Experience and complaints from students make articulation of a policy on ethics a requirement. You are strongly encouraged to read NMT's policy on Academic Honesty (http://externalweb.nmt.edu/aaffairs/new/policies/faculty/acadhonesty.pdf).  The policy (below) conforms with this policy and to the provisions of the Student Handbook.

Exams: If you copy answers from another student, are caught with a crib sheet, or in any more creative way attempt to cheat on an exam you will be immediately given a failing grade for the course and a report of this infraction will be sent to the Dean of Students.  

Laboratory Exercises: Except as specifically noted by your instructor, all work on all laboratory exercises is to be yours alone. Discussion with colleagues is an important part of scientific progress and we do not want to eliminate or even limit discussion. There is an important distinction between discussions that precede answering a question and the answering of questions. Your completion of each exercise is to be your work alone. If there is evidence that there has been copying of material or cooperation in completion of exercises, those involved (copied and copier) will receive a zero ("F") for the first infraction and a report of this infraction will be sent to the Dean of Students. For any subsequent infraction, you will be immediately given a failing grade for the course and a report of this infraction will be sent to the Dean of Students. 

Field Work: Partners are required for field work, both for safety and as a sounding board for ideas (hypotheses) developed in the progress of field work. The accumulation of data can be cooperative; the manipulation and application of that data should be an individual effort. If there is evidence that there has been copying of material or cooperation in completion of field exercises, those involved (copied and copier) will be immediately given a failing grade for the course and a report of this infraction will be sent to the Dean of Students.

PLAGIARISM

"Plagiarism is taking someone else’s work and passing it off as one’s own without proper acknowledgment or documentation. Plagiarism is also a moral, ethical, and legal issue. (http://www.ala.org/ala/acrl/acrlpubs/crlnews/backissues2003/june4/plagiarismcyberplagiarism.cfm)."  A useful site to help you understand the expectations relative to plagiarism is provided by the NMT Petroleum Recovery Resource Center. We will expect that students in this class will give credit for intellectual property belonging to others.  Failure to give credit will result in a penalty ("F") for the assignment or for the course depending on the severity.  

8/20/07