(Computer Science Department, 23 October 1995 revised)

The academic policies on cheating of the University apply within the department. These policies suffice for much of our work, but they do not deal explicitly with course work involving computers; thus, the policies must be extended to cover these cases.
 

1. The decision as to whether a student cheated depends on the intent of the assignment, the ground rules specified by the instructor, and the behavior of the student. Two guidelines help an instructor decide if cheating has occurred:
2. Program plagiarism will be suspected if an assignment that calls for independent development and implementation of a program results in two or more solutions so similar that one can be converted to another by mechanical transformation.
3. Cheating will be suspected if a student who was to complete an assignment independently can not explain both the intricacies of his or her solution and the techniques used to generate that solution.

Any student accessing the account of another user, without that user's permission, will be viewed in violation of the department's cheating policy. If a student copies files from another person's account without their permission, whether used or not, is guilty of theft. If a student damages the files or directories, e.g. erase, alter, overwrite, write files to directory, etc., belonging to another user, without their permission or and/or knowledge, they will be viewed as having committed a flagrant act of theft. The minimum penalty for computer theft will be loss of access to computers in Old Main. The penalty may also include loss of computer account(s), suspension, etc.

All students are required to use the computers and laboratory facilities of the department in such a manner as to minimize "wear and tear". Any actions by students which serve or can serve to damage or put at risk, the hardware or software of the department's facilities will be interpreted is a violation of this policy. In addition, students who witness or have knowledge of such acts who do not report their occurrence to the department will be viewed as in violation of this policy. The minimum penalty for violation of the computer use policy will be loss of access to computers in Old Main. The penalty may also include loss of computer account(s).

It is unreasonable to expect a complete definition of cheating. It is however, helpful to have guidelines and precedents. Here are some examples of cases which are clearly cheating and clearly not cheating.
 

EXAMPLES OF CHEATING
 

1. Turning in someone else's work as your own (with or without his or her knowledge). Turning in a completely duplicated assignment is a flagrant offense.
2. Allowing someone else to turn in your work as his or her own.
3. Several people writing one program and turning in multiple copies, all represented (implicitly or explicitly) as individual work.
4. Using any part of someone else's work without the proper acknowledgement.
5. Stealing an examination or solution from the instructor. This is an extremely flagrant offense.

EXAMPLES OF NOT CHEATING

1. Turning in work done alone or with the help of the course's staff.
2. Submission of one assignment for a group of students if group work is explicitly permitted (or required).
3. Getting or giving help on using the computer for the course.
4. Getting or giving help on how to solve minor syntax errors.
5. High level discussion of course material for better understanding.
6. Discussion of assignments to understand what is being asked for.

The University specifies that cheating is grounds for dismissal. Penalties less severe may be imposed instead. A list of possible disciplinary actions is given below.

Actions within the course:

• Negative credit for assignment.
• No credit for assignment and loss of letter grade for course.
• Makeup assignment over same material; no credit.
• Failure in course.

• Loss of advanced standing.
• Letter to student's file and/or Dean detailing nature of infraction.
• Employment eligibility is determined by the severity of the infraction.


If a serious infraction occurs the student will be fired and will not be rehireable by the department and will not receive a departmental tuition waiver.

• Warning probation.
• Suspension from university for a designated period.
• Expulsion from university.

1. For the first offense, the penalty will always be at least as severe as the penalty for failing to turn in the assignment (or take the exam) in question.
2. For either repeated offenses or a flagrant offense by any student, the instructor shall either refer the incident directly to the University for action or assign a penalty no less severe than failure in the course.