The Levels of Academics Integrity: Plagiarism and Cheating

Integrity, as defined by the Merriam-Webster Dictionary is “the quality of being honest and fair, and the state of being complete or whole” (Merriam-Webster). At Rutgers, this quality is expected of each and every student in regards to their academics. All students must be honest with their studies, and in turn, honest with themselves as well as their professors and piers. Lack of academic integrity will always result in some form of disciplinary action. At Rutgers, there a different levels of dishonesty in regards to academics, as well as different levels of disciplines.
The levels of academic integrity violations are, “Plagiarism, cheating, fabrication, facilitation of dishonesty, academic sabotage, violation of research or professional ethics, violations involving potentially criminal activity” (Rutgers Academic Integrity Policy). Plagiarism is taking an idea and claiming it as one’s own. A student or other academic plagiarizes by
[Using] another person’s words, ideas, or results without giving that person appropriate credit. To avoid plagiarism, every direct quotation must be identified by quotation marks or appropriate indentation and both direct quotation and paraphrasing must be cited properly according to the accepted format for the particular discipline or as required by the instructor in a course (Rutgers Academic Integrity Policy).
As shown by the citation above, a block quote was necessary to give Rutgers University the proper acknowledgment for defining plagiarism. If the quote was shorter, quotation marks and a citation would have sufficed. Not only do word for word quotations need to be cited, but paraphrasing ideas must be cited as well. One may not present an idea as their own, even if they write the idea in th...

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... and premeditated the act. Sanctions for these types of violations include, failing the course, probation, dismissal, loss of positions and support and opportunities, and lastly expulsion (Rutgers Academic Integrity Policy).
In closing, the Rutgers Academic Integrity Policy follows a strict set of guidelines and protocol in order to make learning at the University an honest and safe experience. All students should deserve to have a fair education, without being preoccupied with students cheating, as well as being preoccupied with cheating themselves. Cheating and other forms of academic dishonesty will not help students when they graduate and are out in their fields, nor will it make them the type of graduates Rutgers expects. By understanding the policy at Rutgers, students can learn to work to the best of their ability both in school and later in the workplace.