Academic Integrity
UNIV 7100* Academic Integrity For Graduate Students
All graduate students registering for the first time at University of Guelph in a graduate program will be enrolled in UNIV 7100*Academic Integrity for Graduate Students. There is no need to add this course on WebAdvisor, as it will be automatically added. Access to this on-line course will begin on the first day of scheduled classes for the semester.
Objectives of the course
In Academic Integrity for Graduate Students, students will learn:
1. The University of Guelph’s Academic Misconduct policy and where to find more information about the regulations it entails as well as procedures that are followed when allegations of Academic Misconduct arise.
2. What constitutes academic misconduct, including—but not limited to—the following (as defined in the Graduate Calendar):
- Plagiarism (for example, misrepresenting ideas, expression of ideas, numerical/visual data of others as one’s own)
- Copying
- Unauthorized Co-operation or Collaboration
- Impersonation
- Falsification
- Withholding
- Unauthorized Aids and Assistance
- Improper Access and Obstruction
- Preventing Access to Materials
- Improper Access
- Improper Dissemination
- Aiding and Abetting
3. The causes of academic misconduct and how to prevent it.
4. How to properly paraphrase/integrate source material without plagiarizing.
5. How to recognize when information must be cited.
6. Where to find more help with citing, referencing, and other academic integrity questions.
- Definitions of academic integrity and plagiarism
- Rules, regulations, and penalties for academic misconduct at the University of Guelph
- Example cases to show proper and improper conduct
- Illustrations of how to avoid unintentional academic misconduct and plagiarism
- Exercises that reinforce learning by asking participants to apply their knowledge
- A quiz to test understanding of the rules governing academic work
The course will take 1-2 hours to complete, and students can review the content and take the quiz as many times as they like.
The course will provide students with a working knowledge of what academic integrity is and strategies they can apply to maintain it. This working knowledge will be deepened by realistic scenarios and practice. Students should be able to apply this knowledge directly to their work as graduate researchers and scholars.
The course will be presented as an online module through CourseLink [1].
All graduate students who are in their first semester of graduate studies at the University of Guelph will be automatically enrolled in this course. Once registered as a student the University, all students have access to Courselink through the University of Guelph homepage.
Click the Courselink button in the lower right part of the screen, then log in with your user name and password. Academic Integrity for Graduate Students will appear under your list of courses. Click on the course name and proceed with the course.
You do not have to complete the course in one sitting; you may come back to the course at any time. To complete the course, you must achieve a mark of 8 out of 10 on the quiz included at the end. You may take the quiz as many times as needed to achieve the required mark.
Note: You must complete the course by the 20th class day or a mark of Unsatisfactory (UNS) will be recorded on your transcript.
The course will use a SAT/UNS marking scheme. Students will be evaluated with a final quiz in multiple-choice format. To pass the course, students must score a minimum of 80 percent. Students will be blocked from taking the quiz more than 4 times, at which point they will receive a message to contact gradpath@uoguelph.ca [2] for further information.
Reason for this Course Offering
This course is being offered to all entering graduate students to help ensure that they are aware of the University’s expectations regarding academic integrity. The course also aims to provide practical advice and examples to help students learn how to recognize academic misconduct and avoid it in their own work. Academic integrity is fundamental to the University of Guelph’s educational mission. Academic misconduct is behaviour that erodes the basis of mutual trust on which scholarly exchanges commonly rest, undermines the University’s exercise of its responsibility to evaluate students’ academic achievements, or restricts the University’s ability to accomplish its learning objectives.
The Canadian Association of Graduate Studies has identified the ability to demonstrate ethical values and practice as one of the requisite professional skills all graduate students should possess. Understanding and demonstrating academic integrity are qualities that should be expected of all graduates earning advanced degrees at the University of Guelph.
Graduate students who are found guilty of academic misconduct are typically students who did not intend to commit academic misconduct and did so out of lack of understanding of the concepts and practices upon which academic integrity is judged. Lack of understanding of these practices is a common source of anxiety for graduate students, many of whom fear they will accidentally commit plagiarism or another form of academic misconduct. This course will help ensure that all graduate students have a good understanding of academic integrity and the related policies and expectations at the University of Guelph.
The benefits of instituting a mandatory academic integrity tutorial include:
- Increased awareness among graduate students about how to prevent academic misconduct;
- Reduced reliance on faculty members and writing staff to tutor students on how to prevent or remedy academic misconduct; and
- Increased confidence that all graduates of advanced studies will act with a professional level of integrity.