The successful functioning of the academic community demands honesty, which is the basis of respect for both ideas and persons. In the academic community, there is an ongoing assumption of academic integrity at all levels. There is the expectation that work will be independently thoughtful and responsible as to its sources of information and inspiration. Honesty is an appropriate consideration in other ways as well, including, but not limited to the responsible use of library resources, responsible conduct in examinations, and the responsible use of the Internet, including the use of generative AI.

The suspicion of dishonesty in academic activities is a serious matter because it threatens the atmosphere of respect essential to learning. Faculty should openly express a zero tolerance towards academic dishonesty in any form, including but not limited to plagiarism, which is the misrepresentation of someone else’s words, ideas, research, images, video clips, or computer programs as one’s own, submitting the same paper or computer program for credit in more than one course without prior permission, collaborating with other students on papers or computer programming assignments and submitting them without instructor permission, cheating on examinations, violation of copyright laws, forgery, and misuse of academic computing facilities. Faculty should provide a definition of the standards of academic honesty during the first class session, both orally and in writing.

Breaches of Academic Integrity:

Breaches of Academic Integrity are violations of the LSSC Student Code of Conduct and will be adjudicated through the LSSC's student conduct process.  Some examples of cheating and/or plagiarism include, but are not limited to, the following: 

• Asking for or giving another student information during a test.
• Copying answers from another student's paper or intentionally allowing someone to copy from one's own paper during a test.
• Using materials prohibited by the instructor during a test or assignment.
• Impersonating another student or having another person assume one's identity. 
• Changing answers on a previously graded test in order to have a grade revised.
• Stealing examination materials.
• Copying material exactly or using material in essence, without providing appropriate documentation. 
• Copying or falsifying a laboratory or clinical project or assignment, including computer programs, in any form.
• Allowing someone else to compose or rewrite a student's assignment.
• Stealing, buying, selling, or otherwise providing academic writing assignments.
• Representing another student's assignment as your own.
• Another student submitting your assignment as their own.

(Adapted from the University of Puget Sound and Academic Senate for California Community Colleges.)