Cheating and Plagiarism

Cheating is defined as any dishonest or deceptive practice related to exams or work submitted for a course.  It can include the presentation or submission by a student of work, whether in part or whole, that was achieved through deceptive means by covertly using tools or sources that undermine the pedagogical value of a particular assignment.  An example of cheating would be to trace from a photograph if one is instructed to draw a three-dimensional subject from observation, or to copy (by means of tracing, measuring or photographing) another student’s construction or line work and use it as basis for one’s own work when they had been instructed to ‘construct’ their own.

Plagiarism in course work is defined as the presentation or submission by a student of another person’s work, whether in part or whole, as his or her own work. Students suspected of plagiarism will be informed.  Any student allowing a plagiarist to copy his/her work is considered to be equally guilty of plagiarism.

Cheating and plagiarism are serious academic offences.  Both academic achievement and creative production are based on honesty and artistic integrity. Where originality is questionable, preceding developmental work must be produced to substantiate authorship.  The penalty in response to plagiarism or cheating is at the discretionary power of the instructor. According to ISEP, all instances of cheating and plagiarism that result in an affected grade will be reported to the office of the Dean of Creative and Applied Arts.  At the very least, submitted work will be given a “zero” grade and the work may be confiscated, as well as other possible penalties which can include the following: receiving a failing grade for a course, being expelled from a course, being expelled from the Illustration Program, and being expelled from the college.

Students should refer to the Institutional Student Evaluation Policy (ISEP Sections III, IV, and V) regarding academic integrity and cheating and plagiarism.  ISEP (Institutional Student Evaluation Policy) is available on the Dawson College website.