Academic Integrity
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 expected to familiarize themselves with the university’s policies on Academic Honesty in the Lindenwood University Student Handbook and to adhere to these policies at all times. Students are also encouraged to consult the resources of the university library and the Writing Center/Academic Success Center for assistance in upholding the university honesty policy.
Academic Dishonesty includes plagiarism, cheating, and lying or deception.
- Cheating is giving or receiving unauthorized aid on an examination, assignment, or other graded work. Regardless of where the aid comes from—e.g., cell phone, crib sheet, or another student—it qualifies as academic dishonesty.
- Lying/Deception refers to dishonest words, actions, or omissions directed at University personnel by a student in order to improve the academic or financial standing of any student at the University.
- Plagiarism is the fraudulent presentation of another person’s ideas or work as the student’s own, or the presentation of the student’s own previous work as new and
original.
- When a student, whether by accident or design, does not properly acknowledge sources in any academic assignment where original work is expected, that student is stealing the ideas and effort of another.
- For all assignments completed entirely or in part out of class, the instructor reserves the right to interview the student about the work to verify authorship. A student who is unable to demonstrate a basic understanding of the submitted work will be reported for academic dishonesty and an appropriate penalty will be applied.
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 office of the Provost 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.