Academic integrity means being honest about your intellectual work. In the context of our course, this means that you assert that written work you submit for the course is a product of your intellectual effort and not the work of someone else. The written materials you prepare for plant biology class are a method of demonstrating your knowledge of the facts and your understanding of the concepts of plant biology. If you use the words and ideas of another as your own, you are not being honest and you have only demonstrated the other persons' knowledge and understanding, not your own. This is considered plagiarism. Plagiarism is intentionally or knowingly representing the words or ideas of another as ones' own in any academic endeavor. Plagiarism is considered to be a serious infraction of Academic Integrity at the University of Illinois and is not accepted in this class. Be sure you know what plagiarism is.

The University of Illinois has specific policies and regulations concerning academic integrity in the Code of Policies and Regulations Applying to All Students. The academic reputation of the University is founded in the academic integrity of its faculty and students. Infractions of these regulations are taken seriously and can result in severe consequences, including expulsion from the University. As a student of the University it is your responsibility to become familiar with, understand, and abide by Academic Integrity - Article 1, Part 4 of this Code. It should be noted that ignorance of these regulations is not a defense in cases of infringement of the rules of academic integrity.

In Integrative Biology 103, ALL of your lab reports and assignments must be your ideas in your own words, not that of the text, journal article, or a friend in the class. For instance, in your Fast Plants laboratory report, your data tables and graphs or charts must be your own (although the data will be shared within your group). If you have any questions regarding our course policy, please speak to your teaching assistant or course coordinator.

How to learn with others and maintain your academic integrity:

• Do not paraphrase the material of others without giving credit. This policy includes ALL written assignments for Integrative Biology 103 laboratories, including group projects. For specific examples of plagiarism, see the University of Illinois Code of Policies and Regulations Applying to All Students and Infractions of Academic Integrity—Definitions.
  

  
  If you work with another student or a study group, do not write your answers to take home quizzes, homework assignments, or lab reports together. Meet together and discuss questions and share ideas to help each other understand the material, but then INDIVIDUALLY reflect on your discussions and thoroughly understand those ideas before constructing your own answers in writing. DO NOT divide up the questions among the members of your group, write answers to your portion, and then share them with your study group to copy or paraphrase.

• Do not copy the material of others without giving credit:
  The use of computers makes copying and pasting electronic text and images easy and tempting. When you do this without crediting the source you are essentially stealing the work of another and are not demonstrating your understanding of the subject matter. After reading and synthesizing the facts and ideas of other sources write your own interpretation of the material. If you need to quote someone else's work to support your own ideas use quotation marks to let the reader know you are quoting and provide a reference for the quoted work. If you are using text from a web site, provide the URL of the material, or if you are preparing an electronic document, provide a direct web link to your source in addition to using quotation marks. Most importantly, include your own interpretation so that you clearly communicate your understanding of the quoted material.

• Do not become a victim of another's lack of academic integrity. Just as it is wrong to copy the work of another, it is considered just as wrong to allow another student to copy or paraphrase your work. Do not give or loan your work to another student. You may not intend to allow the other person to copy your work, but that might very well happen. If it does happen, both of you will be subject to disciplinary action.