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Academic Honesty

Our emphasis on academic honesty is designed to:

  • ensure that students are rewarded for their own intellectual input
  • educate students about the value of their own intellectual property and that of others
  • inform students on the appropriate methods of using and building on the work of others via suitable methods of referencing/citations/acknowledgements
  • aid students in the formation of their individual set of ethics

Students should be rewarded for their own intellectual input through appropriate assessment. Consequently it is unfair for students to submit work that dishonestly represents the work of others as their own. Such activity represents a form of fraud.

The University has a responsibility to the community in general, and the engineering profession in particular, that graduating students have adequately displayed competency in the required areas through their own intellectual input.

Official University Policy & Resources

School of Civil Engineering Plain English Statement on Academic Honesty

The types of activities that would be defined as academic dishonesty include (but are not limited to):

  • Copying from textbooks, the internet or other copyrighted material, or from another student's work without acknowledgement, either word-for-word or by paraphrasing.
  • Recycling (ie resubmitting (parts of) work you had previously submitted in another assignment
  • Fabricating data (eg making up results to include in a lab report)
  • Engaging another person to complete an assessment or examination
  • Using unauthorised material, copying or communicating with others during an examination
  • Obtaining a medical certificate that misrepresents the nature or extent of any illness or misadventure
  • Knowingly assisting another student in an act of academic dishonesty

Depending on the nature of the dishonest behaviour penalties may vary from counselling and a note on your record, through to failure of a Unit of Study, and ultimately to exclusion from the University.

Studying in groups and working with friends is perfectly acceptable and we encourage you to work together to help you understand course content. The social and interactive nature of this type of learning is good for all members of the group who contribute positively.

In most circumstances, it is acceptable to discuss assignments with other students, compare completed assignments, methods and answers, or ask another student how to do a particular problem, provided that your submission is a result of your own intellectual input and efforts.

It is academic dishonesty once there is no intellectual input from yourself, such as by directly cutting and pasting (even if then subsequently edited) from another's work, or by copying hand written solutions, equations, calculations and/or diagrams without formulating or evaluating them yourself.

There may be more specific instructions concerning academic honesty applicable to each unit of study in which you enrol. If ever you are in doubt about acceptable or unacceptable practices, you should consult with the relevant staff member.