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Integrity and Plagiarism at WMU

The Office of Student Conduct's "Code of Student Conduct" presents the WMU Code of Honor:

"Western Michigan University (WMU) is a student-centered research university that forges a responsive and ethical academic community. Its undergraduate, graduate, and professional programs are built upon intellectual inquiry, investigation, discovery, an open exchange of ideas, and ethical behavior.... This includes exemplifying academic honesty, integrity, fairness, trustworthiness, personal responsibility, respect for others, and ethical conduct."

WMU is a member institution of the Center for Academic Integrity (CAI) at the Rutland Institute for Ethics at Clemson University. The CAI has identified academic integrity as a commitment to five fundamental values: honesty, trust, fairness, respect, and responsibility. Academic integrity is important at WMU because it enables each of us to fulfill our potential, learn effectively with and from one another, acquire specialized knowledge and skills, become informed, responsible and creative thinkers and have pride in our institution’s standing.

WMU takes all forms of academic dishonesty seriously, including plagiarism. Plagiarism undermines academic integrity values and WMU’s educational goals. Plagiarism is defined in the Student Rights and Responsibilities section of the WMU's Undergraduate and Graduate Catalogs as follows:

"Plagiarism

Definition: Plagiarism is intentionally, knowingly, or carelessly presenting the work of another as one's own (i.e., without proper acknowledgement of the source). The sole exception to the requirement of acknowledging sources is when the ideas, information, etc. are common knowledge.

Instructors should provide clarification about the nature of plagiarism.

Clarification

1. Direct Quotation: Every direct quotation must be identified by quotation marks or appropriate indentation and must be properly acknowledged, in the text by citation or in a footnote or endnote.
2. Paraphrase: Prompt acknowledgement is required when material from another source is paraphrased or summarized, in whole or in part, in one's own words. To acknowledge a paraphrase properly, one might state: ''To paraphrase Locke's comment,...'' and then conclude with a footnote or endnote identifying the exact reference.
3. Borrowed facts: Information gained in reading or research which is not common knowledge must be acknowledged.
4. Common knowledge: Common knowledge includes generally known facts such as the names of leaders of prominent nations, basic scientific laws, etc. Materials which add only to a general understanding of the subject may be acknowledged in the bibliography and need not be footnoted or endnoted.
5. Footnotes and endnotes: One footnote or endnote is usually enough to acknowledge indebtedness when a number of connected sentences are drawn from one source. When direct quotations are used, however, quotation marks must be inserted and acknowledgement made. Similarly, when a passage is paraphrased, acknowledgement is required.

Faculty members are responsible for informing students concerning appropriate formats for handling quotations, footnotes, endnotes, and bibliographic references."