Hofstra University Honor Code
“As a member of the Hofstra community I pledge to demonstrate integrity and ethical behavior in all aspects of my life, both inside and out of the classroom. I understand that I am accountable for everything I say and write. I will not misrepresent my academic work, nor will I give or receive unauthorized assistance for academic work. I agree to respect the rights of all members of the Hofstra community. I will be guided by the values expressed in the P.R.I.D.E Principles. I accept the responsibility to follow this Honor Code at all times.”
(adopted 2012)
Procedure for Handling Violations of Academic Honesty
A University is a community of faculty, administrators and students dedicated to the pursuit of learning and to the creation of new knowledge. Every individual in this community has an obligation to uphold its intellectual standards, which alone make education worthwhile. It is the responsibility of the faculty not only to share its knowledge, but also to communicate understanding of, and respect for, the process by which knowledge is produced. The goal of most graduate study is individual synthesis and analysis, and the independent evaluation by students of others’ work. Thus, students play an active role in their own education, and each student bears responsibility for his or her work. Anyone who refuses this responsibility both misses the point of a graduate education and proves unworthy of it.
A student who commits any act of academic dishonesty, including knowingly helping another student to commit such an act, is rejecting the responsibility that is inherent in the pursuit of learning and may forfeit the right to remain a member of the academic community, particularly if he or she is unwilling or unable to recognize the seriousness of the offense and fails to demonstrate such recognition by abstaining from further violation of academic propriety.
One learns and contributes to the body of knowledge by reviewing work already done and by using it as the basis for generating new ideas, discovering new data, and drawing new conclusions. Though the process of learning is undeniably collaborative, one’s achievement in that process is assessed on the basis of one’s individual contribution. Academic honesty requires carefully distinguishing one’s own work from that of others. Each individual must fully acknowledge when, where, and how his or her work refers to or depends on that of others. This means carefully tracing the boundary between others’ efforts and one’s own, clearly noting where others’ work leaves off and one’s own begins.
The academic community assumes that work of any kind – whether a research paper, a critical essay, a homework assignment, a test or quiz, a computer program, or a creative assignment in any medium – is done, entirely and without assistance, by the individual whose name it bears. (If joint projects are assigned, then the work is expected to be wholly the work of those whose names it bears.) If the work contains facts, ideas, opinions, discoveries, words, or other elements found in sources, these must be fully and appropriately acknowledged, following a prescribed format for doing so. In general terms, the conventional format consists of a bibliography (a list of sources) coupled with footnotes or parenthetical citations that serve to identify the precise derivation of each idea, fact, paraphrase, or quotation that comes from another’s work.
For further information about policies and procedures concerning violations of academic honesty, consult Faculty Policy Series 11G in the Guide to Pride and at the University Senate website.
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