Adler University Academic Honesty Policy
Adler University seeks to establish a climate of honesty and integrity. Any work submitted by a student must represent original work produced by that student. This could include, but is not limited to, coursework, presentations, and other professional activities. Any source used by a student must be documented through required references and citations, and the extent to which any sources have been used must be expressly stated in the work.
Academic misconduct generally includes cheating, plagiarism, and research misconduct—but academic misconduct is more broadly defined to refer to any action that involves unethical, illicit, unauthorized, fraudulent, or inappropriate behaviors designed to provide an undue advantage or otherwise aid in whole or part with the completion of required work at Adler University. Students who commit academic misconduct, including (but not limited to) cheating, plagiarism or research misconduct, are subject to a failing grade for the assignment and course and, potentially, immediate dismissal from their program and Adler University.
- Cheating includes, but is not limited to, the following examples:
Unauthorized copying, collaboration, or use of notes, books, or other materials on examinations or other academic exercises including:
- Sharing information about an examination with a student who has not taken that examination;
- Obtaining information about the contents of an examination and/or assignment that the student has not taken;
- Unauthorized use of electronic devices;
- Text messaging or other forms of prohibited communication during an examination;
- Having others complete coursework, write papers, or take tests/quizzes for you, thus representing another’s work as your own; and/or
- Unauthorized use and/or possession of any academic material, such as tests, research papers, assignments, or similar materials;
- Collaboration on assignments that are designed to be completed on an individual basis, unless otherwise stated by the instructor.
- Plagiarism, a specific subset of academic dishonesty, is the representation of another person’s work, words, thoughts, and/or ideas as one’s own. Plagiarism includes, but is not limited to:
- Copying material and/or using ideas from an article, book, unpublished paper, or any material or source found on the Internet without proper documentation of references and citations, or without properly enclosing quoted material in quotation marks. This includes material retrieved from or generated by artificial intelligence tools, including but not limited to ChatGPT.
- Resubmission of work done for one course, assignment, or task for another. This form of plagiarism does not typically involve the submission of the work of others, but instead, consists of representing as new work what has been previously submitted. Adler University further considers resubmission of work done partially or entirely by another, as well as resubmission of substantial or entire portions of one’s own work done in a previous course or for a different professor, to be academic dishonesty, unless the student has received prior approval of the faculty, and the new assignment expands upon the original work;
- Minimally rephrasing, paraphrasing, or revising the work of others without proper citation or credit. Plagiarism also includes sentences that follow an original source too closely, often created by simply substituting synonyms for another person’s words;
- Substantial utilization of the published or unpublished work of others without permission, citation, or credit—also known as “cut and paste” or “patch writing”—and including works retrieved from or generated by artificial intelligence tools such as but not limited to ChatGPT; and/or
- Purchasing or otherwise acquiring a work in its entirety and submitting it as one’s own.
- Research misconduct involves the misrepresentation of data or material in research, and includes but is not limited to:
- Misrepresentation of how much effort was expended, or the extent of original contribution made to a research project in which multiple contributors took part;
- Withholding data or materials, involving the refusal to make available for inspection the raw data and sources for student research;
- Data manipulation, involving the suppression or changing of study data to facilitate a desired outcome;
- Data fabrication, involving the intentional production of false or invented study or research data and representing such data as genuine; and/or
- Data falsification, involving the intentional alteration of study or research data and representing such data as genuine.
Academic misconduct allegations are referred to the appropriate person or committee on each campus. All occurrences of academic misconduct, whether inadvertent or intentional, are serious and will be evaluated on a case-by-case basis and students may be subject to disciplinary action up to and including dismissal.
Ignorance of this policy or of any restrictions in place in a particular situation regarding the means by which any assignment, examination, or project can be completed is not a defense to an allegation of academic misconduct. It is each student’s responsibility to promptly raise any questions or doubts regarding permitted methods or assistance to the appropriate instructor or advisor. Depending on the severity of the academic misconduct at issue, the level of training, and circumstances associated with the misconduct, consequences can range from failure on specific assignments, or required supplemental education, to dismissal from the student’s program and/or Adler University.
