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Since the integrity of the academic enterprise of any institution of higher education requires honesty in scholarship and research, academic honesty is required of all students at the University of Massachusetts Amherst.
Academic dishonesty is prohibited in all programs of the University. Academic dishonesty includes but is not limited to: cheating, fabrication, plagiarism, and facilitating dishonesty.
Appropriate sanctions may be imposed on any student who has committed an act of academic dishonesty. Instructors should take reasonable steps to address academic misconduct. Any person who has reason to believe that a student has committed academic dishonesty should bring such information to the attention of the appropriate course instructor as soon as possible. Instances of academic dishonesty not related to a specific course should be brought to the attention of the appropriate department Head or Chair. The procedures outlined below are intended to provide an efficient and orderly process by which action may be taken if it appears that academic dishonesty has occurred and by which students may appeal such actions.
Since students are expected to be familiar with this policy and the commonly accepted standards of academic integrity, ignorance of such standards is not normally sufficient evidence of lack of intent. For more information about what constitutes academic dishonesty, please see the Dean of Students’ website.
In computer classes it is almost trivial to share files. Many students may be tempted to "borrow" homework, spreadsheets, databases, graphs, and programs from another student, change the name on top, and turn it in. More ambiguously, students might work together to develop a single answer, and then each turn in exactly the same object, just with different names.
Don't do this. Both of these actions are considered cheating. In a practical sense, not only is it dishonest, it tends to lead to poor performance on exams (if you didn't or can't do the work by yourself, then you will not have had the practice needed to do well in an exam on that same material).
One thing that a lot of people do not realize about computer scientists is that we are very, very good at pattern recognition. It's what we do daily in our own work. So, when two supposedly different solutions are submitted and yet contain the exact same patterns (particularly the same mistakes in spelling or formats or code structures) we spot those as easily as breathing. When we see the same patterns, we start digging a little deeper. TAs and UCAs are on the lookout for odd patterns and unusual formatting, and are instructed to pass possible candidates on to me for further evaluation. Program code can also be run through automated software for detecting similarities, so just changing variable names won't alter the code enough to make it a different program.
If you cannot solve the assigned problem, come see either me or the TAs during office hours; that's what we are there for. You will lose many fewer points for turning in an assignment late than you will turning in someone else's assignment on-time with your name on it.
You want to discuss approaches to solving problems with other students? Fine. You want to argue minutiae of program design over a slice of Antonio's Pizza? Cool. Just make sure that what you turn in is YOUR OWN DESIGN WITH YOUR OWN KEYSTROKES.
Don't push us.
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