SUNY ESF
Academic Success and Integrity Information
Student Responsibilities Relative to the Educational Experience
Demonstrate Academic Honesty: Students must avoid dishonest practice, including plagiarism and cheating, and other forms of academic misconduct.
Know Policies and Expectations: It is each student’s responsibility to be familiar with College regulations and to abide by them.
Report Academic Integrity Violations: Dishonest actions, by even one individual, erode the very foundation of ESF’s integrity as an institution. All members of the ESF community must take action when the College’s collective honor is threatened or compromised. Violations of academic integrity can be reported directly to instructors or to the Coordinator of Community Standards.
Achieving Academic Success
There is no denying that academic work at ESF is rigorous. ESF faculty members have high expectations, and you are better for it! While challenge is high, so is the support. The rigor of the curricula may sometimes become overwhelming. The temptation to “cut corners” may also increase. Don’t do it—you’ll risk violating the academic integrity policy and, more importantly, you’ll let yourself down. Here are some tips that might help you avoid this situation.
Manage Your Time
Schedules and Lists! Make them and use them! Start with a semester calendar. Take the important dates and assignments from the syllabus of each class and put them on one calendar—this is a great way to see the big picture! From there, make a weekly schedule and follow it! This could also involve daily to-do lists that prioritize your requirements and assignments. SET DEADLINES AND MEET THEM!
Get Moving! Don’t waste that “spare” time between classes. Review notes, read for tomorrow’s lecture, or work on an assignment. You’ll see many ESF’ers with homemade “flash cards”; a great study tool and easy to use while doing other things.
Get it done! Don’t put off that dreaded or boring assignment. Attack it and get it over with so you can concentrate on other things. Remember, one thing at a time with short breaks is the most effective way to tackle the load.
Make class time your best study time! Really prepare for class and be attentive to the content. If you play this one right, this could be your best strategy for success!
Morning, noon, or night? When’s your best study time? Figure it out and capitalize on it! Find a place to study that isn’t distracting. Turn off the cell phone and X-box and FOCUS!
Study Smarter
Pay attention and engage in class. You’ll get more out of each class if you’re active.
Sit in the front of the classroom or sit with different people. Something this simple could make a huge difference. Put yourself in the best position to learn!
Take and review notes. Too often students try so hard to write everything down that they miss the most important points. The goal of notes is not to record every word, but to get the major concepts and ideas. Listen to what’s being said, write down the important information, and review your notes every day. Did you know that you’ll forget almost half of what you hear within 24 hours if you don’t review it? If you review each day, you’ll remember more and you won’t have to cram just before the exam.
Study the most difficult things first and stay organized.
Be Healthy
Eat right. The more balanced your diet, the better you’ll feel and the better you’ll perform academically. Make the effort - it’s important!
Brain function is tied to sleep. The more you get, the better you’ll do! Typically, a person needs 7-8 hours of sleep a night. Too often students “sacrifice” sleep in the name of studying; this is a bad decision; make the time!
Exercise reduces stress! Take ½ hour each day to visit the gym or to go for a walk or run. Your body and brain need the break!
Alcohol and drug use has a negative impact on learning and grades.
Ask For Help
Use office hours ESF faculty members and instructors provide this opportunity, and they expect you to use it. Ask questions about assignments, seek their advice about your career options, discuss their research, etc. They are experts in their fields of study and are willing to share their know-how and resources with you. Teaching assistants are also a great resource for students to assist with assignments and provide guidance and advice.
Academic advisor At ESF every student is assigned an academic advisor. This is the person who will help you get through all the red tape of registration, adds/drops, petitions, and degree requirements. It is important that you get to know your advisor so that they can get to know you and your interests. If you do it right, your academic advisor could become your mentor, an influential force in your professional life.
Use the Academic Success Center (ASC)
The Academic Success Center's mission is to provide a variety of academic support services for students to help them realize their educational goals. The ASC offers peer tutoring, drop-in writing support, success resources, a computer lab, and graduate school preparation resources. The Academic Success Center is located in 009 Moon Library and staff members can be reached by phone at (315) 470-4919 or by email at aomara@esf.edu.
Peer Tutoring: Peer tutors may be available to ESF students who feel a need for academic support in meeting the demands of ESF courses in which they are currently enrolled. Priority for tutoring is given to the lower division undergraduate courses. Requests for tutoring in more specialized classes are dealt with on a case-by-case basis.
Writing Resource Center (WRC): The Center offers students the opportunity to drop-in for assistance with writing papers, lab reports, and written homework assignments. The WRC helps students with all facets of the writing process, including skills such as brainstorming, outlining, organizing, and overcoming writer's block.
Success Resources: Throughout the semester, workshops are offered to help students with study skills, time management, and test preparation. Space is available for groups to study using whiteboards and computers. In addition, the “Success at ESF” website offers a one-stop shop for proven advice about what it takes to succeed at ESF.
Computer Lab: Students can use ASC computers for heightening academic performance. These computers are available for tutoring sessions, group study, and independent work. Schedules for use are posted in the Center.
Graduate School Preparation Resources: Students can begin the process of searching for graduate schools using one of the ASC’s graduate preparation materials, including test (GRE, GMAT, etc.) study guides and resources specific to the process.
Doing Honest & Original Work
Adapted from: Academic Integrity at Massachusetts Institute of Technology: A Handbook for Students. Retrieved July 6, 2007 from http://web.mit.edu/academicintegrity/
Perhaps one of the most challenging aspects of academic work is to take what has already been discovered, argued, or written and create original work from it. At ESF, you will be required to do research, solve complex scientific problems, and write scholarly papers. Most of these assignments will necessitate your use of books and journals, electronic media, and various other sources. You will then need to take the information you’ve found and incorporate it into your own work.
It may seem a bit contradictory:
While you are required to find what is written on a topic and report it, you must write about it in an original way.
You must present the opinions and viewpoints of experts, but you mustn’t simply report them. You must analyze, critique, and argue the commentary.
“Academic writing is a challenge. It demands that you build on work done by others but create something original from it. The foundation of good academic work – in research and in writing – is honesty. By acknowledging where you have used the ideas, work, or words of others, you maintain your academic integrity…” (MIT Academic Integrity Handbook, p. 3).
Violations of Academic Integrity
Adapted from: Academic Integrity at Massachusetts Institute of Technology: A Handbook for Students. Retrieved July 6, 2007 from http://web.mit.edu/academicintegrity/
Plagiarism
In an academic environment, “intellectual property” is a prized commodity. Individuals’ words and ideas belong to them, and they cannot be used by others without credit and acknowledgement. It is important to note that, while in other cultures, it is acceptable to copy other’s work without the use of quotation marks, it is not an acceptable practice here. Whether it is with or without intention, if you present another person’s work as your own, it is considered plagiarism. Plagiarism is:
- Copying ideas or taking exact wording from published sources without using quotation marks and indicating where the words came from.
- Paraphrasing from sources without citation.
- Copying someone else's work and submitting it as your own.
- Buying a paper or having someone else write it for you.
Inappropriate Collaboration
Working with others is an important skill to learn; one we work to teach here at ESF. The amount of collaboration varies from class to class and from project to project. Be sure that you understand from your instructors how much collaboration is acceptable. Before working with others on assignments, it is imperative that you are clear about what is considered collaboration and what could be considered academic dishonesty.
Cheating
Cheating takes many forms, and, in most cases, it is the form of academic dishonesty with which we’re most familiar. Such acts include using materials not permitted by the instructor during exams or assignments. This includes stored information on electronic devices. Also inappropriate is copying answers from other students (on exams or assignments) or altering graded exams or assignments and submitting them to get a better grade.
Facilitating Academic Dishonesty
While you may not be the student who actively cheats, if you allow another individual to cheat, you, too, are guilty of academic dishonesty. Students facilitate academic dishonesty when they allow another student to copy an assignment that was given as individual work, when they allow another to copy exam answers, or when they take exams or complete assignments for another student.
Avoiding Academic Dishonesty
Adapted from: Academic Integrity at Massachusetts Institute of Technology: A Handbook for Students. Retrieved July 6, 2007 from https://integrity.mit.edu/
Citing Sources
Citing sources is what allows one individual to use the words or ideas of another. If you quote a source, you must use quotation marks and you must cite it. If you paraphrase or summarize from a source, you must cite it. In writing a paper you show, in the body of the paper, the source of your information (using an appropriate format) and you provide detailed information about the sources in a bibliography or footnote (again, using appropriate formatting). In a formal presentation, you acknowledge the work of others and the source on your exhibit (slide, graph, chart, etc.).
Citing sources serves many functions: It demonstrates that you have completed your research, it gives credit to the work completed by others, and it provides additional information to others for their research and/or additional questions. You should always cite printed materials, electronic (Internet) sources, recorded materials, the spoken word, and images. A special note regarding the Internet: Everything printed on the Internet has been written by someone and the information should be cited as you would print sources. Be aware, however, that anyone can post on the Internet and not all information is valid or reliable. If you cannot find an author’s name and credentials, or the sponsoring organization isn’t credible, do not use the information.
Note: Every discipline has a preferred formatting style. Ask your instructors about their preferences. Styles include: Modern Language Association Style (MLA); American Psychological Association Style (APA); Chicago Manual of Style (CMS); and Council of Editors Style (CBE).
For a complete guide on how to cite sources (including electronic sources), refer to Doing Honest Work in College: How to Prepare Citations, Avoid Plagiarism, and Achieve Real Academic Success, Second Edition (2008) by Charles Lipson.
ESF 200, Information Literacy, a one-credit course offered each semester by the Library faculty covers plagiarism and proper citing. Whether or not you enroll in this course, librarians can help with these issues.
Quoting and Paraphrasing
QUOTING*:
- Quoting the words of an expert or authority is only recommended when the message is particularly clear or expressive quotes should be reserved for those instances in which the words are particularly powerful.
- Quotes should be used when exact wording is needed for accuracy, when the message of another lends weight to an argument, and/or when the language is especially descriptive.
- Authors show that they are quoting when: they name the source in an introductory phrase, use quotation marks or indent long quotes, and cite sources appropriately. IF YOU DON’T DO THESE THINGS, IT IS PLAGIARISM!
PARAPHRASING*:
- Paraphrasing is using your own words to restate the words of another.
- Using synonyms, changing sentence structures, and modifying the tense and parts of speech are strategies for paraphrasing.
- Even if you use the above strategies, you must still cite your source. IF YOU DO NOT, IT IS PLAGIARISM!
- Note: You should follow these same guidelines for summarizing.
Here is one example of the difference between accurate quoting, paraphrasing, and plagiarism*:
|
Original Source |
Accurate Quoting |
Plagiarism |
Paraphrase |
|
Because of their unique perspective, Americans fear globalization less than anyone else, and as a consequence they think about it less than anyone else. When Americans do think about globalization, they think of the global economy as an enlarged version of the American economy. Thurow, L. (1993). |
Lester Thurow (1993) asserts that the American reaction to globalization is different from that of the rest of the world in that “Americans fear globalization less than anyone else, and as a consequence think about it less than anyone else” (p. 6). Why is this accurate? The writer has introduced the quotation with their own words and has indicated where exact words of the source begin and end. They have also named the source in an introductory phrase. (Complete Thurow reference appears in bibliography) |
The American view of globalization is unlike that of the rest of the world. Because of their unique perspective, Americans fear globalization less than anyone else, and therefore think about it less than anyone else (Thurow, 1993). Why is this plagiarism? Although the writer has identified the source, they have not put quotation marks around his words, thereby allowing the reader to think the words are the writer’s, not Thurow’s. |
Lester Thurow (1993) Why is this acceptable? The writer has kept the meaning of the original passage without copying words or structure. Words like globalization and Americans are generic terms (i.e., terms that are commonly used for the concept they illustrate – it is difficult to find synonyms for them). Thus you may use these words without placing them in quotation marks. (Complete Thurow reference appears in bibliography) |
*Source: Academic Integrity at Massachusetts Institute of Technology: A Handbook for Students. Retrieved July 6, 2007 from https://integrity.mit.edu/
Common Knowledge
Any specific information, such as facts and statistics, must be cited. However, there is some information that is considered “common knowledge”. Examples of common knowledge include general information most people know (e.g. water freezes at 32 degrees Fahrenheit); information shared by a culture (e.g. holidays); and knowledge shared by individuals in a particular field (e.g. HIV/AIDS has significantly impacted population growth). When the information is likely known by the average, educated reader and it is unlikely that the information would be challenged, it need not be cited. NOTE: If in doubt, always cite!
Common Knowledge Test: Which of the statements below would need to be cited?
The growth of the human population has long been of concern to environmental scientists.
Answer: No, citation is not needed as the information is widely known.
Global population reached six billion on October 12, 1999 and, according to a 1998 study, it is expected to reach seven billion in 2013.
Answer: Yes, citation is needed because of the specific reference to a 1998 study and the average person would not be aware of the statistics.
Source: Populi, December 1998, p. 3
Almost all of the projected growth will take place in the less developed countries.
Answer: Yes, citation is needed as most people would not be aware of exactly where population growth is projected to take place.
Source: People and Place, vol. 7, no 2, p. 11
As an intergovernmental agency, the United Nations facilitates dialogue on world-wide issues such as global population and its impact on human rights and economic development.
Answer: No, citation is not needed as the information makes sense and likely would not be challenged.
Collaboration
As previously stated, at ESF we believe that collaboration skills are important. However, there are instances in which working with others is inappropriate. Every instructor and every assignment varies on this point. Find out from your instructors how much collaboration is acceptable for each project. Again, be aware of the difference between acceptable collaboration and what would be considered inappropriate (and therefore cheating!).
Additional Resources
Doing Honest Work in College: How to Prepare Citations, Avoid Plagiarism, and Achieve Real Academic Success, Second Edition (2008) by Charles Lipson.
SUNY ESF Writing Center Resources: https://www.esf.edu/wrc/wrc.php
Syracuse University Library Resources: https://library.syr.edu/help/citing.php
MIT Resources: https://web.mit.edu/academicintegrity/handbook/handbook.pdf
Purdue University Resources: https://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl
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