Encyclopedia Misconducta
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Explore Sloan's Journey

Academic integrity involves applying the values of honesty, trust, fairness, respect and responsibility to your academic studies, even in the face of challenges. A violation of academic integrity is know as academic misconduct. Academic integrity matters, and here's why:

Sloan Sloth is starting university this fall.

Sloan is a dedicated student with scholarly aspirations.

Sloan is also juggling a part time job and family obligations.

The university lifestyle presents more social opportunities too. Parties and events are a weekly occurrence.

Sometimes, the draw of social media wins over studying and assignments.

Suddenly, Sloan is facing midterms and deadlines completely unprepared.

There’s a little Sloth in even the best students. Hey, sloth happens. When it does, the temptation to engage in shady academic activity can be intense. Check out our field guide to the sketchy critters whose wildly unethical behaviours can lure you straight into epic fail territory.

PLAGIARIZING
Panda

(Lesser-cited paraphrasus)

Plagiarizing Panda is the king of copy and paste. When he isn’t munching on bamboo he can be found failing to cite his sources and forgetting to include a bibliography. It’s usually a black and white case when the copying comes to light.

WHAT RULES IS PANDA BREAKING? (click to see)

Plagiarism

1.1. Plagiarism occurs when a student presents as his or her own the work or data of someone else.

1.2. Plagiarism occurs when paragraphs, phrases, sentences or ideas are taken from another source without referring to or citing the author. It can include the presentation of all or part of another person’s work as something one has written, paraphrasing another’s writing without proper acknowledgement, or representing another’s artistic or technical work or creation as one’s own.

panda

Cheating
Cheetah

cheetah

(Copycatus copycatae)

Cheating Cheetah loves to collaborate with his pack, even when he knows an assignment must be completed independently.

He does everything quickly, including studying, so he’s often unprepared for exams and stoops to writing the formulas on his tail or peeking at his classmate’s answers.

This kind of misconduct is easy to spot.

WHAT RULES IS CHEETAH BREAKING? (click to see)

Cheating

2.1. Cheating includes, but is not limited to the following:

2.1.1. Communicating or attempting to communicate with another individual or other individuals during an exam without the permission of the instructor or invigilator.

2.1.2. Using or attempting to use answers of another student or students, providing answers to other students, or failing to take measures deemed reasonable to the instructor or invigilator to prevent the use of one's answers by other students in assignments or examinations.

2.1.3. Using text books, materials, or technologies not sanctioned by the instructor during an examination.

2.1.4. Consulting other students, materials, or technologies during an exam outside the confines of an examination room.

2.1.5. Submitting work prepared in collaboration with another individual or individuals, when collaborative work on a project has not been authorized by the instructor; this includes unauthorized collaboration in an online or electronic format.

2.1.6. Misrepresenting one's contributions to group projects.

2.1.7. Submitting work prepared in whole or in part by another person, including work purchased, and representing that work as one’s own.

2.1.8. Offering for sale essays or other assignments, in whole or in part, with the expectation that these works will be submitted by the purchaser to meet course requirements.

2.1.9. Preparing work in whole or in part, with the expectation that this work will be submitted by another student to meet course requirements.

2.1.10. Submitting any academic work containing a purported statement of fact or reference to a source that has been fabricated.

2.2. In the absence of specific approval from the instructor, students should assume that all assignments, exams, presentations, etc., are to be completed independently, without any form of collaboration.

Impersonating
Iguana

(Reptilia camoflagum)

Impersonating Iguana is smarter than the average student — and far more shameless. He has discovered that other creatures are willing to pay him to take their tests and complete their assignments in disguise. Once unmasked, his scales are no protection from justice.

WHAT RULES IS IGUANA BREAKING? (click to see)

Impersonation

3.1. Impersonation occurs when one individual claims to be another in class; in an online class or environment; in a test, examination, or interview; or in connection with any other type of assignment or placement associated with a course or academic program.

3.2. Both the impersonator and the individual impersonated may be subject to discipline.

iguana

Improper Access
Armadillo

armadillo

(Examinus sneakpeeki)

Improper Access Armadillo has a really thick skin — and skull. She snuck into the lab and found a copy of the upcoming midterm on her instructor’s computer. She sent it to herself and even shared it with some of her classmates. Like no one’s going to notice — or talk.

WHAT RULES IS ARMADILLO BREAKING? (click to see)

Improper Access to Examination Materials

4.1. Improper access to examination materials occurs when a student acquires, possesses, and/or distributes examinations, examinations materials, or information from an examination without the instructor’s authorization.

4.2. Both the distributor and recipient of such materials may be subject to discipline.

Falsifying
Fox

(Vulpus forgeri)

What does the Falsifying Fox say? “If you can’t earn an A you can alter an F!” Sly and deceptive, she doesn’t think twice about excusing her absences with a fake doctor’s note, tweaking her transcript, or reproducing a reference letter. But there’s nowhere to hide when she gets snared by her own deception.

WHAT RULES IS FOX BREAKING? (click to see)

Falsification or unauthorized modification of an academic document/record

5.1. Falsifying, fabricating, or in any way modifying an academic document or record used in support of an application, record, petition/appeal, or endeavor constitutes academic misconduct.

5.2. An academic document or record includes but is not limited to a course student examination or test, transcript, grade, letter of recommendation or related document, note of instructor's permission for any activity, a degree, or a physician’s letter/form.

fox

Resubmitting
Raccoon

raccoon

(Projectus multicreditum)

When it comes to her course work, Resubmitting Raccoon loves to recycle! Whenever she gets the chance she hands in an essay from a previous class. She can’t see the harm. After all, it’s her work, right? She calls it mischievous, but it’s just plain misconduct.

WHAT RULES IS RACCOON BREAKING? (click to see)

Resubmission of Work

6.1. Submitting, in whole or part, an essay, presentation, or assignment more than once, whether the earlier submission was at this or another institution, unless prior approval has been obtained from the instructor(s), constitutes academic misconduct.

Improper Research
Raven

(Corvus datafaykus)

Improper Research Raven came up with a fantastic hypothesis based on some early experiments. But he’s running out of time to collect data and he isn’t getting the results he hoped for so he only includes supporting data and fabricates the rest. That’s going to leave a big black mark on his transcript.

WHAT RULES IS RAVEN BREAKING? (click to see)

Improper Research Practices

7.1. Academic research includes the collection, analysis, interpretation, and publication of information or data.

7.2. Improper research practice includes but is not limited to the following: dishonest reporting of investigative results, either through fabrication or falsification; taking or using the research results of others without permission or due acknowledgement; misrepresentation or selective reporting of research results or methodologies.

7.3. Violation of UFV’s policies regarding research ethics will be regarded as improper research practice.

raven

Obstructing
Octopus

octopus

(Occlusio scholaris)

No one wants to be in a class with Obstructing Octopus. When She isn’t hiding all the reference materials she’s tampering with her peers’ work, ruining their experiments, and trying to manipulate the bell curve — until the long arm of the law catches up with her.

WHAT RULES IS OCTOPUS BREAKING? (click to see)

Obstruction of the academic activities of another

8.1. Obstruction of an academic activity occurs when a student interferes with the scholarly activities of another in order to harass or gain or attempt to gain unfair academic advantage.

8.2. Obstruction includes but is not limited to the interference or tampering with experimental data, with a human or animal subject, with a written or other creation (e.g., a painting, sculpture or film), with a chemical used for scientific study, or with any other object of study.

Aiding and Abetting
Ant

(Conspiritus formicidae)

Aiding and Abetting Ant might seem like a good-guy-insectae (pronounce: insect eye) at first. He always has a scheme for cutting corners and can hook you up with the latest cheating technology. But nothing good will come from joining his colony, no matter how convincing he seems.

WHAT RULES IS ANT BREAKING? (CLICK TO SEE)

Aiding and abetting.

9.1. Aiding and abetting occurs when a student encourages, enables, conspires with, or causes others to do or attempt any of the above.

ant

It might seem like a shortcut, but it’s a trap!

Animals Trapped in Net "I didn’t realize what I was doing was misconduct!" "I don’t respect my instructor..." "The assignment is pointless." "I had a family emergency!" "I was sick." "If my GPA drops I will lose my scholarship!" "This is normal where I come from." "The Ant made me do it!" "My course load is too heavy." "I had to work."

Trust us, we’ve heard it all! A lack of understanding of what constitutes academic misconduct is not a viable excuse.

Academic misconduct may seem worth the risk to a stressed-out student who is unaware of the penalties. But when you get caught there are serious consequences.

Penalties for academic misconduct occur regardless of the other factors and influences might be affecting a student.

The Academic Integrity Penalty scale

In determining the severity of the penalty for academic misconduct, the Dean or designate takes into consideration any other instances of academic or non-academic misconducts. The potential consequences range from moderate to severe. Move the green slider on the scale below to view the concequences you could face.

How else will these penalties affect me?

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All penalties for academic misconduct are recorded with the Academic Integrity office.

fees icon

No fees are refunded if you are required to withdraw as a result of misconduct.

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You are not permitted to withdraw from a course to avoid incurring the penalty for academic misconduct.

no credits icon

You cannot receive transfer credit for courses taken at other institutions while under suspension from UFV.

Avoid penalties with resources, not excuses.

How can Sloan Sloth (and you) avoid succumbing to pressure and committing academic misconduct in the first place? Scroll down to find out how UFV can help!

Know the policy

Familiarize yourself with the UFV Academic Misconduct Policy so you are aware of the different types of misconducts and the potential penalties.

Ask for help

Let your instructor know as soon as you start to struggle. Don’t wait until the day before your assignment is due. Instructors have office hours set aside for one-on-one help. If you have questions related to working collaboratively, citing and selecting sources, sharing notes, and so on, ask your instructor for help. You can also receive further assistance from Department or Program Heads and the Office of the Registrar.

Visit the Library

Visit the UFV library‌ to research plagiarism resources related to citing, detecting plagiarism, copyright, and style guides. The Librarians can direct you to resources if you’re not sure where to start.

Visit the Academic Success Centre

Access writing resources or meet with a peer tutor in UFV’s Academic Success Centre to get help with referencing and citing, while following styles such as APA, MLA, or Chicago. The ASC also has peer Academic Integrity Mentors who conduct workshops and meet with students individually.

Visit the English Language Studies Help Centre

If English is not your first language, you can contact the ELS Help Centre for help with English learning tools, writing resources, and other related questions.

Visit the Math and Stats Centre

Many students find the UFV Math and Stats Centres to be great places to meet with classmates and work on their mathematics and statistics together. There are computers available, and a small lending library of mathematics and statistics books.

Manage your stress: visit the Counselling Centre

Visit UFV's Counselling Centre (with locations on the Abbotsford and Chilliwack campuses) from Monday to Friday, between 9:00 am and 4:30 pm. The staff there will help you to learn effective strategies for studying, managing time, and dealing with stress and crisis.

Peer Resource and Leadership Centre

The UFV Peer Resource and Leadership Centre exists to provide holistic help for students. Student peer leaders will help students to find information in a safe, welcoming, and inclusive space by identifying resources available to them and providing peer-to-peer support and mentorship. Visit the Peer Resource and Leadership Centre for help with your academic, social, personal, and spiritual needs. You can also get referrals to other services on campus as well as in the community.

UFV Emergency Student Funding

The UFV Financial Aid and Awards office offers a variety of solutions for students experiencing unforeseen financial interruptions or emergencies. Contact the Financial Aid and Awards office to make an appointment with one of the Financial Aid and Awards Advisors to discuss your eligibility and find the solution that's right for you.

Disability Resource Centre

The Disability Resource Centre strives to provide services to students with a disability in a manner that provides fairness to students and allows them to become fully involved in the academic process. DRC services can include ordering of educational materials in alternate format (including electronic formats), disability-related accommodations for exams, arranging classroom accommodations (such as note taking assistance, interpreters, and special chairs), information on applying for disability-related educational funding, and help in applying for funding on disability-related assistive technology.

Indigenous Student Centre

The purpose of UFV's Indigenous Student Centre is to provide easy-access to resources and a friendly, home-away-from-home environment to help our students reach their maximum potential. We work to provide cultural and academic support. The ISC provides cultural and academic support. We Provide academic support (including tutoring), computer workshops and study skill tips, and computer lab access with internet and email.

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