Why does EPID600 devote so much attention to the Honor Code and rules for collaborating on course work? In a word, "prevention".
Cheating, plagiarism, and other forms of academic dishonesty are widespread in schools and universities. For example, a recent article (“Fuqua students may face expulsion”, Durham Herald-Sun, 4/28/2007, A1,A4) reported on 37 Duke business students accused of cheating on a take-home exam. The article also mentioned a Center for Academic Integrity 2002-2004 survey of American MBA students in which 56% reported having cheated. The EPID600 instructors have reported over two dozen students to the Honor System. Consequences can include failing the course, losing course credit (and tuition) for all courses during the semester, having student loans come due, and other serious penalties.
EPID600 uses take-home, open-book assessments and encourages collaboration and group work on case studies. But some students go beyond permissible collaboration and suffer serious consequences. When anyone breaks collaboration rules, the entire class suffers. The belief that others are not obeying the rules erodes confidence in the ability to trust and also can lead those who follow the rules to become anxious about being disadvantaged. Faculty are required to report suspected violations of the Honor Code. Having to investigate possible cheating incidents takes instructor time away from teaching and course improvement.
What is allowed, and what is not allowed?
There are two basic rules for collaborating in EPID600:
- Examinations: You may not communicate about Exam 1, Exam 2, or Exam 3 (the "final paper") or the articles on which they are based, even indirectly, with anyone other than an instructor
- Case studies: You may work with anyone on your individual and group consensus case study submissions, so long as: (a) you submit only answers that you personally worked on (rather than use a “divide and copy” strategy) and (b) none of the persons involved (except an instructor) has access to the instructor answers.
EPID600 case studies and examinations are "open-book", so you may use published (print or web) materials when working on case studies and examinations.
What about . . . ?
Here are some examples of behaviors that have occurred in relation to case studies and examinations, presented in question-and-answer format.
- Question: Do I need to cite material that I use from the lecture slides, textbook, or the Evolving Text? I sincerely hope I did not cause any honor code violations. Please kindly let me know if there was a problem with my exam in terms of references. Answer: Direct quotes should be cited. “General knowledge” in the lectures or texts does not need to be cited, but if you are referring to something that is not likely to be in many sources, then citing is desirable.
- Question: Can I look up and use information on the web in order to answer examination questions? Answer: Yes.
- Question: Can I share a copy of the article on which the exam is based with my roommate, in order to save paper? Answer: That is not recommended, and if there are notes, highlighting, or other markings on the article it could (and has) amount to communication.
- Question: Can I show my outline for my final paper to another EPID600 student - or to a friend - just to make sure that I am on the right track. Answer: No - the instructions say that you may not communicate with anyone about the final paper article or your paper.
- Question: I do all of the case studies with my friend and study together. I answered all of the examination questions by myself, but I did call her to ask about a few of the answers, because I didn’t want to pay for a hint. Does that violate the Honor Code? Answer: Yes. You may not communicate with anyone other than an instructor about the examinations.
- Question: A classmate and I got help with the case study from a friend who took the course last year. We ran out of time, so to help us finish the case study he gave us the instructor answers that he received when he took the course. Was that all right? Answer: No. It was fine to obtain help from your friend, but you may not have access to the instructor answers before they have been posted in Blackboard.
Do you have a question? Please ask Vic.
More information about this semester’s course
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4/30/2007, 5/16/2009, 1/1/2011 by Vic
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