Tips to avoid allegations of academic misconduct

Preparing for a test can be an anxiety-producing experience. Here are some suggestions to make the process more productive:

Preparing for the Exam

Taking the Exam

After the Exam

The Tips

PREPARING FOR THE EXAM:

1. Review and/or rewrite your notes after each class. Reading them soon after class will make remembering them easier. Check for legibility and clarity.

2. Try condensing your notes to one page. This exercise will help you to organize the main ideas and to select the most important concepts and facts.

3. If you don't understand the material, see your instructor during office hours or make an appointment. You may also go to the TLC Lab in I-209 for assistance. The longer you wait, the less time you will have to prepare.

4. Prepare for the style of the exam being given. Multiple choice, matching, and true-false questions tend to test for recognition of facts; short answer and "fill-in-the-blank" questions tend to test your ability to recall material; essay and oral exams tend to test your ability to recall material; synthesize material, and create your own conclusions.

5. Write some questions as if you were the professor. This exercise may help you to focus on the most important material under examination.

6. Budget your time. Include time to watch your favorite television program as you schedule your time - chances are you'll watch it anyway. If you budget time for it, you'll be able to watch it and still have adequate time to study.

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TAKING THE EXAM:

1. Do not sit next to your friends. Choose a desk in the exam room that is as remote as possible from students whom you know. It decreases distraction as well as the chance that copying may occur or be suspected. This is particularly important if you studied together.

2. Bring into the exam room only those materials, if any, which the instructor has expressly indicated are allowed. Bringing in unauthorized materials, whether utilized or not, leaves you vulnerable to an allegation of cheating.

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AFTER THE EXAM:

1. When your exam is returned, see what you can learn by reviewing your incorrect answers. If you wish to submit your exam for re-grading do not alter the original answers, since that could be interpreted as a dishonest attempt to receive additional credit. Most instructors photocopy your original exams and quizzes in order to compare them with those submitted for re-grading. The few who do not do so have excellent memories.

Be advised that instructors will refer cases of suspected cheating to the Dean of Students' Office. Penalties for cheating include Suspension or Expulsion from the College.

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THE TIPS

1. Be sure you understand the assignment. If you have ANY questions, do not hesitate to ASK the instructor.

2. Be sure you understand the definition of PLAGIARISM:

    

   To PLAGIARIZE is to "steal and pass off (the ideas or words of another) as one's own without crediting the source; present as new and original an idea or product derived from an existing source," (Webster's New Collegiate Dictionary, Springfield: G. & C. Merriam Company, 1973, 870.).

    

   Most of the time, you have to incorporate other writers' words and ideas in an assignment. If given permission to consult those writers, go ahead, but be sure to cite them. If you aren't sure how to use the material you have without plagiarizing, ASK or CHECK A WRITING GUIDE before submitting the work for credit.

3. Be sure you understand the CONSEQUENCES of plagiarism:

   1. When you plagiarize, you hand in work that is not your own for critical review. You do not learn anything because your work is not being reviewed. When you plagiarize, you sabotage the quality of your education.

   2. When you plagiarize, you steal, just as if you took a book from a store. Plagiarism is different in effect, however, because the College assumes that each degree represents that student's original work. When you plagiarize, you undermine the value of a degree from College of the Canyons.

   3. When you plagiarize, chances are good that you will be caught. If you are caught, chances are very good that you will be suspended from the College. Consider the impact on your financial aid? Your earning a degree? Your plans to attend a four-year school? Your career plans?

4. If you're stuck and can't get through the assignment, there are legitimate alternatives to plagiarizing:

   1. Visit the TLC Lab, I-209 there you can get one-on-one help with writing skills, grammar, topic development -- anything involved in writing a paper.

   2. Visit your instructor - make an appointment or go during office hours. There are no dumb questions when it comes to assuring that your work is honest.

5. If you know of someone who is plagiarizing an assignment, confront the person and/or tell the instructor. Papers that are plagiarized will impact the grading curve. It is in your best interest if everyone does his or her own work.

6. Be advised that instructors will refer cases of suspected plagiarism to the Dean of Students' Office. Penalties for plagiarism include Suspension or Expulsion from the College.

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