Academic Honesty: The Definition at UMass

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.

Cheating

intentional use, and/or attempted use of trickery, artifice, deception, breach of confidence, fraud and/or misrepresentation of one’s academic work.

Fabrication

intentional and unauthorized falsification and/or invention of any information or citation in any academic exercise.

Plagiarism

knowingly representing the words or ideas of another as one’s own work in any academic exercise. This includes submitting without citation, in whole or in part, prewritten term papers of another or the research of another, including but not limited to commercial vendors who sell or distribute such materials. More on plagiarism.

Facilitating dishonesty

knowingly helping or attempting to help another commit an act of academic dishonesty, including substituting for another in an examination, or allowing others to represent as their own one’s papers, reports, or academic works.