Academic Integrity

Genesis University is dedicated to strong academic standards, ideals, and practices and places the highest value on academic honesty and integrity. Standards for academic integrity prohibit dishonest academic behaviors. Therefore, a student who enrolls at Genesis University agrees to respect and acknowledge the research and ideas of others in his or her work and abide by regulations governing the submission of academic work as stipulated by Genesis University, the academic program, and faculty members. Academic integrity requires that all academic work be wholly the product of an identified individual or individuals. Violations of academic integrity include:

  • Copying from or giving assistance to others on an examination
  • Plagiarizing portions of an assignment
  • Using forbidden material on an examination
  • Using a purchased term paper
  • Presenting the work of another as one’s own

To review, students are expected and obligated to respect and abide by the basic standards of personal and professional integrity. Consider the following examples of possible violations:

  • Cheating during a test
  • Helping others to cheat
  • Using unauthorized materials for an assignment, quiz, or test
  • Receiving information about a test from someone who already took it earlier
  • Copying something from the Internet without acknowledgment
  • Summarizing someone else’s ideas without revealing the source

Sanctions for violations of the academic integrity policy may include, but is not limited to the following:

  • Requiring the student to repeat the assignment or do additional related assignment(s)
  • Lowering the grade or failing the student on the particular assignment involved
  • Lowering the grade or failing the student in the course
  • Dismissal from the school

Proctored Exam Information & Policies

The primary reason for proctored exams is to help ensure the academic integrity of the program. The American Heritage Dictionary defines integrity as the “steadfast adherence to a strict moral or ethical code.” Online exams present additional challenges, and remote proctoring is a solution that allows for flexibility in time and place. Unfortunately, instructors and the academic committee have had to fail or expel students for cheating on exams. Yes, it happens. The time and effort invested in investigating reports of cheating are substantial and emotionally draining for the staff. Please do not put us in this position! When taking an exam keep the following in mind:

  • Close all browsers and tabs, except for the course page.
  • You are required to video your environment. This means panning your webcam around the room, showing the area all around you, including your table or desktop. Failure to do a proper room video scan may result in a failing grade.
  • Unless explicitly allowed, books and notes are not allowed during the exam.
  • Make sure your work area is free of papers and books.
  • Keep your phone away from your work area.
  • Take care of any personal needs before beginning the exam.
  • Make sure you are visible to the camera throughout the exam.
  • Once you begin the exam process you may not break to study or refer to other materials.
  • Failure to follow the above may result in a failing grade.

Accept your limitations and try not to get around them by using cheat sheets, copying, or seeking help from any other means available. Academic integrity, as with so much in life, involves a system of interconnected rights and responsibilities that reflect our mutual dependence on one another. If we don’t have integrity in the small things, if we find it possible to justify plagiarism, or cheating in things that don’t seem important, how will we resist doing the same in areas that really do matter, in areas where money might be at stake, or the possibility of advancement, or our esteem in the eyes of others? We can only be a person of integrity if we practice it every day.