Academic Integrity

Declaration of University Community Principles Missouri State University-West Plains

Principles

The community of scholars that is Missouri State University-West Plains is committed to developing educated, independent thinking persons. It is believed that educated, independent thinking persons will accept responsibility to act in accordance with the following principles:

• Practicing personal and academic integrity.
• Being a full participant in the educational process and respecting the right of all to contribute to the "Marketplace of Ideas."
• Treating all persons with civility, while understanding that tolerating an idea is not the same as supporting it.
• Being a steward of the resources of the community.
• Promoting the unity of the community while still striving to enhance self-actualization.
• Seeking to create, preserve, and share knowledge and truth in understanding.

Choosing to accept these principles suggests that each participant of the community refrains from and discourages behavior that threatens the freedom and respect each member deserves.

Introduction

The community of scholars that is Missouri State University-West Plains is committed to developing educated persons. Educated persons accept the responsibility to practice personal and academic integrity. Each participant of the University community refrains from and discourages behavior that threatens the freedom and respect each member deserves. The following policies and procedures specifically address student academic integrity, but recognize that student academic integrity is only part of the entirety of academic integrity in a community of scholars, and that all members of the community share the responsibility for fostering academic integrity.

The Missouri State University-West Plains Faculty Handbook states that course policy statements must include a statement of the instructor’s policies concerning cheating and plagiarism, including consequences. An instructor’s policies on academic integrity issues, while they may reflect the instructor’s personal views, should also be consistent with this University policy on student academic integrity.

Definitions

Definition: Academic Dishonesty: Any one of the following acts constitutes academic dishonesty:

• Cheating: The term cheating refers to using or attempting to use unauthorized technology, materials, information or study aids in any academic exercise.
• Fabrication or other misconduct in research: The term fabrication refers to unauthorized falsification or invention of any information (including research data) or any citation in any academic exercise; misconduct in research refers to any violation of ethical guidelines for attributing credit and authorship in research endeavors, non-compliance with established research policies, or other violations of ethical research practice.
• Plagiarism: The term plagiarism includes, but is not limited to, the use, by paraphrase or direct quotation, of the published or unpublished work or sections of a work of another person without full and clear acknowledgement, (whether intentional or not.) This includes any material copied directly or paraphrased from the Internet. The unacknowledged use of materials prepared by another person or agency engaged in the selling of term papers or other academic materials, including material taken from or ordered through the Internet, also constitutes plagiarism.
• Facilitating academic dishonesty: Assisting or attempting to assist another to violate any provision of this Academic Integrity Policy, whether or not that action is associated with any particular course, is considered academic dishonesty.

Review and Appeal Process: There is an appeal process for removal of an 'XF' Grade. To see the full policy, visit https://wp.missouristate.edu/catalog/academic-integrity.htm.