Chapter Two - Section 29

Academic Integrity at AUB
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Integrity lies at the heart of AUB’s academic mission. This is because every student deserves an education that is a product of his or her own intellectual work involving honest critical exchange, and careful attention to good scholarship. The value of that education is compromised for everyone when a person is unwilling to submit his or her own work and ideas. Anyone who cheats on a test or plagiarizes a paper receives dishonest credit and is, in effect, stealing from other students. AUB cannot tolerate such dishonesty because it subverts the conditions under which academic work at the University is validated.

Our academic community exists by virtue of a strong consensus on certain core values for academic conduct. These values are expressed in the Student Code of Conduct as follows:

The University expects students to adhere to norms of academic integrity that accord with those of accepted international scholarly practice and professional ethics. Students should speak and act with due regard to the rights, dignity, and freedom of others, whether within the academic context of the classroom and laboratory, or within the context of co-curricular life and social and recreational events. AUB encourages the free exchange of ideas and opinions, but it does not tolerate any form of discrimination or harassment against members of the university community, breach of academic integrity, or infringement of ethical standards of conduct. These principles and values are expressed in AUB’s mission statement.

Academic Integrity

Academic integrity and honesty are central components of a student’s education. Ethical conduct maintained in an academic context will be taken eventually into a student’s professional career. Academic honesty is essential to a community of scholars searching for and learning to seek the truth. Anything less than total commitment to honesty undermines the efforts of the entire academic community. Both students and faculty are responsible for insuring the academic integrity of the University.

Responsibilities of students

1. By enrolling at AUB every student agrees to accept and abide by the Student Code of Conduct.
2. It is the responsibility of each student to read and understand the Code of Conduct, to know its implications for his or her specific courses, and to understand the definitions of academic misconduct, as listed in The Code of Conduct: Definitions of Misconduct, especially cheating and plagiarism. See http://pnp.aub.edu.lb/general/conductcode/158010081.html
3. It is the responsibility of each student to know that the consequence of the first academic violation of The Code of Conduct will be a failing grade of zero on the exam or assignment where the violation occurred.

Responsibilies of faculty

1. It is expected that all faculty will affirm and promote the highest

standards of their academic profession to their students.

2. Every member of the faculty has specific responsibility to explain to students the implications of the Code of Conduct for each of his or her courses, including the conditions under which academic work in these courses is to be performed and practical suggestions (such as time management, seating in exams, etc.) for avoiding violations.
3. Members of the faculty are expected to acknowledge clear violations of the Code of Conduct when they occur with students, and to know how to proceed with the consequences. This is explained in the Code of Conduct: Academic Misconduct as follows:

In principle, enforcement of disciplinary actions for academic violations is carried out by those immediately responsible. It is the responsibility of the faculty to uphold university policies. Thus, the immediate responsibility for dealing with instances of cheating, plagiarism, and other academic violations rests with the faculty member. If a faculty member has good reason to believe that a student has violated academic standards, it is his or her responsibility to discipline the student expeditiously. The faculty member must give a failing grade of zero on the exam or assignment where the violation occurred. When the instructor has taken disciplinary action, he or she should send a letter to the Student Affairs Committee in the faculty or school in which the student is enrolled, informing that committee of the incident and the action taken. A copy of the letter will be placed in the student's file, as well as forwarded to the student's advisor for follow-up.

The full text, as printed in the Student Handbook and found on the AUB website at http://pnp.aub.edu.lb/general/conductcode/index.html, represents AUB’s standard in matters of academic integrity. Reported violations of academic integrity are adjudicated, when necessary, by each Faculty or School.