Membership in the Franklin & Marshall community involves obligations of personal and academic integrity, and members of our community are bound by ideals of scholarly conduct and intellectual honesty. We expect our students to be honest and forthright in representing their work and its origins. Adherence to these norms is at the core of our academic mission and is necessary for the educational benefits we seek to convey. Conversely, violations undermine our shared purpose.

It is the responsibility of faculty members to explain the importance of academic integrity in their courses. This can include, but is not limited to, providing written expectations of these guidelines in the syllabus and explicit instructions for assignments, e.g., what level of collaboration is acceptable. It is the responsibility of the student to be aware of and abide by the standards set by the faculty member in each course. Ignorance of the standards is not an excuse and intent is not a factor in determining responsibility for misconduct.

The failure to meet these obligations of personal and academic integrity results in academic misconduct, which includes, but is not limited to, the following.

1. Unauthorized aid—making use of prohibited materials, study guides, or other assistance in an academic exercise, for example:

   1. accessing prohibited material during an examination,

   2. obtaining test questions before an exam is given,

   3. looking up solutions to homework problems online,

   4. obtaining the solution to a problem from a classmate, or

   5. collaborating on work that is assigned individually.

2. Plagiarism—reproducing the work or ideas of others and claiming them as your own, for example:

   1. claiming authorship of a piece of writing or artwork created by someone else,

   2. making use of ideas obtained from other sources (including classmates) without clearly acknowledging the source, or

   3. incorporating verbatim passages or elements from an existing work into one’s own work without quotation marks or otherwise clear indication of authorship.

3. Falsifying information—making false statements or fabricating information in an academic exercise, for example:

   1. inventing data or sources for an assignment,

   2. lying to obtain an extension or other favorable consideration, or

   3. submitting work completed in another class for credit without the express permission of the instructor.

4. Unethical interference—interfering with or undermining the work of others to gain unfair advantage, for example:

   1. inappropriately limiting other students’ access to relevant materials,

   2. tampering with others students’ submissions or grades,

   3. purposely undermining the success of collaborative work, or

   4. interfering with other students’ scholarship by creating inhospitable work conditions.

5. Facilitating misconduct—helping others commit acts of academic misconduct, for example:

   1. completing another student’s work,

   2. providing a solution or other prohibited material to another student, or

   3. lying to help another student gain advantage or conceal wrongdoing.

When a faculty member suspects that a student is responsible for academic misconduct, the faculty member will refer the case to the Office of Student Affairs for administrative action.  

If the student is found to be responsible for academic misconduct, a disciplinary status ranging from a warning to expulsion will be assigned. The faculty member will decide upon a grading penalty up to a failing grade in the course. After receiving a sanction, the student may not elect the Pass/ No Pass option in that course without the permission of the Dean of Students. In the case of a student who has already chosen the Pass/No Pass option, the Registrar will rescind that option, unless the Dean of Students permits it to remain. If assigned an F in the course as a result of the academic misconduct, the student cannot withdraw from the course without the permission of the faculty member.

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Policy Maintained by: Registrar's Office, College Registrar
Last Reviewed: August 30, 2023