Violations of academic integrity, for the purposes of this policy, are those that permit a student to gain an unfair advantage over other students. Any purposeful deception in the preparation and/or submission of papers and assignments and completion of exams, tests or quizzes is considered cheating and is a violation of academic integrity. The following are violations of academic integrity. This list is not all-inclusive and instructors may establish other standards based upon the nature of the course or the setting in which the course material may be delivered or applied.

Copying

The act of copying is not limited by the method of conveyance. Visual, oral, printed matter (including notes) or electronic means all constitute methods by which copying can occur. Examples of copying include:

• Any act of taking information from another student by any means to obtain an advantage for one’s self
• Any act of conveying information to another student for the purpose of providing an unfair advantage to that student
• Any act of representing another’s work, whether copyrighted or not, as one’s own. Another’s work includes but is not limited to, homework, written papers, examinations, laboratory assignments, published work, etc.

Plagiarism

Plagiarism is a serious offense. Students acknowledge that by taking a course, all required papers, discussions or other written learning activities may be subject to submission for textual similarity review to Turnitin® or other anti-plagiarism software for the detection of plagiarism. All submitted papers will be included as source documents in the anti-plagiarism software reference database solely for the purpose of detecting plagiarism of such papers. In speaking or writing, plagiarism is the intentional or unintentional act of representing someone else’s work as one’s own. In addition, plagiarism is defined as using the essential style and manner of expression of a source as if it were one’s own. If there is any doubt, the student should consult the faculty or adopt a “when-in-doubt document” philosophy and reference the information source. Any statement made without documentation is de facto, claimed as one’s own and may subject one to charges of plagiarism.​

​​Examples of Plagiarism:

• A submitted paper or other written assignment that contains word-for-word passages of others’ work without proper acknowledgment
• Paraphrasing the work of others, including specific information or ideas that are not properly acknowledged/cited
• Two or more submitted papers, lab assignments, etc., that contain a resemblance decidedly beyond the bounds of reasonable coincidence
• A submitted paper, examination or assignment containing data or conclusions which, upon questioning, the student cannot explain, support or demonstrate direct knowledge
• Self-plagiarism: Students who use their own previously “published work” without referencing the publication (i.e., work the student has written and was published in a journal, text book, etc. and was not referenced appropriately as the student’s work)

​Each assignment should be new, original work created by the student to meet the objectives of that particular assignment. Reuse of prior course work from a non-repeated course with missing or incorrect internal parenthetical citations(s) or reference(s) would be treated as plagiarism. However, certain circumstances are permissible with proper referencing, such as:

• Repeated Course/Reused Work (Post-Licensure Nursing only): In post-licensure nursing programs, students who repeat the same course may reuse previously submitted work in its entirety without penalty. It is the student's responsibility to ensure the assignment still meets the requirements of the course that is being repeated. Reusing work only applies to graded assignments in the DNP program. Assignments and Initial Discussion answer posts are accepted in the RNBSN, MSN/NP, and MSNST programs but not discussion post replies to others or clinical paperwork (except in the NP track, where it does apply to case studies). If awarded a lower grade for reused work, this is not grounds for a grade appeal and the grade awarded is final.
• Repurposed Work (Chamberlain University Graduate Programs only): Graduate students have the opportunity to use previously submitted ideas as a foundation for future courses. No more than 50 percent of an assignment, excluding references, may be repurposed from another Chamberlain University course (excluding practicum/fieldwork courses). Previous course assignments that are deemed building blocks will be notated in the syllabus by the course leader. As with every assignment, students must uphold academic integrity; therefore, students must follow the guidelines for remaining academically honest according to the Academic Integrity policy.
• Pre-Licensure Nursing Program: Reused and repurposed work is not permitted in the Pre-Licensure Nursing Program.
• General Education Courses (All Chamberlain University Programs): Students may take general education courses which are required in a number of different programs. As such, the following applies to any general education course regardless of the student’s program of study. Students may not reuse or repurpose work in any general education course without the direct consent of the instructor.

​Note: Turnitin is a registered trademark of iParadigms, LLC. iParadigms, LLC does not endorse, sponsor or support Chamberlain University in any way.

Collusion: Unauthorized sharing/collaboration

• ​Any act of two or more individuals actively cooperating on any assignment when the instructor has not expressly permitted such activity. This includes, but is not limited to homework, papers completed outside of normal classroom hours, in-class assignments, laboratory exercises or reports, personalized learning, relearning activities, or assessment, etc.
• Allowing another individual, who is not the student, to take an assessment, author a paper or assignment (including homework) or fulfill other academic obligations, on the student’s behalf.

Alteration of Records

• ​Any act by which the signature of an instructor or any authorized agent of the instructor (including student faculty assistants) is changed or forged for purposes of misrepresenting the signature of the instructor or authorized agent
• Any act of misrepresentation by changing or altering the time, date, or performance/score of an assignment or webcam/desktop recording of an assessment.
• Any act of altering any previously completed examination, record of an assessment or any other assignment that has been returned to the student in an attempt to claim instructor error. This includes any attempt to gain an improved grade or additional credit for work not originally completed

Failure to follow the directives given regarding a university administered assessment for the purpose of gaining an unfair advantage over other students, including but not limited to: 

• Fail to show personal identification 
• Fail to properly record self during the assessment 
• Fail to properly place camera to record self 
• Close camera lens to block view of self 
• Not follow assessment platform End User Agreement by opening additional electronic devices, allowing remote access, etc. 

Aids

Any use of aids that have not been expressly permitted, including but not limited to: calculators, notes, written sources, electronic audio, video or recording devices, photocopied materials and files stored on a hard drive, as well as cell phones, the internet, other electronic devices, remote access software, etc. This includes unauthorized collaboration or completion of assignments or assessments by an individual other than the student.

Offering of Money or Other Incentives

• Offering money, any item or service to a faculty member or any other person to gain academic advantage for oneself or another
• Offering, giving, receiving or soliciting any unauthorized information in exchange for anything of value
• Offering the sale of written assignments or threaded discussions through any source of media (digital or otherwise) for compensation of any sort
• Acquiring and/or purchasing previously used or material written by others for use in courses

Acts of dishonesty, including but not limited to the following:

• Any misrepresentation by words or actions of any situation or fact, in part or in whole, for purposes of enhancing one’s academic standing or for the purpose of avoiding or postponing the completion of any assignment, duty, assessment in a course, internship, clinical, practicum/fieldwork or cooperative education assignment or program
• Furnishing false information to any University official, faculty member, office or university-affiliated official in relation to a course, internship, clinical, practicum/fieldwork or cooperative education assignment or program

Other

• Misrepresenting the facts regarding an absence or work that has not been completed for purposes of gaining an extension of an established due date or taking a make-up assessment
• Using the material of others, however obtained, for purposes of gaining advantage or credit
• Entering online discussions under false pretenses
• Stealing, such as theft of grade books, from faculty offices or elsewhere
• Knowingly using, copying, recording, sharing, buying, selling, stealing, transporting or soliciting, in whole or in part, the contents of an assessment that has not yet been administered
• Intentionally or knowingly helping or attempting to help, another to commit any act of academic dishonesty
• Inappropriately accessing or attempting to access, student academic records