Student resources
Over the course of your academic journey here at Arizona State University, you will be challenged to continually build upon your skills and academic abilities. At times, pressure and stress can arise from balancing busy schedules, academic commitments, and personal commitments. In these moments of adversity, it’s important that you make ethical decisions and uphold a high standard of integrity for you and for others.
Behaviors and actions
What does Sun Devil Integrity look like?
To see the behaviors and actions of Sun Devil Integrity, view the infographic below or download the PDF.
Academic Integrity at ASU Tutorial
The Academic Integrity at ASU tutorial also will walk you through the importance of academic integrity. Upon completion of the tutorial you will be able to:
- Describe the five types of academic integrity
- Identify the do's and don'ts of academic integrity at ASU
- Recognize the consequences of academic dishonesty
Strategies
Strategies for how to complete your work with integrity
Be informed: Understand ASU’s expectations regarding academic integrity by understanding the Academic Integrity Policy and Student Code of Conduct.
Ask questions: If you are not sure if something is really cheating, ask your professors, T.A.s, academic integrity officers, or academic advisors.
Seek tutoring: Ask your professors and others in your department for help in finding academic support. Help is available from the following sources:
- On-campus, in-person writing support
- Online support for citations and style manuals
- Tutoring and academic success resources
Stay healthy: Checkout the Live Well at ASU webpages to obtain information, resources and involvement opportunities found in each element are designed to positively impact you academic performance, personal well-being and assist you in reaching your full potential.
Avoiding plagiarism
Plagiarism may be the most common form of academic dishonesty and is often unintentional. Protect yourself by understanding how to avoid plagiarism at Arizona State University using the following resources.
What is Plagiarism?
Plagiarism tutorial
Take the Plagiarism Awareness: Don’t Stumble Into it Accidentally! tutorial. Upon completion of the tutorial you will be able to:
- Define and recognize plagiarism.
- Explain the importance of citation in the scholarly environment.
- Demonstrated strategies to avoid unintentional plagiarism.
- Recognize and explain the consequences of plagiarism.
Resources for citations
Visit the ASU Library citation styles webpage as a reference for citing resources appropriately using APA, MLA, Chicago, or other citation-style guidelines. The site also offers exercises to help you practice the appropriate use of citations.
Contract cheating
Definition of contract cheating
Contract cheating is a type of academic dishonesty where a student asks another person to complete all or part of their work for them. The student may ask someone they know to write a paper for them, as a favor, or they may pay someone to do it. Regardless of whether money changes hands or not, presenting someone else’s work as your own is always cheating.
What are some of the ways contract cheating negatively impacts you and the ASU community?
There are numerous ways in which contract cheating negatively impacts you, your fellow students, and the ASU community. Here are a few:
- You do not acquire any of the knowledge that your instructor intended for you to learn when you have someone else do your work. By doing so, you are taking away your opportunity to grow as a student and professional contract cheating is a very serious academic integrity violation which could result in suspension or expulsion permanently from the University.
- Students who complete their work on their own are disadvantaged by students who are cheating.
- When you ask someone to do work for you, you are asking them to cheat on your behalf. Your request for their help will lead to negative consequences for them as well.
What are some things I can do if I am overwhelmed and notice that I am becoming tempted by contract cheating?
Part of the learning process as a college student is to work your way through challenging times in an honest and ethical manner. Spending time prioritizing your assignments and engaging in good time management practices is ideal. However, you may still experience times where you feel overwhelmed by multiple deadlines and projects.
There are resources to support you:
- Communicate and/or meet with your instructor.
- Schedule an appointment to talk to your advisor.
- Meet with the Academic Integrity Officer in your college/school.
- Utilize your college/school tutoring resources.
- Utilize the ASU resources offered from the Dean of students’ office.
- Contact the ASU First Year Success Center.
- Contact the International Students and Scholars Center.
Remember, it is better to do poorly on an assignment or even fail an examination than it would be to commit an academic integrity violation. The skills you develop working through challenging situations, enhances your resiliency and makes you an even more effective college graduate.