AN IMPORTANT REMINDER: (The Department of Political Science’s interpretation of this policy as follows)
Plagiarism involves using another author’s words without attribution or otherwise presenting another person’s work as one’s own. It is a fraudulent and serious academic offence that will result in a severe academic penalty. Also, close paraphrasing of another author’s work & self-plagiarism, including submitting the same, or substantively the same, work for academic evaluation more than once, are unacceptable practices that will result in a severe academic penalty.
The university policies on academic honesty are available at:
http://www.sfu.ca/policies/Students/index.html
and is available in hard copy format outside our General Office. All students are responsible for familiarising themselves with these policies.
A helpful SFU Library tutorial on plagiarism is available at:
www.lib.sfu.ca/researchhelp...plagiarism
The DOs and DON’Ts of AVOIDING PLAGIARISM
Do not:
• submit an entire paper or part(s) of a paper or papers that has been written or researched by any other person(s);
• submit a paper as an assignment that has been bought from another person or from a ‘paper mill’ or essay service;
• submit a paper or other written assignment that has been submitted at another time or for a different course by yourself or any other student or former student;
• submit material that has been downloaded from a website, without acknowledging (using appropriate citation style) that you have done so;
• take someone else’s idea(s) and represent it/them as your own;
• copy any text verbatim, or with only slight variation from the original text, without using quotation marks and documenting the source with proper citation style;
• do not closely paraphrase another’s material; either paraphrase completely in your own words, or cite as a direct quotation using quotation marks (in either case, give full credit and details regarding authorship and location of the original material);
Do:
• learn how to cite material properly (there are many good guides on this, including the departmental one);
• use a recognized citation style (eg. APA, MLA, Chicago), according to instructions given by the course instructor, and be consistent in the use of the style throughout any single piece of written work;
• carefully read and make sure you understand the university’s policy on academic honesty;
• ask the instructor of this course or other faculty members if you have any questions about plagiarism.
The department's policy on plagiarism and intellectual dishonesty is available as a handout, positioned along the hallway outside the
General Office. This policy is strictly enforced.
PROCEDURES FOR DEALING WITH INTELLECTUAL DISHONESTY As follows: -
Political Science Department interpretation, practice and application of SFU Policy T10.03 (http://www.sfu.ca/policies/teaching/t10-03.htm.)
1.1 ACADEMIC DISHONESTY IN COURSE WORK
(a) When a course instructor finds that a student in one of his or her courses has been academically dishonest, the course instructor may take one or more of the following courses of action:
(i) give the student a warning;
(ii) require the student to redo the work or do supplementary work;
(iii) assign a grade penalty less harsh than "F" for the work;
(iv) impose a failing mark for the work.
In cases of (ii) to (iv) the student shall be informed of the nature of the academic dishonesty and the decision in writing in a timely manner. In cases of (iv), the Chair of the Department shall be informed in writing of the nature of the offence and the decision. The student should be advised that the report will be retained in the departmental student file and that, in the event of any further reports of academic dishonesty, the report may be used in determining a penalty for the subsequent academic dishonesty.
If the Chair receives notification that a student has been involved in more than one case of academic dishonesty, the Chair may take action under (c).
(b) If the instructor believes that some penalty beyond that provided for in (a) is warranted, a written report of the facts must be submitted to the Chair of the department with a copy to the student.
(c) In the case of (b), the Chair shall meet with the student, and after reviewing the facts of this case and any previous case in the student's departmental file, may take one or more of the following courses of action:
(i) issue a formal reprimand to the student;
(ii) assign a grade penalty less harsh than “F" for the course;
(iii) assign a grade penalty of "F" for the course;
(iv) initiate a hearing by referring the case to the University Board on Student Discipline (UBSD). [Academic Policy T10.03]
The Chair shall communicate any and all decisions in writing to the student and copies of all such communications will be sent to the Registrar. The student will be advised that the report will be retained in the student's file in the Office of the Registrar and that, in the event of any further reports of academic dishonesty, the report may be used in determining a penalty for any subsequent offence.
(d) If, in the case of (a) or (c), the student wishes to dispute the finding of fact of the instructor or department Chair, the student may present an appeal to the UBSD, in writing, stating reasons for the appeal, within eighteen days of the date of notification by the instructor or department Chair.
(updated March 3, 2009)