Academic Catalog 2020-2021 
    
    Mar 28, 2024  
Academic Catalog 2020-2021 [ARCHIVED CATALOG]

Plagiarism and Academic Dishonesty


Wayland Baptist University

Statement on Plagiarism and Academic Dishonesty

Writing is a collaborative art. Working out ideas for your paper with an instructor, writing tutor, classmate, family member, or friend is encouraged not only for this class, but also for other classes that involve writing. Discussion and collaborative brainstorming are good. However, passing off another’s writing or ideas as your own is plagiarism. It is unethical, it constitutes Academic Dishonesty (cheating), and it is sufficient grounds both for failure of a course and suspension from the university.

Common examples of plagiarism or academic dishonesty include the following:

  • Copying any amount of text directly from an internet website, book, or other document without appropriate citation and synthesis into one’s own discussion.
  • Paraphrasing the ideas presented in any source or oral discussion without appropriate citation.
  • Using the evidence and conclusions of any source as the controlling framework for one’s own paper.
  • Recycling work from a previous or current course, whether your own work or another student’s work.
  • Purchasing or otherwise downloading a paper from an internet website.

In some writing assignments, you will be expected to incorporate scholarly sources into your document. ALL OF THE FOLLOWING must be met to constitute appropriate citation of any source:

  • Including MLA, Chicago, or APA parenthetical or note-style citation format as required by the instructor.
  • Placing borrowed text directly from another source within “quotation marks.”
  • Introducing clearly another author’s voice into the document by means of a signal phrase (an introduction of that author).
  • Offering, in short, a clear distinction between one’s own voice or ideas and those of any outside authors brought into the discussion.

Wayland Baptist University observes a ZERO TOLERANCE policy regarding Academic Dishonesty.

  • Any suspected instance of academic dishonesty, including plagiarism, will first be evaluated by the instructor and discussed individually with the student.
  • If the instructor determines that a student’s actions constitute Academic Dishonesty, the case will be filed with the school dean (as determined by course prefix) and reported to the university vice president of academic affairs, as stated in university policy 8.4.1. ALL CASES OF ACADEMIC DISHONESTY WILL RE REPORTED, and second offenses WILL RESULT IN SUSPENSION FROM THE UNIVERSITY.