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What is the University Academic Integrity Policy?

Written by Kate Porter

Academic Integrity and Student Responsibilities

Commitment to the principles of academic honesty and integrity is essential to the mission of WorldQuant University. To maintain an academic climate that is conducive to each student’s success, WQU requires students to adhere to a set academic integrity policies and standards.

The following actions constitute a violation of the WQU Academic Integrity Policy: plagiarism; self-plagiarism; cheating; fabrication; engaging in or facilitating academic dishonesty; republishing or redistributing any course materials, student’s own work, or another student's work; uploading WQU content to websites or linking to it through services. Refer to the Academic Catalog for additional detailed information and definitions.

Plagiarism is defined as the act of presenting the words, ideas, research, or writing from another individual, entity or artificial intelligence source as your own and is considered a violation of the academic integrity policy.

Examples of committing plagiarism include, but are not limited to:

  • copying a statement or paragraph created by another person without using quotation marks and a reference to the original author’s source material and without explaining why the copied statement supports their original work;

  • presenting the ideas of another person in your own words without giving credit;

  • using information that is not considered common knowledge without giving credit to the source;

  • purchasing a paper from the internet or a vendor and submit it as a personal paper.

  • Utilizing AI tools to represent critical analysis, reflection, interpretation, or application of knowledge including copying and pasting entire paragraphs of AI generated text.

Depending on the severity and nature of the infraction, penalties may include significant assignment point deductions, course failure, or termination from the program. Refer to the University Catalog for a detailed list of consequences for academic integrity violation.

WorldQuant University encourages the ethical and responsible use of generative AI tools to assist students with their coursework and assignments (i.e. to collect raw information, create an outline, etc.). This requires students to declare the use of AI through in-text citations and references and to follow all plagiarism guidelines. To gain a deeper understanding of plagiarism and how to avoid it, watch this video tutorial, read these Help Articles, and use this Anti-Plagiarism Guide to learn how to include in-text citations and references. Pay close attention to the WQU Academic Policy on the use of AI.

Below, you can find some tips on what you should and should not do to avoid plagiarism:

DO

  • Include statements (1-2 lines at most) from books or articles published by others, as long as: 1) you use quotation marks (“ ”); 2) you add an in-text citation to ensure the reader knows that it is not yours; and 3) include a complete reference at the bottom of the paper. The statement should be used to boost or amplify your personal opinion or argument.

  • Paraphrase the idea of another person as long as it is used to bolster your own ideas and cite the original work with both in-text citation and reference.

DON’T

  • Copy and paste from articles, books, AI generated content or other sources without proper citations and references.

  • Extensively cite or paraphrase entire paragraphs, even if the paragraph is within quotation marks and cited.

  • Include a graph or a table with data from a work published by others.

  • Use AI language improvement tools to edit your work. These tools are built on AI and your work will be flagged as AI generated.

Use of AI Detection and Plagiarism Tools

To maintain a high standard of academic honesty and rigor all group work assignments are run through professional plagiarism and AI detection software. The software generates two reports, one shows the match between the submitted paper as compared to a database of peer-reviewed journals, textbooks, internet resources, etc. as well as prior submissions created by other students at WQU or from other institutions. The second report highlights AI usage including but not limited to generative, refinement, translation, editing or grammar AI modification. Before the submission deadline, you can generate and download these reports and assist in any revisions for your final paper submitted for grading to ensure it aligns with the University policies and expectations. The reports will show a score that reflects the percentage of criteria found as described above. Your instructors and the University administrators have access to the reports, and they will use these as one tool to assist with grading and to properly apply academic integrity penalties.
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Your Responsibilities:

  • Understand what constitutes plagiarism, including specific uses of AI. Guidance is provided in this syllabus, the Student Resource Center, the Orientation Course and in the Course Overview section of each course.

  • Review the detection reports for each assignment before the submission deadline and ensure the submission meets University standards.

  • Ensure the final submission properly quotes, cites, and footnotes approved sources and usage.

Based on the detection reports, the Instructional Team will evaluate and decide what penalties need to be applied, if any. (See WQU Academic Integrity Policy in the University Catalog). Consequences for plagiarism or improper use of AI in assignments range from the deduction of points to a course failure depending on the severity of the violation.
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Keep in mind that when you commit plagiarism, your Academic Integrity status is changed to “Probation,” and a note is added in your records describing the violation. This note may prevent you from receiving recommendation letters or alumni opportunities.

Ensure you review and become familiar with WQU's Student Code of Conduct Policy

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