For Faculty of Graduate Studies regulations on academic integrity matters, please visit Regulations – Academic Honesty.
Supports to Help Avoid Academic Dishonesty
Open Access Graduate Academic Integrity Resource
The Open Access Graduate Academic Integrity Resource is designed to provide the graduate community with information and resources on the expectations of academic integrity at York University.
Upon completion of the modules, students will have a better understanding of what constitutes a scholastic offence, as well as their responsibilities in relation to a variety of academic principles. A certificate of completion is automatically provided following completion.
Academic Integrity Website
York University’s centralized resource for the community features:
- Information to help avoid a breach
- Citation resources
- Interactive Video Modules on academic honesty
- Frequently Asked Questions
The website also features information, strategies and resources for instructors and teaching assistants to help create a learning environment where positive student behaviour is encouraged, and cases of academic misconduct are minimized. Further guidance is also provided on Artificial Intelligence (AI) tools and academic integrity.
York University Libraries Graduate Student Support
There are a number of citation styles that describe in detail how to reference and cite the work of others properly in one’s own work. Graduate students are responsible to ensure that they are aware of and properly follow an appropriate citation style. Uncertainty about which citation style should be followed can be cleared up by consulting with one’s course director or program director.
The York University Libraries Graduate Student Library Guide provides a number of useful resources, including links to the guides for the most popularly used citation styles, access to RefWorks (which is a web-based bibliographic management/citation manager tool), and links to research and writing guides. The York University Libraries also offers a Guide for International Students which is intended to help international and exchange students find information about resources and services available at the Libraries.
Subject Matter Librarians are a key resource for graduate students – connect with the relevant Subject Matter Librarian with any questions on the standards of a specific discipline regarding appropriate academic conduct.
York University Learning Commons’ SPARK Module
The SPARK Academic Integrity Module is designed to test and inform students about academic integrity expectations and what to keep in mind in order to avoid academic dishonesty. At York University, a foundational expectation is that students are aware of and respect the principle of proper representation in one’s work, including how to avoid plagiarizing the work of others. Relative to the existence of misrepresentation in work that has been submitted for evaluation (which includes drafts) as one’s own, intention does not matter.
Simply put: If work containing misrepresentation is submitted for evaluation, then one is responsible for the misrepresentation, regardless of intent.
Whom to Talk to About Options and Support
Academic honesty, particularly plagiarism, concerns the existence of misrepresentation in work submitted as one’s own. It does not address intention or cause. Although intention does not matter in relation to the existence of misrepresentation in work that has been submitted as one’s own, it does relate to the honesty and integrity of one’s character. The intentions behind one’s conduct are implicated, for honesty is an activity, a choice. Graduate students are often faced with pressures—from competing timelines to personal issues to feeling or being unprepared to perform at the expected level—which may lead one to choose to act in a way that is academically dishonest. It is important to know that there are a number of choices one can make rather than a dishonest one and that there are people with who you can speak about making these choices.
- The York University Graduate Students’ Association can provide support, including information and confidential advice about coursework extension and leave options available to graduate students.
- Even if the deadline for submission of an assignment or piece of work is at hand, talk to the professor about an extension. Explain your situation honestly and fully. There is no shame in asking for assistance.
- Graduate Program Directors are there to provide students with advice, guidance and support and can be of particular assistance if conversations with individual course directors or supervisors have not been fruitful. If an extension of an assignment or piece of work will not provide the necessary relief, one option is to speak with the program director about a leave of absence. There a number of different kinds of leaves, as outlined in Regulations—Registration.
- Wellness Consultations in the Faculty of Graduate Studies are confidential, one-on-one meetings that support graduate students with stress, anxiety, time management, procrastination, and mental health concerns – some of the factors that might contribute to academic dishonesty.
- The Writing Centre offers group workshops that focus on major elements of effective academic writing. More information about the workshops can be found here.
- York University Libraries offers a range of resources related and relevant to academic honesty.
- The York University Academic Integrity website features a variety of resources aimed at both students and teaching assistants.
Faculty of Graduate Studies Academic Integrity Module
All incoming graduate students are required to complete the Faculty of Graduate Studies Academic Integrity Module, with the exception of master’s students in the Schulich School of Business*. Progression beyond the first term of study is not possible until this requirement has been met.
instructions for completion will be provided to incoming graduate students at the beginning of their first term of study.
*Master’s students in the Schulich School of Business shall follow the procedures governing Academic Honesty Modules established in the Schulich School of Business.