The UMBC community – faculty, administration, and students – are committed to creating an academic environment in which teaching, learning, and research are conducted according to the principles of academic integrity. Our website summarizes the many initiatives undertaken to assure this commitment. Both UMBC’s President and Provost are resolved to have academic integrity be integral to our campus culture.
UMBC’s general academic policies may be found on the Provost’s website. Please review the list of policies so that you will be aware of their existence and web location.
Graduate School Academic Integrity Tutorial
Students arriving at UMBC to begin graduate study come from very different places and backgrounds. Some have had little undergraduate instruction on topics such as plagiarism and the proper citation of sources. Others have come from countries where norms of academic integrity are very different from those in the United States. Because of this, we have developed a tutorial that is required of all entering graduate students.
Academic Integrity is a very complex set of ethical policies and principles, and this tutorial provides only a basic, elementary overview. It is, in effect, “Academic Integrity 101.” Each academic discipline has its own variations to the policies, definitions, and examples presented here. Students are encouraged to delve more deeply into the topics outlined in this tutorial by reading some of the references presented in the final chapter, Bibliography and Additional Reading. You are also encouraged to consult with faculty in your department for exceptions, modifications, and additional requirements demanded by your particular discipline.
If you need to report an instance of academic misconduct, speak to the appropriate faculty member. The university policy states that, “Each faculty member is responsible for maintaining academic integrity in his or her courses and has the authority to determine whether a student has engaged in academic misconduct.” 1
Throughout your studies at UMBC, the faculty and staff are available to assist in assuring that you adhere to the concepts of academic integrity. Please contact the faculty and staff in your department and/or the Graduate School if you have questions or are unsure of how to adhere to these policies.
This web document will be continually updated and modified to better represent the wide range of topics and disciplines covered.
Taking the Tutorial
Each new degree-seeking graduate student entering UMBC is required to pass the test by September 15 (Fall) or February 15 (Spring). Failure to complete the tutorial and pass the test with a score of 80% or above will result in your registration being blocked for future terms.
You must be enrolled in the tutorial to gain access.
When you are ready to begin the tutorial:
- Login to Blackboard at blackboard.umbc.edu.
- After you login, click on Organizations. This should list the organizations and courses in which you participate.
- Click on the Graduate School Academic Integrity Tutorial tab and this screen should appear; Welcome to the Graduate School’s tutorial on Academic Integrity! The column on the left has the tabs for each module.
- You should read the definitions, examples, and explanations within the various tutorial “chapters.”
- When you are ready to be tested on your knowledge of this material, click the “click to launch” at the end of each module, and take the test. You may save and leave the tutorial as often as you wish, so that it need not be completed in one sitting. You will be able to see as you proceed through the material what your cumulative score is. Each of 20 questions has a score of 5, and a passing score is a total of 80 or higher; therefore, only a maximum of 4 of the 20 questions may be answered incorrectly.
- When you have completed the tutorial, make sure to click on the submit tab, so that your scores will be tabulated.
- You must have a score of 80% or above to successfully complete the tutorial.
If you are a continuing student or UMBC faculty, and do not have access to the tutorial on Blackboard, but wish to be enrolled, please send an e-mail request to Lisa Portis Morgan. Include your name and UMBC email address.
View Policy Here Student Academic Misconduct
View Policy Here Procedural Guidelines for Handling of Allegations of Arbitrary and Capricious Grading
View Policy Here Graduate Student Mediation
View Policy Here Appeal of Academic Dismissal