GRADUATE SCHOOL EXPECTATIONS Academic Honesty
It is important to be familiar with the information found in the USM Student Handbook and the USM Graduate Bulletin or the USM Undergraduate Bulletin. The following is from the USM Graduate Bulletin:When cheating is discovered, the faculty member may give the student an F on the work involved or in the course. If further disciplinary action is deemed appropriate, the student should be reported to the dean of students. In addition to being a violation of academic honesty, cheating violates the Code of Student Conduct and may be grounds for probation, suspension, and/or explusion. Students on disciplinary suspension may not enroll in any courses offered by the University of Southern Mississippi.The School of Library and Information Science at the University of Southern Mississippi considers the submission of a single paper or assignment to two different courses, whether in the same semester or not, to be academic dishonesty. Any paper or assignment determined by faculty to have been used in another course, or having been submitted to more than one course will receive a failing grade.Plagiarism*
Plagiarism is scholarly theft, and it is defined as the unacknowledged use of secondary sources. More specifically, any written or oral presentation in which the writer or speaker does not distinguish clearly between original and borrowed material constitutes plagiarism. Because students, as scholars, must make frequent use of the concepts and facts developed by other scholars, plagiarism is not the mere use of another's facts and ideas. However, it is plagiarism when students present the work of other scholars as if it were their own work.
Plagiarism is committed in a number of ways:
- Reproducing another author's writing as if it were one's own.
- Paraphrasing another author's work without citing the original.
- Borrowing from another author's ideas, even though those ideas are reworded, without giving credit.
- Copying another author's organization without giving credit.
Plagiarism is a serious offense. An act of plagiarism may lead to a failing grade on the paper and in the course, as well as sanctions that may be imposed by the student judicial system.
* Taken from the USM Student Handbook
If you have any question about the appropriateness of submitting an assignment contact your instructor.
Students should note that the instructor may assign an F for the course if the academic honesty or plagiarism regulations are violated.
Students must send the instructor an email stating that they understand USM's academic honesty policies and that if they do not uphold the standards of academic honesty, the instructor will enforce all applicable punishment.
Undergraduate students are bound by the same regulations in regard to academic honesty and plagiarism.
School of Library and Information Science policies related to courses
- Students are responsible for reading syllabus content and becoming familiar with EACH course's policies and procedures. If a student has questions about the syllabus, these should be addressed to the course instructor.
- Students will not be granted an Incomplete for any course for failing to complete assignments.
- A student who receives an Incomplete will have only ONE semester in which to complete the work, and will not be eligible to receive an A.
- If a student commits plagiarism, that student may receive an F in the course.
- If a student commits self-plagiarism (submits work done in another course) without receiving prior permission from the instructor, the work submitted will be assigned zero points. NO make-up or substitute assignments will be permitted. A second submission of this type will result in an F for the course.
- If a student stops attending class, and does not complete the appropriate withdrawal papers or procedures with the registrar, that student will be assigned an F. If the student is taking only one course and wished to drop that course then the student must write a letter addressed to the dean of the College of Education & Psychology providing the following: Student's full name, student id number, full mailing address, email address and phone number and a statement that they wish to withdraw from the course, include the course abbreviation, number and title and that it is the only course that was being taken so he or she is withdrawing from the university. The student may include information about his or her reasons for withdrawing if he or she so chooses. The document must be signed (it can not be an email) and mailed or faxed to the dean of the college. Failure to complete this procedure will result in the student not being withdrawn from the course and would result in an F for the course.
- Course attendance and participation are required. It is not possible to receive a passing grade without appropriate attendance and participation. Failure to participate or missing three or more classroom meetings without prior permission of the instructor and documented appropriate reasons may result in a failing grade for the course regardless of all other work. Extraordinary circumstances will be adjudicated by the instructor and/or director.
- In online courses, virtual classroom attendance and participation are required. Failure to participate or missing any virtual classroom meeting will result in a lower grade. Missing three or more virtual classroom meetings without documented appropriate reasons and prior permission of the instructor may result in a failing grade for the course regardless of all other work. Extraordinary circumstances will be adjudicated by the instructor and/or director.
- Students are required to subscribe to lisnews, the LIS listserv. Subscribe to lisnews by completing the online form available at https://mail.usm.edu/mailman/listinfo/lisnews.
- Failure to follow specific instructions for content, formatting and submission of assignments will result in lower grades.
- Writing skills: All work must be in standard English; inappropriate grammar, punctuation, and/or spelling will result in lower grades.
- All papers, whether in print or electronically submitted should all have the student name, course number, and date on each page, unless otherwise instructed by the course instructor.
- Each instructor employs naming conventions that students are to use when submitting papers, files or assignments. These conventions are so faculty can better manage your documents; if you fail to follow the naming conventions your documents will be misplaced and may not receive a grade. Please follow naming conventions as provided by each instructor.
<-- Back to Responsibilities Home Forward to Online Courses -->
