On February 27 the Ashesi Judicial Committee (AJC) ruled against a student for academic dishonesty. The student asked for his colleague’s completed assignment in order to better understand concepts taught in class. However he copied the assignment and attempted to pass it off as his own, to give the instructor the impression that he had improved on earlier submitted work.
During the hearing the student admitted to academic dishonesty. As stated in Ashesi’s student handbook, “Academic dishonesty includes plagiarism, unauthorized exchange of information or use of material during an examination, unauthorized transfer of information or completed work among students, use of the same paper in more than one course, unauthorized collaboration on assignments, and other unethical behavior. Disciplinary action will be taken against perpetrators of academic dishonesty”
Sanctions:
- The student will receive a failing grade for the Programming III course
Consequences:
As a result of prior semester grades, the F in Programming III led to a fall in the semester GPA of the student to under 1.5, and his subsequent dismissal from the University.
The AJC hopes that others learn from this case and avoid making the same mistakes. The AJC would especially like to advise students of the following:
- Do not pass off a colleague’s work as your own: that is plagiarism.
- Seek help and clarification on assignments from your Lecturers and Teaching Assistants; when you seek help from classmates, be sure you focus on the process and concepts and not just in getting the “right answer.”
- Work hard to improve on grades, but focus on learning and not simply on getting a “good grade.” When you focus on learning, the grades will come.
