Scenarios
Scenario I.
Jason and Derek are roommates. Kumar lives down the hall. All are enrolled in a class where they are working on computer programming.
Time: 11:45 p.m. Sunday.
Derek is working on a homework assignment, due no later than midnight on Sunday.
Derek: Oh, wow, it’s almost midnight. I wish I started sooner. I’m never going to get this done in time. [Kumar enters the room].
Kumar: Hey Derek, let’s get back to Halo.
Derek: Kumar, I’m still working on Homework 2. I’m stuck. I’ll never get it done in time.
Kumar: Oh…..I’ll leave you then dude.
Derek: Did you finish it?
Kumar: Uh…yeah.
Derek: It would really help me out if you’d let me take a look at your code.
Kumar: But….the syllabus says this is an individual assignment.
Derek: I just want to take a look. I won’t copy. I’m running out of time!! Come on Kumar, don’t be a tool.
Kumar: OK, I’ll text it to you. But just take a look and then delete it, ok?
Derek. OK, thanks Kumar. [Kumar leaves the room, Jason enters].
Jason: Hey, Derek, what’s up?
Derek: Hi Jason…can’t talk now, I’m finishing up Homework 2.
Jason: Oh yeah? Are you almost done?
Derek: Yeah, Kumar let me look at his code, so now I see how to do this section. I’ve just finished it.
Jason: So, do you have a copy of Kumar’s code?
Derek: Yeah
Jason. Send it to me.
Derek: Kumar told me to delete it.
Jason: He won’t know. I’d just like to see it.
Derek: Ok….here it comes. I’m outta here.
Jason: So, I’ll just put my name here, and change a few things, and off it goes. 11:56 p.m., it’s there on time.
Follow Up Questions:
Did Jason violate the academic integrity policy in this scenario?
Did Kumar violate the academic integrity policy?
Did Derek violate the academic integrity policy when he sent a copy of his homework to Kumar?
When the syllabus says an assignment is "individual," can I get any help at all?
Scenario II.
Four students in a lab, working on a team assignment. Sarah, Jada, Bo and Alisse.
Sarah: Ok, I’ve written the report. Jada, you emailed your spreadsheet to me and Bo has sent all the graphs. Alisse, you were supposed to write up the introduction and conclusion. Where is it?
Alisse: I’ve been really sick and my boyfriend just broke up with me. I haven’t been able to keep up in any of my classes. So, this didn’t get done yet.
Jada: Alisse, we have to turn this in on Friday. You have two more days. Can you get it done?
Bo: Yeah, Alisse, if you don’t write it up we are all screwed! The rest of us are busy too and we can’t take on your work!
Alisse: Ok, OK, I’ll get it done.
Alisse goes back to her dorm and talks to her roommate, Jessica.
Alisse: Jessica, you took Thermo last term, right?
Jessica: Yeah, I got an AB in it.
Alisse: Can I see your final lab report? I have to write up a conclusion for ours and I’m not sure how to start it.
Jessica: Sure, it’s on my computer. I’ll email you a copy.
Alisse: Thanks!
Jessica emails Alisse a copy of the lab report. Alisse opens the file, reads it, deletes everything but the introduction and conclusion, saves it as a new file and emails it to Sarah. Sarah cuts and pastes the material into her document and on Friday turns in the report. The following week, Sarah and the other team members receive an email from their professor, saying that the report includes plagiarized material and that the paper is being turned into the Dean of Students office for an academic integrity hearing. When Sarah received the email, she read the report carefully and realizes that the introduction and conclusion includes information about a calculation that was not part of the lab assignment. She emailed Alisse, who admitted that she took the information from her roommate’s report.
Follow Up Questions:
Did the whole team violate the academic integrity policy or just Alisse?
Jessica didn’t give Alisse permission to copy her report. Is she responsible for an academic integrity violation?
Discuss: "In one of my classes, the professor says that she wants us to talk to each other about all our assignments. We can even work together on take-home exams. But in another class, we can’t talk to anyone about even a homework assignment. I learn better when I talk to other students, so shouldn’t I be able to talk to anyone I want?"