand the general standards and policies about academic integrity and be sure they understand the expectations in individual courses as well. When in doubt, ask the instructor.

To see examples of what does or does not constitute an academic integrity violation, take this quiz.

Plagiarism and How to Avoid It

  • Plagiarism, the use or adaptation of another person's words or ideas without acknowledgement, is the most common form of academic integrity violation at Cornell. It is also the easiest form of violation to detect, thanks to the many search engines that can send instructors to the same sites used by students, and is unnecessary and completely avoidable. Learning from others, and acknowledging their contributions to your own work, is a basic component of academic life.
  • To refresh your understanding of the basic rules of citation, Cornell has developed a guide to Recognizing and Avoiding Plagarism. This guide contains an autotutorial quiz that will allow you to test your knowledge on the correct use of sources in academic writing, and will also allow you to e-mail your quiz results to an instructor who may require completion of the quiz as a course prerequisite or assignment.
  • The Cornell Library web site provides a basic guide to citation of sources. This site includes information on the most commonly used forms of notation, the APA and MLA. If you are not sure which style your instructor wants you to use, be sure to ask.

    • FOR ADDITIONAL RESOURCES, TALK TO THESE PEOPLE:

    • Dean Pat Wasyliw at the Academic Advising Office, 55 Goldwin Smith Hall, 5-5004. Dean Wasyliw is the Academic Integrity liaison for A & S.
    • Deb Morey, Secretary to the A & S Academic Integrity Hearing Board, 172 Goldwin Smith Hall, 5-7061.
    • 2008-2009 Co-Chairs: Prof. Andrew Galloway (English) and Prof. Rachel Weil (History)
    • The Judicial Codes Counselors are available to assist members of the Cornell Community who are accused of violating University rules and regulations. Contact information for all Judicial Codes Counselors: jccoffice-mailbox@cornell.edu

For Faculty

The following Academic Integrity letters are available for faculty members in downloadable and editable (Word) format: