Schulich School of Business

Academic Honesty

At Schulich, academic honesty is taken very seriously. The integrity and value of your degree is directly associated with the honest hard work that you produce during your time at Schulich. As a student, you are expected to know and follow Schulich’s Academic Honesty Policy.

A number of factors may contribute to students breaching the Academic Honesty Policy. However, good time management, proper citation practices, a clear understanding of the Academic Honesty Policy, as well as knowing the resources available to you can help you avoid the following:

Pressure to meet deadlines

Students must often juggle several papers and assignments that are due around the same time, leaving them feeling time-constrained in meeting their deadlines. This can lead to the temptation to lift content from another source without proper citation.

To avoid this situation, start assignments early and plan your time carefully. If you are finding it difficult to manage your time, speak to an advisor in Student Services & International Relations for guidance.

Intent

Not knowing the policy does not excuse students from the repercussions of breaching the policy. Students are expected to familiarize themselves with the Academic Honesty Policy and follow them accordingly.

Paraphrasing

A common misconception with plagiarism is that you do not have to cite a source if you paraphrased the information from another source. Any time an idea is not your own, you are expected to properly cite it, even if the idea has been paraphrased from the original text. You can review the citation guides below for examples on how to do this.

If you are having difficulty expressing your thoughts in English, the Academic Peer Support service located in W263 offers one-on-one assistance on assignments, cases and papers. They can also provide feedback and advice on how to improve your written work.

Sharing Work

Students are encouraged to guide and help their peers, but within limits. Specifically, students are expected not to share copies of their current or previous work electronically or otherwise. If permitted by an instructor, students may discuss an individual assignment with each other but must still complete their work individually.

If someone uses your work as their own, you could be charged with Aiding and Abetting by helping that person plagiarize.

Group Work

During your time at Schulich you will participate in a lot of group projects. When you are part of a group and put your name on that project, you are responsible for that assignment regardless of the amount of work you contributed to it. If your group is suspected of a breach of academic honesty, all members of a group may be considered equally responsible.

To avoid this, plan ahead and ensure that everyone in the group is familiar with citation practices. Read other group members’ work and contact the professor if you have concerns about your group members.

Citation

Improper citation is one of the biggest causes for plagiarism. Proper citation skills are an important part of your Schulich education. Additionally, Schulich’s norms and expectations regarding appropriate citation may be different from your previous academic institutions.

If you need guidance on proper citation skills, please refer to the following resources:

Style Guides
Academic Writing Guides
Citing Business Resources