Academic integrity is highly valued at UCSD and academic dishonesty is considered a serious offense. Students involved in an academic integrity violation will face an administrative sanction which may include suspension or, in very serious cases, expulsion from the university. Furthermore, there is an academic sanction, which is imposed by the instructor of the course - in this class you will receive an F if you are involved in any academic intergrity violation.
Make sure to visit the Academic Integrity Website to understand what academic integrity violations are, how you can avoid them, and what administrative sanctions to expect.
Your integrity has great value: Cultivate and protect your academic integrity.
Ways to get help:
Avoid: Homework ''help'' websites, tutors who do the assignments for you, copying solutions from another student - these do not help you learn and are academic integrity violations!
Academic integrity violations can occur on exams (midterm, final, quizzes) and on homework assignments. The most important rules to avoid violations are the following:
Here is a summary of what is allowed in this course:
Assignment type | Textbook, lecture notes | Solutions to HW/discussion problems | Electronic devices (e.g. calculator), MATLAB | Internet | Ask instructor/TA | Collaboration with other students |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Homework | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes to search concepts/definitions, not to search/copy/post entire problems | Yes, we also give hints | Yes, see below what that means exactly |
Quizzes | Yes | Yes | No | No | Yes, but only to understand the question | No |
Midterm, final | Yes | Yes | No | No | Yes, but only to understand the question | No |
Collaboration: Exchanging ideas with other people is important and helpful to find solutions to any type of problem. When you join a company, being able to work in a team is a valuable asset. Nevertheless, you should be careful to not confuse "collaboration" with copying solutions. Collaboration means that you collect ideas for possible solutions to a problem with other people and work together towards a result. You are allowed to do that for homework assignments. If you collaborate with others, every student still needs to submit their own solution.
Getting a solution to a homework assignment from another student (or the internet) and copying it is not collaboration, and not allowed in this class. Also sharing your entire homework solution with another student is an academic integrity violation. If you want to help, explain the concepts and give hints so that they can solve it by themselves.
In quizzes, exams and midterms you have to work by yourself, no collaboration is allowed.
A fun way to understand what collaboration means is by playing Hanabi. In Hanabi, you work towards a goal with others, can give hints, but are not allowed to reveal the cards you see.