Academic Honor Code

• The mission of the Asian University for Women (AUW) is to educate ethical leaders. All forms of unethical behavior are serious violations of our mission, and therefore, will not be tolerated.

   

  The integrity of students’ academic work is very important to AUW faculty. Universities are based upon the fundamental principle that the work presented truly belongs to the author, because the academic community revolves around ideas and creativity. Each person’s ideas are his or her contribution to the academic community. Therefore, taking another person’s ideas and representing them as one’s own is a serious form of dishonesty. Similarly, cheating (copying someone else’s work, asking for answers, sharing answers, etc.) and other forms of dishonesty (falsifying data, making up references, etc.) are also serious breaches of this honor code.

   

  AUW students are expected to reflect a high standard of integrity in all areas of their lives, not from mere compliance with external rules, but from a personal commitment to these values.

   

  Students who violate this code not only compromise their own integrity, but they undermine the mission of the AUW. Below are some standards and procedures that (1) define plagiarism and other forms of academic cheating; and (2) allow the faculty and administration to impose serious consequences when such incidents of unethical behavior occur.

   

  Plagiarism

  Plagiarism is intentionally or unintentionally taking credit for another’s words or ideas. You may not plagiarize in your academic work, and you must adhere to the following:

   

  • When you use someone else’s words (whether they are from a distinguished author or a classmate’s paper), place the words you have copied in quotation marks and provide the appropriate citation of author and source. A good guideline to use to avoid plagiarism is to make sure quotes of three or more sequential words from someone else are put into quotation marks.

  • If you paraphrase (reword) another person’s ideas, then you must also cite the source. Paraphrasing must involve changing the words and sentence structure of the original source.
  • Cite materials you copy or paraphrase from the Internet, even if the author is not identified.

   

  The various academic disciplines (humanities, social sciences, sciences) use slightly different formats for footnotes, endnotes, and bibliographies. Your professor for a particular class will tell you which format he or she wants you to use in that class.

   

  Cheating on Exams or Quizzes

  Copying, asking for answers, sharing answers, and any other form of cheating (misrepresenting your own work and knowledge) on exams or quizzes are all forms of academic dishonesty.

   

  Other Forms of Academic Dishonesty

  1. Making up references, quoting wrong sources, etc. You may not make up reference information or sources or cite other sources in place of the actual source of the material you are using.

   

  2. Falsifying data. You may not make up or falsify data as part of surveys, in laboratory experiments, or in any other academic exercise.

   

  3. Misrepresenting your situation to be excused from academic work. You may not go to the nurse or the counselor with a made-up excuse in order to be given an extension on a paper or other assignment or avoid taking an exam.

   

  4. Submitting the same paper in more than one class. You may not submit the same paper, or substantively the same paper, in more than class unless you are given permission from both faculty members (or by the second faculty member in the event the second class occurs in a later semester). If permission is given, you must follow instructions on any modifications you must make.

   

  5. Informing a student in a later class about questions on tests or quizzes. When tests or quizzes are given for multiple classes that meet at different times, a student who takes the exam at an earlier time may not inform students who have yet to take the exam about the test questions, answers, or anything else regarding the contents of the test or quiz.

   

  6. Misrepresenting your academic work or qualifications in any way. Examples include misrepresenting one’s grade point average or academic qualifications on an application for an internship or summer study.

   

  Consequences for Engaging in Academic Dishonesty

  Incidents of academic dishonesty, along with supporting information, must be reported by faculty members to the chair of the Academic Actions Committee (AAC). The accused student should also be notified that the AAC has been informed of the offense. The chair of the AAC will coordinate with the faculty member and student to organize a meeting, request information on prior offenses from the Academic Registrar, and ensure the appropriate procedures are followed.

   

  First Offense:

  After a faculty member has identified academic dishonesty and reported it to the chair(s) of the AAC, the student will be required to meet with the relevant faculty member and the chair of the Academic Actions Committee to discuss the offense. During the discussion, notes will be taken on the Academic Misconduct Report Form, and all participants will sign the form to confirm the student hasunderstood the nature of theoffense. If the student admits to the academic dishonesty, the completed form will be submitted to the Office of the Academic Registrar and kept in the student’s file. The faculty in whose class the academic dishonesty occurred may enforce a grade penalty on the assignment.

   

  If the student denies the charge of academic dishonesty, then the chair of the AAC will convene an Academic Honor Court consisting of 3 members of the AAC, including the chair, to hear the case. The Court will hear evidence from the faculty member, student, and any other witnesses the Court deems appropriate. If sufficient evidence of academic dishonesty is found, the Court may institute a grade penalty on the assignment at the faculty member’s discretion. A report of the proceedings will be written by the chair(s) of the AAC and filed along with the Academic Misconduct Report Form in the student’s file.

   

  Second, Third, and Fourth Offenses:

  After a faculty has identified academic dishonesty and reported it to the chair of the AAC, the chair will convene an Academic Honor Court consisting of 3 members of the AAC, including the chair, to hear the case. The Court will hear evidence from the faculty member, student, and any other witnesses the Court deems appropriate. If sufficient evidence of academic dishonesty is found, the Court may institute a penalty in relation to the number of cumulative offenses detailed below. A report of the proceedings will be written by the chair of the AAC and filed along with the Academic Misconduct Report Form in the student’s file.

   

  Penalties for Additional Offenses:

  • Second Offense: A grade penalty for the assignment or the entire course at the discretion of the faculty member. The guardian on file will be notified in writing.

  • Third Offense: The student will receive a grade of ‘F’ for the course in which the academic dishonesty took place and be suspended from the University for one term.

  • Fourth Offense: The student will receive a grade of ‘F’ for the course in which the academic dishonesty took place and be expelled from the University.

   

  Important Notes:

  Note that actions taken for ethical violations will add to any existing academic actions or serve as the starting place for subsequent academic actions. For example, a student currently on Academic Probation or Final Academic Probation that engages in academic dishonesty will undergo a more severe action than their current status. In the case of an academic action coming after an ethical violation, the action taken will be more severe than that given for cheating or plagiarism.

   

  A record of each incidence of plagiarism, cheating, or any form of academic dishonesty will be kept by the AUW Academic Registrar in the student’s file. A student’s financial aid will not be extended beyond four years of undergraduate study if the student must repeat courses due to failing grades resulting from poor academic performance or cheating/plagiarism violations.