The University of Arizona Global Campus seeks to create a community of academic excellence through the highest levels of academic honesty, unique individual contribution, and integrity. Academic integrity is the ethical use of information, thoughts, and ideas from which we build original thought to contribute to the academic conversation. All Global Campus students and alumni are expected to adhere to the standards of academic integrity. The University may address allegations of academic misconduct after a student has graduated, and will process allegations concerning alumni in the same manner it addresses allegations concerning current students. All students, staff, faculty, and administration are held to the highest standard of ethical, integral behavior at the University of Arizona Global Campus at all times. Academic integrity includes several specific behaviors, including:
Personal Responsibility: Taking ownership for your educational activities and responsibility for choices and their consequences;
- Student Responsibility: The University of Arizona Global Campus students are expected to abide by the established Academic Integrity policy. It is the student's responsibility to discuss and ask questions regarding expectations with each faculty member. Students are responsible for checking facts, finding reliable sources for, and making careful, critical examination of all work they submit. Students are expected to also hold their peers to a high level of academic integrity within the classroom and all aspects of the University community.
- Faculty Responsibility: It is the responsibility of all faculty to be familiar with the Academic Integrity policy. Faculty are encouraged to post in the course announcements their expectations regarding the academic integrity policy, including artificial intelligence, and outline them in detail for students as to how it relates to the work completed and the course learning outcomes.
Continual Improvement: Accepting the reality that mistakes are learning opportunities and that errors can be fixed and behaviors can be changed.
Original Thought: Developing your own perspectives from careful analysis and synthesis of existing information;
Academic Voice: Utilizing your own voice, spoken or written, while presenting ideas, facts, arguments, and conclusions that are supported by research;
Careful Attribution: Accurately attributing words and information to their original source by following the rules of grammar and citation.
Academic Integrity Violations
Academic dishonesty can take a number of forms. It includes, but is not limited to, cheating on a test or examination, claiming the work of another as one’s own including AI-generated material, plagiarizing any paper, research project, or assignment, or falsely submitting material to fulfill course requirements.
Artificial Intelligence: Technology advances human development and is a critical factor in workforce capabilities. Technology is human driven, and humans are responsible for ethical use of technology. Within the academic community, technology can enhance learning but may contribute to opportunities to violate the principles of academic integrity. Students may not use artificial intelligence technology for academic work unless specifically approved in a course. Courses will include expectations that describe how artificial intelligence technology may or may not be used in the context of academic work in that course and guidance on citation requirements, if applicable. Students should refer to posted announcements for artificial intelligence use in their course and contact their instructor to ensure they are in compliance with classroom expectations.
Plagiarism: The University of Arizona Global Campus defines plagiarism as representing the words or ideas of another as one’s own in any academic exercise. This definition includes draft assignments that are submitted and graded as a part of the curriculum. Plagiarism occurs when someone uses the ideas, language, or other material (that is not common knowledge) without acknowledging the original source. The use of materials, including print, online texts, the work of others, or generative artificial intelligence (AI) can be considered plagiarism when presented as one’s own work.
Acts of plagiarism include, but are not limited to:
- The modification of text with the intent of changing phrases, changing words, or interspacing the student’s work into the plagiarized work;
- “Copy and paste” plagiarism, which involves copying and pasting materials from sources, including books, magazines, encyclopedias, newspapers, online sources, etc. without proper citation or generative AI and presenting them as one’s original work;
- Paraphrasing or summarizing another’s work without giving appropriate credit.
Cheating: Using or attempting to use unauthorized materials, including the work of others taken, or purchased from academic content share sites, online or elswhere, in any academic exercise (e.g., tests, essays, etc.) or contracting with a third party to complete any academic exercise.
Fabrication: Unauthorized falsification or invention of any information, citation, or source in an academic exercise, including those produced by generative AI. Invention of sources or information in a source listing, including fake or inaccessible references or citing sources that were never consulted is a form of fabrication. Information shared in an academic exercise that is not aligned with the source cited is also a form of fabrication.
Facilitating Academic Dishonesty: Intentionally or knowingly helping or attempting to help another student to commit a violation of academic integrity, including posting academic work on third-party websites (i.e. social media and study resource websites).
Academic Collusion: The use of another student’s work, even if the student has permission. This includes, but is not limited to, stealing, sharing, or soliciting, in whole or in part, any information that is not your own. Students may work cooperatively but not collude. Every student is required to submit original and independent work in the classroom (i.e. assignments, discussions, quizzes, examinations, journals, etc).
Falsifying Data: Falsifying data to show either the process or the product of scholarly examination to be different from what actually occurred is also considered dishonest. This includes falsely reporting attendance or participation in any field work experience.
Unapproved Research: Unapproved research is any research that is undertaken without approval by the University or the Institutional Review Board (IRB), including any solicitation of or interaction with human subjects or accessing any data. In the case of doctoral research, unapproved doctoral research is any research that is started before officially enrolling in doctoral course work and any research for which the IRB has not approved. Conducting doctoral research without IRB approval is an Academic Integrity violation and Research Misconduct, which could result in invalid research, dismissal from the program, and/or a referral toteh Office of Student Conduct for additional sanctions inculding suspension and/or expulsion from the university. Specific policies on research protocols may be found in the IRB Handbook and the Doctoral Student Research Handbook.
Reuse of Previously Submitted Academic Work: As part of the University’s policy on academic integrity, it is expected that students will submit new and original work for each course. Students may not submit academic work that is an exact copy of, or portion of work, previously submitted in a different course at this institution or any other institution, including a course re-take, without prior written permission from the student’s current instructor. The University understands that work at the doctoral level within a discipline is interconnected and expects students, when writing about similar topics, to enhance and refine previously submitted content by building upon their present research as they progress through their program of study. Previously submitted work, without prior written permission from the student’s current instructor, may adversely affect one’s grade. For exceptions or unique cases, students are encouraged to seek guidance and clarification from their instructor on reusing previously submitted academic work.
Consequences for Academic Integrity Violations
A student who commits an act of academic dishonesty may face consequences, including but not limited to: grade deduction(s), failure to receive credit on an academic assignment, course failure, rewrite of an assignment, completion of educational projects, coaching sessions, and a hold may be placed on the student's record limiting their ability to schedule or engage in future courses. A referral may also be made to the Office Student Conduct, where additional sanctions may apply, including suspension, and/or expulsion from the University.
Outcomes will be determined by multiple criteria including, but not limited to, student record, academic level, assignment type, and severity. The consequences for acts of academic dishonesty will be evaluated accordingly. The decision cannot be challenged through the Academic Resolution Process and must be appealed through the Office of Academic Integrity, if applicable.
Appeal
Students have the right to petition to appeal an official citation from an investigation of an academic integrity violation. To petition to appeal, students must complete the Petition to Appeal form and email the completed form to the Office of Academic Integrity at AcademicIntegrity@uagc.edu within seven (7) business days of receipt of the decision letter. In the petition to appeal, it is important that students substantiate one of the three bases for which an appeal could be granted. The three bases are: to consider new information unavailable during the investigation that could be outcome determinative and demonstrates that an academic integrity violation did not occur, to assess whether a material deviation from written procedures unfairly impacted the outcome, or to decide if a sanction(s) is substantively disproportionate to the severity of the violation(s). Appeals received without documentation to support one of the three bases may be closed without further review.
On appeal by any party to the decision, the Students Rights and Responsibilities Manager or designee, may support or change a decision, increase, decrease, or modify a sanction. Outcomes from the appeal process are final.
Plagiarism: Applied Doctoral Project
The University requires that all applied doctoral projects be submitted for similarity review through Turnitin® for the purpose of detecting plagiarism prior to the defense of the applied doctoral project. The University further requires that the student’s applied doctoral project chair certify that the applied doctoral project has been submitted through Turnitin®.
If plagiarism is discovered after a doctoral student’s applied doctoral project has been submitted for final examination, or after the student’s program has been completed, the alleged plagiarism must be immediately reported to the Division of Advanced Studies. The Division of Advanced Studies will collaborate with the Office of Academic Integrity to determine an appropriate course of action.
Turnitin® is available to students as a Learning Resource in the online classroom.