Cornell University The Johnson School at Cornell University

Johnson School MBA Handbook

Standards of Conduct

Academic Integrity at the Johnson School

Every Cornell student is expected to exercise integrity in all academic undertakings. By submitting work for academic credit at the Johnson School, you are affirming that that the work is your own, and that you have abided by the explicit and implicit instructions regarding allowable sources of assistance.

Students are responsible for adhering both to the principles and to the spirit of Cornell's Code of Academic Integrity (the full text of which may be found at http://cuinfo.cornell.edu/Academic/AIC.html). The spirit of the Code can be summarized in one sentence:

Any activity that has the effect or intent of interfering with the fair evaluation of a student's performance is prohibited.

In essence, any activity that is designed to give a false impression of your intellectual contribution to graded work, or to assist another in doing so, violates the code. Flagrant violations of the Code of Academic Integrity include plagiarism (misrepresenting another's work as your own) and copying another student's answers (another blatant form of misrepresentation). However, there are other more subtle violations of the Code that are especially pertinent to coursework in the Johnson School. These include:

  • Individual assignments: All assignments are to be completed individually unless specifically described by the instructor as a team assignment. Therefore, you may not discuss answers or specific approaches to solving an individually assigned case or problem with anyone, including your teammates, unless the instructor has specifically authorized such aid.
  • Team assignments: You should not put your name on a team assignment if you did not contribute proportionately to the assignment, or if you do not understand any aspect of the assignment as it is to be submitted.
  • Help from Others: You may not seek or use case or problem-specific help from any person who has previously studied the case or problem (including second-years and students at other schools).
  • Aiding and Abetting: Any student who aids or abets another student with activities that violate the Code is also in violation of the code (for example, if you help another student with an individual assignment, you are also in violation).

We are a community of scholars and practitioners that highly values collaboration and discourse, but also insists on integrity and honesty in every interaction. Your adherence to these rules will help us to maintain our collegial, vibrant, academic community. You may always discuss general approaches to problems and cases with classmates, but you may not discuss specific approaches or answers with others unless the assignment is specified as a team assignment, in which case you may discuss specifics with your teammates.

Remember, the guiding principle is the spirit of the Code - avoid misrepresentation of your intellectual effort. If you are unsure whether an action is a violation of the Code of Academic Integrity, ask your instructor.