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.
Since classes moved online, academic integrity violations have become a serious problem. In July 2020, the Academic Integrity Website announced an 68% increase in the number of AI violation cases reported in the academic year 19/20 compared to 18/19. This is a troublesome development and in order to deal with it, I think the first step is to talk about the gravity of this problem openly.
Unfortunately, I had to deal with a lot of AI violations in my classes as well. In the last two quarters, I reported more than 40 students for violations on homework and exams. Both for students and instructor, the whole process is extremely stressful and frustrating. Also, it is an enormous time sink.
For these reasons, my aim is to get AI violations in my classes to 0. I'd rather spend my time helping students understand the material than filling out reports for the AI office explaining in all detail how a student cheated.
That doesn't mean I will ignore AI violations - be assured I will not! My approach is to make students acknowledge the gravity of AI violations, and offer better ways to handle problems in the class (see "If you need help with the course work").
Some things that foster AI violations:
How I adapted the class style to take off some pressure
If you still consider cheating as an option for you in this class, you might want to think about the following
I will not lie to you: This course is challenging. For most of you it will be the first time to think ''numerically'' and write code. But consider this: You don't have to be a genius to get an A. If you put in a reasonable amount of work, you will excel in this class! I have had students fail the first midterm and then come to every office hour to discuss material and pass with an A in the end.
I am aware that there is a lot of coursework involved in this course. The aim is not to overwhelm you, but to assign a variety of problems that help you learn and understand. There is no shame in asking for help, and it is better to do it earlier than later. For example, if you are completely lost after the first week already, you should take action immediately - the material builds on earlier parts of the class.
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, finals, 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. You should acknowledge that you worked with other people (for example, write on the homework submission "I worked together with XYZ"). This will help the grader understand who worked together - and will prevent you being reported to the academic integrity office because your solution is similar to another student's solution. If you collaborate with others, make sure it's not more than 3 people working together. Also, 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 another student, 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.