This policy statement is unfortunately necessary, thanks to the actions of a tiny minority of students.
ExpectationsEach student (or homework group) must write their own homework solutions, in their own words, and must properly credit all sources. We strongly encourage students to use any printed, online, or living resource at their disposal to help solve the homework problems, but you must cite your sources.
This is the same ethical standard that researchers are expected to follow in their formal publications; see the guidelines published by ACM and IEEE. Citing your sources will not lower your homework grade.
- If you use an idea from a book, cite the book.
- If you use an idea from a paper, cite the paper.
- If you use an idea from the web, cite the web page.
- If you use an idea from last semester's homework solutions, cite last semester's homework solutions.
- If you use an idea from another student, give that student credit.
- If you use an idea from your mom, give your mom credit.
Avoiding plagiarism is really very simple: Never present someone else's words or ideas as your own.
See Article 1, Part 4 of the UIUC student code (http://www.admin.uiuc.edu/
- Repeating ideas from other people, papers, or web pages without giving proper credit is plagiarism.
- Verbatim duplication of any source, even with proper citations, is plagiarism. In particular:
- Copying from a solution manual for the textbook is plagiarism.
- Copying a previous semester's official homework solutions is plagiarism.
- Turning in a copy of someone else's work as your own is plagiarism, even if you have their permission.
- Allowing someone else to copy your work verbatim, or to use your ideas without giving you credit, is also a violation of academic integrity.
policy/ for more examples and information. If you have any doubt about whether something constitutes plagiarism, talk to Jeff or the TAs, and err on the side of caution.code/ article_1/ a1_1-402.html)
PenaltiesViolations of academic integrity will not be tolerated.
These penalties are consistent with the CS department's recommendations. All academic integrity cases will be reported to the student's department and college. Multiple offenses can result in suspension or dismissal.
- The default penalty for a first offense is a grade of zero on the entire homework or exam. (A zero homework grade that results from a cheating offense will not be dropped.)
- The penalty for a second offense, or a particularly egregious first offense, is an F in the course.
Our high expectations for graduate students extend to issues of academic integrity. A notice of any cheating offense by a graduate student will be entered into their file, where it will be seen by the student's advisor, as well as their qual, prelim, and thesis committees. Several computer science faculty members have publicly stated that they would refuse to advise or serve on a committee for a MS or PhD student who has committed even a single cheating offense, no matter how minor or how far in the past. If you cheat, you are signing your own academic death warrant.
Except for Homework 0, groups of up to three people are allowed to submit a single solution for each homework. Every member of the group receives credit for the entire assignment. That means every member of the group is responsible for the entire assignment. If a submitted homework contains plagiarized material, every member of the group will be given the same penalty. (Again, this is the same standard that is applied to coauthors of research papers.) If you cheat, you are not only endangering your grade, and possibly your academic career, but your colleagues' as well.
Regardless of whether it constitutes plagiarism, or whether you get caught, getting too much help on your homework will hurt your final grade. If you don't learn how to solve algorithmic problems on your own, you will perform poorly on the (closed-book, closed-notes) exams, which make up 70% of your final course average. On several occassions, students with ≥90% homework averages have failed the course.
CausesEvery plagiarism case I've ever seen involves at least one of the following aspects:
- Desperation: The student feels overhelming pressure to improve their performance, despite gaps in their understanding. The student might be overwhelmed by work in other classes, or financial pressure to graduate, or parental/cultural expectations. This might be the hardest course the student has ever taken, and their merely good performance is a blow to their aspirations or self-image. Perhaps the student is dealing with depression, serious illness, divorce, or a death in the family. Or maybe the student simply sees no way to satisfy the instructor's expectations without cheating.
If you find yourself in this situation, ask for help! If you need help understanding the material, come to office hours, ask questions in class, ask questions on the newsgroup, talk to your fellow students. The instructional staff will even make extra apopintments to help guide you through the material or give you feedback on tentative solutions, but only if you ask. (But please remember that our goal is to help you master the material, not just to help you get a better grade.)If you think a homework problem is unclear, please ask for clarification. Your confusion might indicate a gap in your understanding of the course material, but it might also indicate that the question is poorly stated, unfairly hard, or even impossible. Our job is to help you learn the material; please let us know if we aren't doing our job.
Asking for help does not make you "look stupid". Quite the opposite—it means you are smart enough to recognize your own limitations and work to overcome them. Asking for clarification is not an insult to the instructor or the TAs. Quite the opposite—questions are valuable feedback that we can use to teach more effectively.
If your situation is very serious, or not directly related to this class, you may prefer to discuss your situation with your department or college advisor, a family member, a trusted friend, or the counseling center, but please talk to someone.
- Cultural expectations: The student is used to a culture where plagiarism is tolerated or even encouraged. Maybe they come from a country where students are expected to parrot back their instructors' exact words to demonstrate understanding. Maybe they come from a high school with litigious parents that discourge teachers from punishing cheaters. Maybe cheating was inconsistently or ineffectively enforced in their past classes; they've seen cheating students succeed (getting higher grades, or even better jobs) where honest students have suffered.
Please be aware that your cultural expectations may be different!