Boston University Academic Conduct Code
Academic Conduct Record Request Form
Please make sure to read and reference the BU Academic Conduct Code throughout your time as an undergraduate student. While it is your responsibility to understand and follow the Code, there are many resources on campus to help address any questions or concerns that might arise around academic integrity.
What is Academic Integrity?
It is a moral code that is followed in academia so that knowledge is shared honestly and with proper credit to the original source of information. Academic integrity upholds the value of an academic degree, in which every individual student worked hard to earn.
Intentional or not, plagiarism is plagiarism.
In most cases, students do not plan to violate the Code. Regardless, any violation of the Code is considered dishonest, and threatens the academic integrity of the course and the University by potentially giving a student an advantage over other students in the class.
Common Ways to Violate the Code without Realizing It:
- incorrect (or absent) citations
- allowing a friend to use your problem set, paper, or other assignment as a study guide
- uploading class assignments, notes, exams, lab reports, papers, or any other graded component of a course to public internet sites, such as Course Hero
- working on an assignment with a classmate without direct permission from the instructor, or without indicating collaboration on the assignment
- using the same assignment, such as a paper, for more than one class without permission from both instructors
- sharing a lecture clicker with a classmate
Tips for Following the Code:
- Read the Code, know the Code, understand the Code. If you ever find yourself in a situation when a peer is asking you for something that would violate the Code (perhaps unintentionally), you should feel confident telling them no and explaining why.
- When in doubt, ask. If you are not sure what the boundaries of an assignment are, ask your instructor.
- Desperate times DO NOT call for desperate measures. Many times, students violate the Code out of desperation – it’s 4am and a paper is due in 3 hours so they take shortcuts without considering the consequences. In these situations, remind yourself that a poor grade is better than being dishonest in your work and going through the process of an academic conduct violation. What should you do instead? Contact your professor, preferably several days before the due date – perhaps they are willing to give you an extension. If not, do the best you can, and work with your academic advisor to see if there is another underlying obstacle that needs to be addressed, such as poor time management, or having too heavy a course load.
A Note About Course Hero, and Other Similar Websites
Did you know that posting your work on internet sites such as Course Hero is a violation of the BU Academic Conduct Code? Specifically, such an action violates Section III.F. Knowingly allowing another student to represent your work as his or her own. By posting your work, you are giving another student the opportunity to be dishonest in their own course even if you do not intend for your assignments to be abused in such a way. If your work is found on websites such as Course Hero, you would be reported for academic misconduct.