Academic Integrity & Honesty

Academic honesty, the duty of every member of an academic community to claim authorship of his or her own work and only for that work and to recognize the contributions of others accurately and completely, is fundamental to the integrity of intellectual debate and creative and academic pursuits. All members of the University community are expected to conduct themselves in accord with the standards of academic honesty. Students are responsible for knowing and making use of proper procedures for writing papers, presenting and performing their work, taking examinations, and doing research. Instructors are equally responsible for informing students of their policies with respect to the limits within which students may collaborate with or seek help from others on specific assignments. Instructors are expected to educate students about the legal and ethical restrictions placed upon creative work and about the consequences of dishonesty in the professional world. At Parsons, all students are required to sign an Academic Integrity Statement declaring that they understand and agree to comply with this policy.

(From the University Policies Governing Student Conduct)
“Academic honesty includes accurate use of quotations, as well as appropriate and explicit citation of sources in instances of paraphrasing and describing ideas, or reporting on research findings or any aspect of the work of others (including that of instructors and other students).

The standards of academic honesty and citation of sources apply to all forms of academic work (examinations, essay theses, dissertations, computer work, art and design work, oral presentations and other projects).

The standards also include responsibility for meeting the requirements of particular courses of study.

The New School recognizes that the different nature of work across the divisions of the University may entail different procedures for citing sources and referring to the work of others. Particular academic procedures, however, are based in universal principles valid in all divisions of the New School and institutions of higher education in general.”

Academic dishonesty includes but is not limited to:

• cheating on examinations, either by copying another student’s work or by utilizing unauthorized materials.
• any act of plagiarism, that is, the fraudulent presentation of the written, oral or visual work of others as original.
• theft of another student’s work.
• purchase of another student’s work.
• submitting the same work for more than one course.
• destruction or defacement of the work of others.
• aiding or abetting any act of dishonesty.
• any attempt to gain academic advantage by presenting misleading information, making deceptive statements or falsifying documents.

Guidelines for Written Assignments
Plagiarism is the use of another person's words or ideas in any academic work using books, journals, internet postings, or other student papers without proper acknowledgment. For further information on proper acknowledgment and plagiarism, including expectations for paraphrasing source material and proper forms of citation in research and writing, students should consult the Chicago Manual of Style (cf. Turabian's A Manual for Writers of Term Papers, Theses and Dissertations. 6th ed. Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1996). The New School University Writing Center also provides useful on-line resources to help students understand and avoid plagiarism.
See www.newschool.edu/admin/writingcenter/usefullinks.html.

Students must receive prior permission from instructors to submit the same or substantially overlapping material for two different assignments.  Submission of the same work for two assignments without the prior permission of instructors is plagiarism.

Guidelines for Studio Assignments
Work from other visual sources may be imitated or incorporated into studio work if the fact of imitation or incorporation and the identity of the original source are properly acknowledged. There must be no intent to deceive; the work must make clear that it emulates or comments on the source as a source. Referencing a style or concept in otherwise original work does not constitute plagiarism. The originality of studio work that presents itself as “in the manner of” or as playing with “variations on” a particular source should be evaluated by the individual faculty member in the context of a critique.

Incorporating ready-made materials into studio work as in a collage, synthesized photograph or paste-up is not plagiarism in the educational context. In the commercial world, however, such appropriation is prohibited by copyright laws and may result in legal consequences.

Any violation of the Academic Integrity and Honesty Policy is a matter for disciplinary action.

1. Initial Discussion: An instructor who suspects a student has committed plagiarism in course work should give the student an opportunity to explain the origin of the work and should investigate whether the student understands the relevant standards of academic conduct. The instructor should explain the alleged violation clearly, concisely and specifically and should advise the student to review the Policy in the Student Handbook.

2. Follow-Up Discussion: The instructor should schedule a second meeting with the student to discuss the accusation fully following the student’s review of the Policy. Whenever possible, this full discussion should take place within one week of the initial meeting.

Each party may elect, but is not required, to have an impartial advisor present at the meeting. The instructor should select the Chair or Associate Chair of the program that offers the course. The student should select an Advisor from the Office of Advising or from his or her program. The role of the program Chair or Associate Chair is to help facilitate discussion between the student and the instructor by calling all parties to the meeting, providing a private meeting space and allowing the different points of view to be expressed. The role of the advisor is to help the student to understand the Policy and the alleged violation. During the discussion, the student should be prepared to present the work in question, along with any supporting drafts, sketches, digital files or other documentation. The instructor may ask the student to reconstruct the process involved in creating the work.

If a violation comes to the instructor’s attention during finals or a school break, the discussion should take place as soon as possible, preferably before the start of a new semester. In this situation, the faculty member should notify his/her department and issue a temporary grade of Incomplete ("I"). In cases where the work in question is submitted at the end of the semester and/or the faculty member is unavailable, the program Chair or Associate may elect to discuss the incident with the student.

3. Assessment of Infraction: On the basis of this meeting the instructor, in consultation with the program Chair or Director, will assess the case taking into consideration the student’s intent to deceive, the amount of plagiarism, and the type of assignment involved, to determine whether a minor or major offense has occurred. The instructor who determines that a minor offense has occurred may counsel a student about standards of academic honesty, explain the consequences of plagiarism, and require the student to resubmit the assignment in an appropriate form. An instructor who determines that a major offense has occurred should fail the plagiarized assignment and submit a report to the program Chair or Director and the Assistant Dean. The report should include the student’s name, the course, semester, notes on conversations with the student, and copies of the relevant plagiarized submission (with problems identified). Questions about the handling of plagiarism cases should be directed to the Assistant Dean. In cases where the student is taking a course with a faculty member outside his/her division, the Dean’s Office of the faculty member will inform the Dean’s Office of the student to handle the case.

4. Disciplinary Review: The Assistant Dean will issue a formal letter to the student, with a copy to the instructor, documenting the case and any imposed sanctions. A copy of this letter will remain in the Office of Advising, the Office of Students Rights & Responsibilities, and in the student’s official file in Records.

The Assistant Dean may impose sanctions which can include a failing grade in the course, suspension, dismissal or expulsion. For a second major offense, the Assistant Dean will impose suspension or dismissal. Infraction of standards of academic honesty in an M.A. or Ph.D. thesis, or in a comprehensive examination is an immediately dismissable offense. Programs should report these cases immediately to the Assistant Dean for adjudication by an ad hoc committee convened by that office and conducted according to principles established by the division’s academic grievance procedures.

In cases where the student confesses to the violation, the procedures and penalties for academic dishonesty may be altered at the discretion of the program Chair or Director and the Assistant Dean.

Academic Integrity Appeals
Students may appeal the findings and penalties in cases of academic dishonesty to the University Appeals Committee.