Note on Academic Conduct for Students In CSci Classes

A few reasons. One is some students do not realize that cheating is a serious situation with significant penalties. Students should not expect cheating to be overlooked or treated lightly --- often the penalty for cheating in a computer science class is a significant point deduction or even, in particularly serious cases, a failing grade for the class. Second, some students do not understand what constitutes cheating. This note attempts to clarify what is and is not normative in computer science classes.

Q2. Is cheating really that big of an issue?

There are a number of reasons why the University sees cheating and academic misconduct in general as significant issues. Here are a few of them:

• Learning: The primary goal in the classes you take is that you learn the material and skills that are part of those classes. If you cheat you are not learning that material or those skills as you should.
• Fairness: There is an issue of fairness: it is not fair for students who are cheating in a class to get the same grade as students who are not cheating when the students who are not cheating do their own work, but students who are cheating turn in work they did not do.
• Professional conduct: employers want students whose conduct is professional. Part of your learning here at the University is to learn and practice similar good professional conduct. This is important because, for example, unprofessional conduct in a job might affect not only your own career, but also have a harmful effect on your co-workers and your employer. As an example, "stealing" code in a class might result in a lower grade. But "stealing" code that goes into a commercial product might well subject your employer to legal action.

A number of computer science classes allow (or require) you to work in groups on some or all of the assignments. When allowed, the department encourages students to work in groups --- this often produces a better learning environment and also gives students practice in working in a group, a skill employers value since much industry work is done in groups.

Q4. Should we assume that we can work in groups in CSci classes?

Unless a class explicitly states that students can work in groups, you should assume that you are to work individually, or should ask the instructor whether group work is allowed.

Q5. If I am working on an individual assignment, how much collaboration is allowed?

This will vary from class to class. Often instructors will encourage students to discuss assignments, ask each other for help, etc. but will want them to design and implement their own answers. This will usually be explained in more detail in the course syllabus or assignment instructions, for example: "Although you are free to discuss assignments with others, the work you turn in must be your own. This means that on written problems you must come up with your own solution; on programming problems, you must design, implement, debug, and test the program on your own."

Note that, in this case, although some discussion of the assignment is permissable, extensive collaboration is not. For example turning in a lengthy programming assignment that is essentially line by line the same as another student's is a clear indicator that copying or undue collaboration occurred. If the amount of collaboration allowable is not addressed, ask the instructor if you have any questions about it.

Q6. Is letting someone copy your assignment also serious cheating?

Most students recognize that copying another's work and representing it as their own is academic dishonesty. However, you should also realize that assisting or encouraging another students in cheating is also serious academic misconduct and will often carry the same penalty. When working individually, you should not give copies of your assignments to other students.

One common excuse that professors hear about similar assignments is "I let another student use my account and they must have copied my work"; another is "I just gave another student a copy of my solution so they could check theirs." Neither of these is a valid excuse: you should not allow others to use your computer account; if you do, you are responsible for any misconduct they do using your account. Similarly, you should not allow others to view your solution prior to the assignment being due; and if you do you are equally responsible if they copy it and submit it as their own work.

Moreover, it is your responsibility to take reasonable precautions to prevent others from copying your assignments --- for example, you should not allow other people to use your computer account, should not change the permission on your computer files so that they can be copied, etc.

Q7. What are some of the more common types of cheating I am expected to know about?

• Plagiarism: students should not represent other people's work as their own. Examples of this include copying assignment answers from the internet or from an answer key, or from another student. Another example is copying code. Students should realize that although verbatim copying is the most blatant form of plagiarism, text does not need to be copied verbatim for plagiarism to occur. Copying major ideas without attribution, copying and making minor changes, and copying and making cosmetic changes are all considered plagiarism.
• Aiding and abetting cheating. Students should not encourage or assist other students in cheating. This includes giving other students copies of assignment answers (including computer code), and allowing other students to view their exam answers during a test.
• Illegal help during exams. Examples of this include copying from another student during an exam, and using illegal resources (e.g., notes during a closed-book closed-note exam, hand-held computing devices when they are not allowed, etc.)
• Falsifying information: examples of this include modifying a graded answer and claiming it was graded incorrectly, and adding your (or another student's) name to a group assignment when you (or they) did not contribute.
• Violations of the acceptable use policy for computers. Students should not allow others to use their accounts, should not attempt to access private information or circumvent privacy or security measures, should not use their account for illegal purposes, etc. (See the CSE Labs acceptable use policy for more information).

Faculty should

• include a section in the class syllabus about academic conduct; for example, this section might give general norms for what is acceptable in the class, explain why appropriate academic conduct is important, mention penalties for misconduct, etc.;
• provide details or clarifications as needed in other written course information. For example, if some assignments in a class can be done in a group, but others are individual assignments, teachers should explain which assignments are which, how much collaboration is allowed on each type of assignment, etc.;
• provide further clarification and additional instruction on appropriate conduct as needed and reasonable.

Students should

• know general university rules and norms on what is and is not appropriate academic conduct;
• know specific class rules on what is and is not appropriate conduct;
• exercise good judgment and responsible behavior;
• avoid actions that are clearly academic misconduct;
• avoid actions that, while they may fall into the "gray area" of what is or is not misconduct, nonetheless demonstrate poor judgment or questionable behavior;
• ask the course instructor for clarifications when unsure if something is permitted or not.

The Office for Student Academic Integrity is a good site. It contains an FAQ for students, as well as links to other information such as the Student Conduct Code.

Q10. What if I'm not sure if something is allowed or not?

If you are unsure, it is best to ask the course instructor.