All students are expected to uphold the College standards of academic honesty as stated in the College Catalog. The department policy explicitly states how academic honesty is interpreted with respect to homework and take-home exams.
Homework problems are an integral part of any physics course. Physics professors usually encourage students to work together on homework with the intent of fostering a cooperative learning experience. However, only students who contribute to a collaborative effort to work out a problem may turn in the solution obtained by the group.
Students are forbidden to use existing solutions of assigned homework problems, including:
- solutions from the instructor’s manual
- solutions posted on the web
- solutions from students in the class
- solutions from students who previously took the course
- solutions from students or professors at other institutions
Students who permit others to copy their work are also guilty of academic dishonesty and will be held accountable for their actions.
In instances where take-home exams are administered, all guidelines set up by the professor must be strictly followed. No discussion of the problems is permitted, with students or other professors. Sharing your exam work with another student is a very serious offense and both parties will be charged with academic dishonesty.