Guidelines for filing an Academic Integrity Violation

  • All academic integrity violations should be submitted via the Penn State online Academic Integrity system. In the left menu Academic Integrity Training Videos, the video, "The Life Cycle of an Academic Integrity Claim at Penn State" offers a brief overview of the process. 
  • The online system contains a detailed System User Guide for Instructors. 
  • Please refer to the detailed steps of the Academic Integrity Processing Procedure before filing an online violation. 

Submit an Academic Integrity Violation

Codes of Academic Misconduct:

Academic misconduct is defined as any action or attempted action, further defined by the five categories below, that creates an unfair academic advantage for oneself or an unfair academic advantage or disadvantage for any other member or members of the academic community.

1. Unauthorized Assistance: Unauthorized collaboration and/or accessing or using unauthorized or prohibited materials, information, tools, technologies, or study aids. Also, allowing another person to submit work or participate in academic requirements on one’s behalf (sometimes called ‘ghosting’), or assisting another to engage in any form of academic misconduct (e.g., facilitating academic misconduct). 

  • Unauthorized Test Possession, Purchase or Supplying
  • Ghosting
  • Improper Use of Technology
  • Facilitating Violations of Academic Integrity by Others
  • Unauthorized Collaboration
  • Unauthorized Use of Study Aids

2. Misrepresentation: Misrepresenting another’s words, results, processes, or ideas in whole or in part without giving appropriate citation or credit. Includes submitting another person’s work as one’s own (e.g., plagiarism). Other categorical examples include copying and tampering with another student’s work.

  • Copying
  • Submitting Another’s Work as your Own without Proper Citation
  • Tampering with the Work of Other Students

3. Fabrication: Providing false information in fulfillment of an academic assignment, exercise, publication, or another requirement, including making up data, sources, efforts, events, or results, and recording, reporting, or using them as authentic. Also includes altering or adjusting graded work to receive a favorable regrade.

  • Altering Exams or Assignments
  • Fabricating of Information

4. Reuse of Academic Work: Using the same academic work, in part or entirely, for credit more than once, unless specifically authorized by the instructor receiving the reused work.

  • Submitting Work Previously Used Without Permission

5. Misuse of Instructional Content: Retaining, recording and/or disseminating instructional content when prohibited, including course exams, or other intellectual property, without the express written permission of the instructor(s) or intellectual property owner, or as permitted by their Campus Disability Coordinator.

  • Unauthorized Test Possession, Purchase or Supplying
  • Facilitating violations of academic integrity by others

Academic Integrity Educational Resources:

  1. AI, Pedagogy, and Academic Integrity website that provides resources and information relative to the implications of generative AI on education and its impact on pedagogy and academic integrity.
  2. Responding to Artificial Intelligence Writing Tools "Will Artificial Intelligence Kill College Writing? Online programs can churn out decent papers on the cheap. What now?"
  3. PSU Academic Integrity Tutorial that defines academic integrity and explains related concepts.
  4. Citation and Writing Guides includes comprehensive guides with examples for APA, MLA, and other citation styles.
  5. Starting Library Research Guide has resources from the University Libraries for students learning how to research.
  6. Information Literacy Badges have academic integrity assessments for faculty to incorporate into their curriculum.
  7. Information Literacy Tutorial (credo) to reinforce and guide students in applying academic integrity and creating citations.
  8. TLT Individual Consultations are available to faculty as a resource for academic integrity issues including artificial intelligence concerns.

For information about resources, contact Kristin E. C. Green, Research and Instruction Librarian by Email: [email protected].

You may also refer students who are unsure on how to cite their sources properly or need help on how to paraphrase appropriately to the Learning and Writing Center for assistance with these skills. Additionally, in-class workshops are available for APA, MLA and Chicago citation styles. To request a visit, students should complete the Request a Visit from the Learning and Writing Center form or contact Jaime Mosher, Writing Center Coordinator at [email protected].

University Sanctioning Guidelines and Policy:

According to University guidelines, a sanction can be a warning, not necessarily a punitive grade reduction.  In any regard, sanctions should be assessed based on the University academic integrity sanction guidelines.

Contact Information

Suzanne Morgan
Academic Integrity Unit Administrator at Penn State Scranton
Email: [email protected].