Graduate Handbook

VII – Departmental Policies on Integrity and Safety in Research and Creative Activities

Plagiarism

Plagiarism is the practice of taking someone else’s work or ideas and presenting them as one’s own. A student commits plagiarism, when he or she submits as their own work part or all of another person’s written or spoken material, be it published or not. A student commits plagiarism if he or she copies or paraphrases from a source without acknowledging the source. A student knowingly allowing another to copy his/her work and present it as his/her own is also guilty of plagiarism.

A History instructor who discovers a graduate student has committed plagiarism on a class assignment, on a graduate (field) exam, in a dissertation or on any other work submitted for any purpose will follow the “All-university policy: Integrity of Scholarship” guidelines that are part of the “MSU Regulations, Ordinances and Policies Regarding Academic Honesty and Integrity” is found on the Ombudsman’s page.

The policy is spelled out below. According to it, instructors, examiners and dissertation committee members may give graduate students who have plagiarized materials failing grades for assignments in which plagiarized material appears and/or failing grades in courses in which plagiarized material is submitted.

Students who plagiarize material during graduate exams will fail their exams and will not have the option to retake them unless the failing grade is changed as a part of the appeal process (below).

All-university policy: Integrity of Scholarship:

The following statement of University policy was approved by the Academic Council and the Academic Senate, and serves as the definitive statement of principle and procedure to be used in instances of academic dishonesty.

• The principles of truth and honesty are recognized as fundamental to a community of teachers and scholars. The University expects that both faculty and students will honor these principles and in so doing protect the validity of University grades. This means that all academic work will be done by the student to whom it is assigned, without unauthorized aid of any kind. (See General Student Regulation 1.00, Scholarship and Grades, for specific regulations.) Instructors, for their part, will exercise care in the planning and supervision of academic work, so that honest effort will be positively encouraged.
• If any instance of academic dishonesty is discovered by an instructor, it is his or her responsibility to take appropriate action. Depending on his or her judgment of the particular case, he or she may give a failing grade to the student on the assignment or for the course.
• In instances where a failing grade in a course is given only for academic dishonesty, the instructor will notify the student’s academic dean in writing of the circumstances.
• The student who receives a failing grade based on a charge of academic dishonesty may appeal a judgment made by a department, school, or a college. Refer to Academic Freedom for Students at Michigan State University.
• When in the judgment of the academic dean, action other than, or in addition to, a failing grade is warranted, the dean will refer the case to the college-level hearing board, which shall have original jurisdiction. In cases of ambiguous jurisdiction, the appropriate judiciary will be randomly selected by the Assistant Provost from one of the three core colleges. Appeals from the judgment may be made to the All-University Academic Integrity Review Board. Refer to Academic Freedom for Students at Michigan State University.
• In instances of academic dishonesty where the instructor feels that action other than, or in addition to, a failing grade in the course is warranted, the instructor will report the case to his or her departmental or school chairperson and to the student’s academic dean. The dean will then refer the case to the college-level hearing board, which shall have original jurisdiction. Refer to Academic Freedom for Students at Michigan State University.