Abilene Christian University exists to educate students for Christian service and leadership throughout the world. As a Christian academic community, we are each responsible to hold each other accountable for behaviors consistent with the nature of God, to respect the community and to respect ourselves.

Academic integrity is demonstrated by behavior that honors the learning environment — regardless of setting, context, location or modality.

Academic dishonesty, or failure to practice academic integrity, negatively affects the learning environment and other members of the ACU community.

Academic dishonesty includes — but is not limited to — plagiarism, collusion, cheating, fabrication, facilitating academic dishonesty, failure to contribute to a collaborative project, and sabotage.

Academic dishonesty detracts from a student’s personal learning, which will affect her or his academic grade, standing in a course or program, and/or standing in the university.

Academic dishonesty also has a chilling effect on the ACU community creating an air of suspicion in the learning environment.

Additional Resources

The explanation and examples in the Expanded Definitions and Advice can be helpful for educating the ACU community about academic integrity or in deciding appropriate consequences for a violation.

The Process for Addressing Violations guides the involvement of faculty and administrators when someone suspects a violation of the policy.

The listed Rights and Responsibilities guide the behavior of faculty, students, department chairs, deans, and Student Life representatives in creating and protecting a culture of academic integrity and in addressing violations of it.