Academic Honesty
Academic honesty is the foundation of a fair and meaningful learning environment, built on the principles of integrity, trust, and responsibility. It requires students to complete their work honestly, give proper credit to others’ ideas through accurate citation, and avoid behaviors such as plagiarism, cheating, or unauthorized collaboration. Practicing academic honesty not only upholds the standards of the College but also fosters personal growth by encouraging critical thinking, accountability, and respect for intellectual effort—skills that are essential both in academics and beyond.
What is Academic Dishonesty?
Academic dishonesty includes, but is not limited to, cheating, plagiarism, and fabrication.
Cheating includes any attempt to give or obtain unauthorized help relating to the completion of an academic assignment. This can include working with a classmate on homework or a take-home test without permission from the instructor.
Plagiarism includes using the ideas, writings, or work of another person or artificial intelligence (AI), without proper citation, to complete an academic assignment. It can also include submitting projects, papers, and other assignments for credit when you have submitted the same assignment for credit in another course.
Fabrication includes falsifying data, information, or citations in completing an academic assignment. It also includes providing false or deceptive information to an instructor about completing an assignment.
Check your class syllabi to see expectations for each assignment and the consequences for academic dishonesty. Most instructors give the assignment a zero. Instructors can also refer you to Student Conduct for academic dishonesty under the Student Conduct Code (WAC 132G-121).
Other Types of Dishonesty
The College also prohibits other types of dishonesty. These could include, but are not limited to:
Forging, altering, or submitting falsified (fake) documents. For example, forging a parent, instructor or counselor signature on registration forms
Misusing any college document, record, or instrument of identification
Tampering with an election conducted by or for college students
Furnishing false information, or failing to furnish correct information, in response to the request or requirement of a college officer or employee. The most common example is giving a fake name to avoid trouble
Resources and Support
Student Accessibility Services
Math and Sciences Learning Center
Policy 5030 Student Conduct Policy
5030 Procedure
Reporting Academic Dishonesty
If you have questions about whether something is a possible violation, please contact your instructor, a librarian, or the learning center. Please visit the student conduct process page if you have questions about the process. For further questions or regarding a specific case, please contact the Dean of Student Engagement & Retention, Derek Levy, dlevy@shoreline.edu.