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Professorā€‘Student Contract for Academic Integrity

Professors should always:

  • Ensure that at the beginning of every course all students are asked if they understand the Facultyā€™s rules on academic integrity and an opportunity is created for discussion or questions on the Facultyā€™s rules and processes on academic integrity.  
  • Ensure that course syllabi and other documentation include standard reference to Faculty rules and processes on academic integrity.
  • Focus on prevention by education and reinforcement, not punishment.  Real examples should be used to promote best practice as well as what is considered unacceptable.
  • Ensure that assignments are clearly defined with respect to individual and (where appropriate) group responsibilities for delivery and integrity.
  • Ensure that assignments and exams are organized well and results delivered promptly.
  • Act consistently and transparently across all cases
  • Act in a timely and serious way when lapses in academic integrity occur
  • Determine whether the issue is one of education or discipline and ensure the consequences of the actions are clearly defined
  • Report suspected lapses immediately in line with Faculty policies and procedures 
  • Keep confidential all matters and materials associated with suspected breaches of academic integrity

Professors should never:

  • Allow minor offences to pass without a definite and memorable warning or consequence.
  • Focus solely on penalties with no support for learning and improved practices.
  • Have ā€“ or attempt to have ā€“ an inappropriate personal relationship with a student (including the deliberate or unwitting selection of favourites or non-favourites) that may lead to compromise of the teacher-student contract on integrity.
  • Apply policies inconsistently or set ambiguous assignments
  • Act without confirming facts
  • Tolerate repeat offences
  • Use unprofessional language or other poor role modeling in class

Students should always:

  • Understand that the Dalhousie Faculty of Management ā€˜brandā€™ means training future business, government and civil society leaders who will manage with integrity and get things done and that this starts with setting standards of behaviour while at University.
  • Understand the rules and procedures for maintenance of academic integrity and the consequences of lapses.
  • Know what/when/where/why/how to cite something. Understand the difference between public knowledge (which does not require citation) and specifically owned knowledge (which does).
  • Seek help from teachers or teaching assistants if you are in any doubt about expectations and procedures on assignments and exams.
  • Commit to continuous improvement: find a way to use sources wisely and fairly; always try to improve information management and research practices and writing skills; try to continuously improve study and learning skills (time management, talking to teachers, asking for help).

Students should never:

  • Misrepresent someone elseā€™s work as their own (i.e. plagiarize).
  • Cheat on an exam or test.
  • Collaborate on an assignment unless specifically authorized.
  • Share electronic files of completed, or semi-completed, assignments to ā€œhelpā€ another student as this may aid plagiarism inadvertently.
  • Have ā€“ or attempt to have ā€“ a personal relationship with a professor that may lead to compromise of the teacher-student contract on integrity.
  • ā€œThink that by copying something over and changing every couple of words that youā€™ve put it in your own words.ā€ 
  • ā€œā€¦procrastinate on assignments and homework so that you end up under too much deadline pressure and become tempted to take shortcuts.ā€ 
  • Be afraid to ask for an extension.
  • Hesitate to ask for clarification if unsure about proper information management, research or citation methods for an assignment or exam.
  • Hesitate to notify the Assistant Academic Integrity Officer (Jennifer.ziobrowski@dal.ca) about colleagues who cheat or plagiarize and who undermine our standards and therefore the Dalhousie Management ā€˜brandā€™.