The SCSU Journalism Department Policy on Plagiarism and Academic Dishonesty

Truth, honesty and integrity are important in any field, but particularly the field of journalism where ethics and the public’s ability to trust what they read, hear, and see are important in a democratic society.  The following is presented to ensure students understand what constitutes plagiarism and academic dishonesty, and what we expect of you as students.  These 11 points are not exclusive. See, also, the university definition of academic dishonesty in the student handbook. Updated August 2017.

The Acts:

1. If you include a passage that is word-for-word from another published or broadcast document (including from the internet) without attribution, that is plagiarism.

2. If you include a passage that is word-for-word from another published or broadcast document (including from the internet), with attribution that comprises the bulk of your writing, that is plagiarism.

3. If you cite a human source or sources from another published news organization or other publication (including from the internet), and that source or those sources comprise the bulk of the sources used in your own writing, that is, for all intents and purposes, plagiarism.

4. If you use another news organization’s story to write a story that you did not cover, but are writing it as if you were there and did cover it, that is plagiarism.

5. If you create characters who do not exist and use them as sources for your story, that is a fabrication, which is academic and journalistic dishonesty.
6. If you produce a story -- including text, photos of video -- for one class (or internship), then use the same story in another class without both instructors' approval, that is double-dipping, which is academic dishonesty.
7. If you produce an assignment for one class that is corrected, edited or graded, then hand in that assignment to another class, that is considered academic dishonesty.
8. If you hand in a story with your name on it that someone else wrote, that is academic and journalistic dishonesty.
9. If you hand in a story with your name on it for which someone else did the research or interviewing, that is academic and journalistic dishonesty.
10. If you hand in a story with your name on it for which someone else did the editing or rewriting, that is academic and journalistic dishonesty.
11. If you use a photograph, image or song without permission and/or without credit to the source, that is a copyright violation, which is a form of plagiarism.

The Consequences:

• All acts of suspected plagiarism or academic dishonesty will be reported to the journalism chair, and the Dean of Arts and Sciences, and may be referred to the Office of Student Conduct.
• An act of plagiarism or academic dishonest may result in failure on the assignment, failure of the class, as well as other possible sanctions outlined in the Faculty Senate Policy on Academic Misconduct.