CMSV 308 Academic Integrity
Policy Name: Academic Integrity
All College of Mount Saint Vincent Master of Science Physician Assistant Program students are required to familiarize themselves with the Academic Honesty protocol and context included below.
Mount Saint Vincent maintains and affirms a strong policy of academic honesty. Every member of the academic community has a duty to neither cheat nor condone cheating. Principles of honesty should be reflected in all aspects of student work, including examinations, research papers, laboratory work, oral reports, logs, and all work submitted in fulfillment of course requirements. These principles also apply to the borrowing and careful use of library and all other learning material, and to the expectation that a student’s work is his/her own work and not the prior work of others.
Plagiarism is the act of passing off as one’s own, the words or ideas of another, and is a serious form of academic dishonesty. The following description of plagiarism from the College’s Graduate Academic Policies should serve as a guide for graduate student work:
“Plagiarism may take the form of repeating another’s sentences as your own, paraphrasing someone else’s argument as you own, or even presenting someone else’s line of thinking in the development of a thesis as though it were your own. In short, to plagiarize is to give the impression that you have written or thought something that you have in fact borrowed from another. Although a writer may use other persons’ words and thoughts, they must be acknowledged as such.”
Examinations, papers, laboratory work, oral reports, logs, and any other materials submitted in fulfillment of course requirements must be the student’s work. All documented types of academic fraud committed—including the illicit giving and receiving of information on tests, the presentation of false data, plagiarism, and multiple submissions are therefore subject to penalties, found below. A documented academic integrity violation by a graduate student or a student in the program will result in academic dismissal from the College of Mount Saint Vincent.
Academic Honesty Violations
1. Intentional Plagiarism
- Plagiarism is the misrepresentation of someone else’s words, ideas, or data as one’s own work. Students should be advised to state the source of ideas when these are known, since this lends strength to their answers and is part of the ethics of scholarship. The following acts constitute plagiarism. No student shall:
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- Intentionally represent as one’s own work, the work, words, ideas, arrangement of ideas, research, formulae, diagrams, statistics, or evidence of another.
- Paraphrase, quote, or paste in material without citing the source in the text.
- Submit as one’s own a copy of, or the actual work of, another person, either in part or in entirety, without appropriate citation (e.g. term-paper mill products, internet downloads, etc.).
- Reproduce another professional or student’s work so closely that any reasonable person would conclude plagiarism had occurred.
- Share computer files, programs, or written papers and then submit individual copies of the results as one’s own individual work.
- Copy another student’s test answers.
- Copy, or allow another student to copy, a computer file that contains another student’s assignment, homework, lab reports, or computer programs and submit it, in part or in its entirety, as one’s own.
- Submit substantially the same material in more than one course without prior authorization from each instructor involved.
- Take sole credit for ideas that result from a collaboration with others.
- The following do not constitute plagiarism:
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- The use of ideas which are judged to have become common knowledge. It would, however, constitute plagiarism if the student, being aware that the idea was not his or her own, expressly claimed authorship for the idea.
- Instances in which the idea came from informal discussions with other members of the academic community, which were not initiated with the deliberate intent of providing information on the topic in question. However, if the source of an idea is remembered, the source must be acknowledged.
- Instances when students are specifically instructed by the instructor of that course that the borrowing of another’s or others’ work is considered appropriate.
2. Unintentional Plagiarism
- Plagiarism is not only the failure to cite but the failure to cite sources properly. If a source is cited but in an inadequate way, the student(s) may still be guilty of unintentional plagiarism. It is therefore crucial that students understand the correct way to cite. The rules are relatively simple:
- For exact words, use quotation marks or a block indentation, with the citation.
- For a summary or paraphrase, show exactly where the source begins and exactly where it ends.
- In its policies and disciplinary procedures, the College of Mount Saint Vincent Master of Science Physician Assistant Program will seek to recognize and differentiate its penalties between intentional plagiarism (as defined above) failure to cite sources properly (unintentional plagiarism).
- While both forms are violations of the College’s Academic Honesty protocols, a student’s first instance of unintentional plagiarism may not necessarily be penalized but instead utilized as a professional teaching tool.
3. Cheating
- Cheating is an act, or an attempted act, of deception by which a student seeks to misrepresent that he/she has mastered knowledge on a test or evaluation that he/she has not mastered. No student shall:
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- Knowingly procure, provide, or accept examination materials or descriptions of such materials, except when authorized by the instructor.
- Complete, in part or in total, any examination or assignment for another person.
- Knowingly allow any examination or assignment to be completed, in part or in total, for himself or herself by another person (e.g. take-home exams which have been completed in full or in part by someone else).
- Copy from nearby student’s test, paper, or lab report.
- Use unauthorized sources of information such as: crib sheets, answers stored in a calculator, or unauthorized electronic devices.
- Store answers in electric devices and allow other students to use the information without the consent of the instructor.
- Employ aids excluded by the instructor in undertaking coursework.
- Look at another student’s exam during a test or use texts or other reference materials (including dictionaries) when not authorized to do so.
- Alter graded class assignments or examinations without the full knowledge and consent of the instructor, and then resubmit them for regrading or reconsideration.
4. Fabrication
- Fabrication is the intentional use of invented information or the falsification of research or other findings with the intent to deceive. The following cases constitute fabrication:
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- Citing data or information not actually presented in the source indicated.
- Listing sources in a bibliography not used in the academic exercise.
- Submission in a paper, lab report, or other academic exercise, of falsified, invented, or fictitious data or evidence, or deliberate and knowing concealment or distortion of the true nature, origin, or function of such data or evidence.
- Submitting as one’s own any academic exercise (e.g. written work, printing, sculpture, etc.) prepared totally or in part by another.
- Taking a test for someone else or permitting someone else to take a test for you.
- Providing fraudulent excuses for absences.
- Claiming that work was “lost” by a faculty member when it was never completed.
5. Inappropriate Professional Behavior
- Inappropriate professional behavior includes:
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- Unprofessional conduct in patient settings, simulations, professional meetings, and the classroom setting.
- A student who demonstrates inappropriate professional behavior will be considered in violation of the ethical code set forth by the program.
Please note: This list is not intended to be an all-inclusive list of offenses. Students should consult their instructor if in doubt about the honesty of an action.
What Constitutes Proof of Plagiarism?
Some supported documentation (e.g. turnitin.com or a Google search) that provides citation references or a copy of the original document that functioned as the source of the plagiarism.
Penalties for Academic Honesty Violations
First Offense
- Student will appear in front of the Professional Conduct Review Committee (PCRC) where a determination will be rendered and forwarded to the Academic Performance Committee (APC) for a final disciplinary recommendation including, but not limited to:
- Student will be placed on ‘Professional Warning’ and/or ‘Professional Probation’ dependent on the seriousness of the violation.
- PCRC may recommend student dismissal to the APC based upon the nature of the violation.
Multiple Offenses (This is defined as any prior offense that has been reported and is part of the student’s record/or multiple offenses are reported simultaneously).
- If a student was previously issued a professional warning, the student will automatically be placed on ‘Professional Probation’ or be dismissed from the program.
Third Offense
- Dismissal from the College of Mount Saint Vincent.
Please note: A student will not be allowed to withdraw from the program in which there is a charge of violating the college’s Academic Honesty protocols.
- CMSV 100 Email/Canvas
- CMSV 101 Student Files (Inclusive)
- CMSV 110 Faculty Medical Responsibilities
- CMSV 201 Student Rights and Confidentiality
- CMSV 202 Dress Code
- CMSV 203 Transcripts
- CMSV 204 Student Academic Grievances
- CMSV 205 Drug Testing Policy
- CMSV 300 Professional Review Committee
- CMSV 301 Academic Performance Committee
- CMSV 302 Admission Criteria and Requirements
- CMSV 303 Admission Assessment for Patient Care Experience
- CMSV 305 Ethical and Legal Standards
- CMSV 306 Guidelines for Ethical Conduct and Behavior
- CMSV 307 Criminal Background Check
- CMSV 308 Academic Integrity
- CMSV 309 Academic Advisement
- CMSV 310 Academic Prerequisites
- CMSV 311 Academic Warning/Academic Probation
- CMSV 312 Remediation
- CMSV 313 Deceleration
- CMSV 314 Incomplete Grades
- CMSV 315 Grade Appeal Policy and Protocol
- CMSV 316 Grading System
- CMSV 317 Academic Dismissal
- CMSV 318 Academic Dismissal Appeal Policy
- CMSV 319 Classroom Attendance and Classroom Etiquette Policy
- CMSV 320 Leave of Absence/Withdrawals/Resumption of Studies
- CMSV 321 Health Policy and Immunizations
- CMSV 322 Exposure, Needlestick, Blood Borne Pathogens, Injury
- CMSV 323 Student Academic-Clinical Evaluations
- CMSV 324 Examination Policy
- CMSV 326 Clinical Site Visits and Evaluations
- CMSV 327 Standards of Progression Didactic Year
- CMSV 328 FERPA
- CMSV 329 Graduation Requirements
- CMSV 330 Loss of Accreditation
- CMSV 331 Emergency Response, Campus Security, and Crisis Management
- CMSV 332 Fire Safety Policy
- CMSV 333 Security and Personal Safety Measures | Student/Faculty
- CMSV 334 Faculty Executive Committee
- CMSV 335 Academic Curriculum Committee
- CMSV 336 Clinical Curriculum Committee
- CMSV 337 Data Analytic Committee
- CMSV 338 Admission Committee
- CMSV 339 Exposure to Infectious and Environmental Hazards Policy
- CMSV 500 Student Counseling Center
- CMSV 501 Crisis Intervention
- CMSV 502 Student with Disabilities and Reasonable Accommodations
- CMSV 503 Scholarship Opportunities
- CMSV 600 Tuition Refunds
- CMSV 601 Drug and Alcohol Policy
- CMSV 602 Social Media
- CMSV 603 Sexual Misconduct and Reporting
- CMSV 604 Discrimination, Non-Sex Based Harassment, and Retaliation