Reflection Assignment

Reflection Assignment – Based on the NC State Code of Student Conduct

Honesty and integrity are core components of the engineering profession.  Just as you would not want to be operated on by a surgeon who cheated his or her way through medical school, you would not want to work in a chemical plant designed and operated by people who relied on others to complete their assignments and weren’t competent to do their own work.  The patterns of behavior that you form now as a student are the ones you’ll likely lean on as a professional.  It is very important to conduct yourself with integrity in this “gateway engineering course” to form habits that will serve you well as a professional.

The NC State Code of Student Conduct is a document intended to educate students about their responsibilities and rights as members of a community of scholars, to protect that community from conduct that violates the values and expectations that govern it, and to maintain an environmental that is conducive to learning.

  1. Read the NC State Code of Student Conduct at: http://policies.ncsu.edu/policy/pol-11-35-01   (there may be some things in there that will surprise you!)  For this course in particular, focus on sections 8 and 9.
  2. View the 6 short video segments on-line at http://www.lsu.edu/eng/academicintegrity :
    1. Cheating on homework – online resources
    2. Cheating on homework – peer resources
    3. Cheating on homework – instructor resources
    4. Cheating on computer problems
    5. Cheating on reports and projects
    6. Cheating on exams
  3. The following behaviors are described in the videos and in the syllabus as cheating. Assuming you’ve been asked to complete a class assignment individually (except for question (n)), identify which section(s) of the NCSU Code of Student Conduct these behaviors violate (e.g. 8.2(b)). Note that all of these have happened before in CHE 205 or another CHE class, so they are not unrealistic scenarios.
    1. You do the odd numbered problems, and your friend does the even numbered problems. You exchange problems and copy each other’s to hand in. ___________
    2. Ten minutes remain before class starts and your friend did not have time to complete the last problem. You let your friend copy your solution down and hand it in. ____________
    3. Your roommate took CHE 205 last year and gives you old notes and graded homework assignments. You search through it for problems that were given last year and use them to complete your own problems. ___________
    4. You took CHE 205 last year for credit only. One of the problems on the homework was repeated from last year and you have already worked it.  To save time, you copy the problem over to hand in. __________
    5. You Google “Felder and Rousseau solutions” and find a homework solution file posted on another university’s web site for a similar class. You use it to complete your homework problems. ___________
    6. A web site advertises that you can submit a problem from Felder and Rousseau and purchase a solution for $10. You email the contact and receive a solution of the worked out problem, which you hand in.  ____________
    7. You and your friend are struggling with a problem. You work through it together in detail, including numerical answers, and write up the solution.  Then you each copy it over to hand in. _________
    8. Your friend was not able to solve the Excel problem. You email your file to your friend as an example.  Your friend copies the content, pastes it into a new file, changes the font and graph colors, and submits it under his own name.  (include the relevant charges for both you and for your friend) __________________
    9. You see a classmate throw away an Excel printout in the trash. You retrieve it from the trash, smooth it out, make a photocopy, and hand it in as your own. _________________
    10. You are struggling with an Excel problem. You and a friend work through it together.  You both contribute to the solution of the problem.  Then you each make a copy of the file, save one under your own name, and submit it as your own. ____________
    11. You are in the CHE lounge when you notice that the TA has put the solution key in a textbook and laid the book on the table while helping another student. You switch books and make a copy of the solution key.  Then you bring the book back and tell the TA that you picked up his book by mistake. _______________
    12. You notice that another student in the CHE lounge has walked away from their textbook and left the completed homework stuck inside. You take their homework and go make a photocopy of it, then bring it back before the student returns. ______________
    13. The TA, who is busy in the CHE lounge helping another student, is holding the solution key. You do not want to bother the TA while she is helping another student, so you lean over her shoulder just to check one of the numbers on the solution key that you have a question about. ___________
    14. You are working in your homework group. One of the team members tells the group that she has a copy of the solution manual on her computer that she downloaded from a web site. You personally don’t use it to complete your work but you know that she uses the solutions to complete her own work to contribute to the group assignment, and when she is the recorder, she checks the group’s final answers using the solution key. ______________
    15. You purchase a copy of the textbook on-line (an international edition), and it comes with a free solution manual. You download the manual and use it to check your final answers and to refer to on occasion when you get stuck on a problem and need a hint of how to get started.  ______________
    16. You and your friend exchange glances at each other’s papers during an exam to check your answers. You don’t change any of your answers, because the glance helped you confirm you got it right.  ____________

 

  1. In 1-2 sentences, state why you think it is important for faculty to enforce the Code of Student Conduct. List some benefits that you receive as a student when this is enforced.
  2. There are many factors that contribute to circumstances that encourage academically dishonest behaviors. Listed below are the most common reasons listed by students who were found responsible for academic misconduct:
Procrastination/waited till the day before to start HW

21%
Stressed about multiple assignments due

16%
Concerned about my grade

15%
Poor time management

10%
I didn’t understand the instructor’s expectations about academic integrity

9%
Parental/family pressure about grades

5%
Didn’t take academic integrity seriously

5%
Thought that cheating was only taken seriously on tests or papers, not homework

5%
Never read the Code of Student Conduct

4%
I had been sick and was trying to catch up

3%
Afraid of failure

2%
Hesitant to seek help from teacher or TA because I didn’t want to look dumb

2%
I thought cheating was OK because a lot of people do it and don’t get caught

2%

 

Based on this list, list at least three things that you can do to prevent circumstances that might result in academic dishonesty.

  1. List some of the potential negative consequences that you would experience for being found responsible for academically dishonest behavior in this class.
  2. Give an example of a public figure who made a poor decision that resulted in a loss of position or status. In 1-2 sentences discuss how one poor decision can have significant consequences.
  3. After completing this assignment, do you have a good understanding of the academic integrity expectations for this course and in this department? List any lingering issues about which you’re unsure or want clarification.