Academic integrity is the foundation of any educational institution. Lindenwood University students belong to an educational community invested in the exploration and advancement of knowledge. Academic integrity is a critical part of that investment: all students have a fair opportunity to succeed, and as such, all students owe their classmates, instructors, administrators, and themselves the duty of scholarly and creative work untainted by plagiarism, dishonesty, cheating, or other infringements of academic integrity. In turn, instructors, staff, and administrators will also uphold these policies in order to promote student intellectual development and preserve the integrity of a Lindenwood degree.
As part of this educational community, students are always expected to familiarize themselves with the university’s policies on academic standards in the Lindenwood University Student Handbook and academic catalog and to adhere to these policies. Students are also encouraged to consult the resources of the university library and the Writing Center and Academic Success Center for assistance with compliance with academic standards., cheating, and lying or deception.

Academic dishonesty includes but limited to, plagiarism, cheating, lying or deception or collusion.

1. Plagiarism is the fraudulent presentation of another person's ideas or work as the person’s own, or the presentation of the student's own previous work as new or original. Whether by accident or design, does not properly acknowledge source(s) in any academic assignment, that person is stealing the ideas and effort of another.
2. Cheating is giving or receiving unauthorized aid, help, on an assignment or other graded work. Regardless of where the aid comes from such as but not limited to cell phone, crib sheet, another student, online source – it qualifies as academic dishonesty.
3. Lying/deception refers words, actions, or omissions directed to a university personnel by a student to improve the academic or financial standing.
4. Collusion is the unauthorize collaboration by students who have intentionally worked jointly on an assignment, examination, or other graded work that is to be completed partially or entirely out of the classroom, and passed it off as their own individual efforts, or where one student has authorized another to use their work, in part or whole, and to submit it as their own.

Consequences of Academic Dishonesty

The penalty for the first reported offense of academic dishonesty will be determined by the instructor and may result in a reduced or failing grade on the work/test, failure in the course, or other appropriate penalty. Upon a first report of dishonesty, the student is also required to complete an online academic integrity tutorial. A charge for the tutorial will be applied to the student’s Business Office account. For undergraduate students, a second offense will result in failure of the class, and a third offense will lead to expulsion from the university. Graduate students will be expelled after a second offense is reported. Any questions concerning this policy should be directed to the associate provost, academic operations and student success who maintains confidential records of academic dishonesty reports. These records are accessible only to limited personnel in the provost’s office and are not linked to the student’s academic or financial records at the university. Beginning Fall 2023, to ensure compliance with NCAA policies, information about academic integrity cases involving NCAA athletes (to include only the student name, sport, charge and brief summary) will be shared with the Assistant Athletic Director for Academic Success and Development. 

Academic Classroom Conduct

To maximize classroom and campus success for each student and to ensure a positive learning environment, the following conduct is expected of all students:

1. I will not submit plagiarized work and I acknowledge that I am subject to all disciplinary procedures established by the University to address violations of academic honesty as per University Policy.
2. As a student, I shall solely perform all assignments and assessments, except where my instructor has requested participation in group projects.
3. As a student user of online courses, I will respect the privacy of other users (students and instructors) and the integrity of the computer systems and other users’ data. It is my responsibility to respect the copyright protection of licensed computer software. I will not intentionally obstruct, disrupt, or interfere with the teaching and learning occurring on the website in any manner. I understand that any form of computer “hacking” will be reported to local law enforcement agencies and penalized according to prevailing laws.
4. I will not harass, stalk, threaten, abuse, insult, or humiliate any student, instructor, administrator, or external entity using the Lindenwood computer system or any other computer system utilized by Lindenwood University or its affiliates. This includes but is not limited to the use of profanity; displaying weapons or images of weapons; and demeaning comments of an ethnic, religious, sexist, ableist, sexual orientation or racist nature; suggestive language; sexual advances; or intimidation.
5. I understand that it is the intent of Lindenwood University that all members of the University community comply with the provisions of the United States Copyright Law. This Copyright policy serves to uphold the University’s commitment to protecting the principles of intellectual property, as well as, protect the rights of its faculty to make appropriate use of copyrighted works for acceptable educational purposes. This policy applies to all University faculty, staff, and students who wish to make use of copyrighted works, whether in print, electronic, or other form. Implicit in this policy is the “Fair Use Act” which applies across the board to uses in the traditional classroom environment and the TEACH Act which is an exception to the “Fair Use Act” for distance learning.
6. I understand that I may not distribute copies of copyrighted materials to other students. This includes PowerPoints, handouts, podcasts, etc.
7. I understand children are not permitted to attend class with me in any course delivery format.
8. I understand that I must comply with adhering to all health and safety measures and requirements that have been established by the University.
9. Violation of any online instructional tools may result in removal from an online course and/or loss of online modality privileges in the future.
10. Students are expected to act in accordance with the Academic integrity policy. Academic integrity and student honor are of the highest importance at Lindenwood University. Therefore, students are not permitted to sign classroom, lab, or lecture attendance lists for another student. Cheating, lying, and plagiarism of any kind will not be permitted in the academic program and will be considered a violation of university policy.