WHAT IS PLAGIARISM?

All of the following are considered plagiarism:

• turning in someone else’s work as your own; you should not buy a paper, use something from the Internet, or use someone else’s paper

• copying words or ideas from someone else without giving credit

• failing to put a quotation in quotation marks

• giving incorrect information about the source of a quotation

• changing words but imitating the sentence structure and /or style of a source without

  giving credit

• copying so many words or ideas from a source that it makes up the majority of your

  work, whether you give credit or not

• having others edit a paper when the instructor doesn’t allow external assistance 

• for additional information, please check http://www.plagiarism.org/understanding-plagiarism

• WCJC Plagiarism Policy

  Wharton County Junior College requires that students submit their own work, whether they are writing papers, taking exams, or making oral presentations. Plagiarism, taking someone else’s words or ideas and representing them as your own, is expressly prohibited by the college. Good academic work must be based on honesty. Submitting someone else’s work as one’s own is considered a serious offense by the college. Student academic dishonesty includes but is not limited to the following:

  • copying the work of another during an examination or turning in a paper or an assignment written, in whole or in part, by someone else;

  • copying from books, magazines, or other sources, including Internet or electronic databases like EBSCOhost and Elibrary, or paraphrasing ideas from such sources without acknowledging them;

  • submitting an essay for one course to a second course without having sought prior permission from your instructor;

  • giving a speech and using information from books, magazines, or other sources or paraphrasing ideas from such sources without acknowledging them;

    NOTE on Team or Group Assignments: When you have an assignment that requires collaboration, it is expected that the work that results is credited to the team unless individual parts have been assigned. However, the academic integrity policy applies to the team as well as to its members. All outside sources must be credited as outlined above.

    Instructors may require students to submit all written work on disks/drives for submission to Safe Assignment, which is a service that compares student papers with all Internet sources to verify that the student has properly credited all sources downloaded.

    CONSEQUENCES for Academic Dishonesty:
    Disciplinary action will be pursued in all instances in which it is determined that academic dishonesty has occurred. In the case of suspected wrongdoing, the faculty member may file charges with the Dean of Students, inform his or her department head, and follow the process specified by the college.

    Disciplinary action may include but is not limited to the following:

    • Assignment of a failing grade for a test, examination, or assignment;

    • Assignment of a failing grade for the course;

    • Assignment of a student disciplinary sanction from the college;

    • Suspension or expulsion from the college.