A. Introduction
The University holds that all work for which a student will receive a grade or credit shall be an original contribution or shall be properly documented to indicate sources. Abrogation of this principle entails dishonesty, defeats the purpose of instruction, and undermines the high goals of the University. Cheating in any form will not be tolerated. Students shall be assumed to know the acceptable methods and techniques for proper documentation of sources and to avoid cheating and plagiarism in all work submitted for credit, whether prepared in or out of class.
B. Definitions of Cheating and Plagiarism
Cheating, in the context of academic matters, is the term broadly used to describe all acts of dishonesty committed in taking tests or examinations and in preparing assignments. Cheating includes but is not limited to such practices as gaining help from another person or using unauthorized notes when taking a test, relying on a calculator if such an aid has been forbidden, and preparing an assignment in consultation with another person when the instructor expects the work to be done independently. In other words, cheating occurs when a student makes use of any unauthorized aids or materials. Furthermore, any student who provides unauthorized assistance in academic work is also guilty of cheating.
Plagiarism is a specific type of cheating. It occurs when a student claims originality for the ideas or words of another person, when the student presents as a new and original idea or product anything which in fact is derived from an existing work, or when the student makes use of any work or production already created by someone else without giving credit to the source. In short, plagiarism is the use of unacknowledged materials in the preparation of assignments. The student must take care to avoid plagiarism in research or term papers, musical compositions, science reports, laboratory experiments, and theses and dissertations.
C. Penalties
Cheating and plagiarism are serious offenses. The minimum penalty for a student guilty of either dishonest act is a grade of “zero” for the assignment in question. The maximum penalty is dismissal from the University.
D. University Policy for Intellectual Property
The University of Louisiana at Lafayette administers and asserts ownership of intellectual property as allowed in the University of Louisiana System Intellectual Property Policy Intellectual Property and Shared Royalties (Policy Number FS.III.VI.-1, Effective July 1, 2002). This policy does apply to graduate students.
E. Thesis/Dissertation Copyright Ownership and Ownership of Related Intellectual Property
As provided in the University of Louisiana System Intellectual Property Policy Intellectual Property and Shared Royalties, the University does not assert ownership of Traditional Academic Copyrightable Works, such as student theses and dissertations. However, the University, through the Office of the Vice President for Research, may assert ownership of ideas conceived by a faculty member or data that are generated through sponsored research or faculty initiated experiments that are described in a Traditional Academic Copyrightable Work.
F. Rights to the Thesis/Dissertation Data and Authorship of Joint Publications
It is important that graduate students planning to write a thesis or dissertation seek information from their mentor and/or professor as to the expectations of authorship, order of listed authors, and assignment of copyright for any Traditional Academic Copyrightable Work at the beginning of any collaboration which may result in jointly published works.
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