Academic Dishonesty

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Because the University is an academic community with high professional standards, its teaching, research, and service purposes are seriously disrupted and subverted by academic dishonesty. Academic dishonesty includes cheating and plagiarism as defined below. Ignorance of these definitions will not provide an excuse for acts of academic dishonesty.

Cheating includes, but is not limited to: giving or receiving unauthorized help during an examination; obtaining unauthorized information about an examination before it is administered; using inappropriate sources of information during an examination; altering the record of any grades; altering answers after an examination has been submitted; falsifying any official University record; and misrepresenting the facts in order to obtain exemptions from course requirements.

Plagiarism includes, but is not limited to: submitting, to satisfy an academic requirement, any document that has been copied in whole or part from another individual’s work without identifying that individual; neglecting to identify as a quotation a documented idea that has not been assimilated into the student’s language and style, or paraphrasing a passage so closely that the reader is misled as to the source; submitting the same written or oral material in more than one course without obtaining authorization from the instructors involved; or drylabbing, which includes obtaining and using experimental data and laboratory write-ups from other sections of the course or from previous terms, or fabricating data to fit the expected results.

In cases of suspected or admitted dishonesty, the instructor shall attempt to discuss the matter with the student. If appropriate, the instructor may bring it to the attention of the departmental chairperson, the student’s advisor, division chairperson, and/or appropriate academic dean. Additionally, an instructor may refer such cases of academic dishonesty to the Dean of Students for action under the Student Conduct Code. (Refer to the “Student Conduct Code” section of this catalog for more information about the UH Hilo Student Conduct Code or visit the website at www.uhh.hawaii.edu/studentaffairs/conduct/. Please note that at the time of this publication, the University of Hawaii is in the process of revising and updating the Student Conduct Code. Individuals should refer to the UH Hilo website for the most current version of the Code.)

In cases where the student admits that an act of academic dishonesty was committed, the instructor may, within the context of the course, require the student to re-do the assignment, give the student a failing or reduced grade for the assignment, or give a failing or reduced grade for the course. If the student contests his or her liability, the instructor may not take action against the student but must refer the case to the Dean of Students for hearing and disposition under the Student Conduct Code. The Dean of Students may pursue such matters as disciplinary actions under the Student Conduct Code if, after a preliminary investigation, it is his or her determination that probable cause exists to establish that acts of academic dishonesty took place.