When you register for classes at the University of Arkansas, you are in effect signing a legal contract promising that you will follow all university rules and policies.
Most important to Professor Shurlds' classes are the various university guidelines on academic honesty found in your college catalog, (or use the link on the class Web page on the syllabus).
Pay particular attention to the warning against "collaborating on ... homework or other assigned work when instructed to work independently," and "submitting as one's own any theme, report, term paper, essay, computer program, other written work ... prepared totally or in part by another."
The policy also proscribes "facilitating or aiding in any act of academic dishonesty."
ALL WORK IN SHURLDS' CLASSES IS TO BE INDEPENDENT WORK UNLESS SHE SPECIFICALLY TELLS YOU TO WORK WITH SOMEONE ELSE.
What happens when you violate any of the academic honesty policies is that I call you in for a conference, often with the person with whom you have been sharing work without authorization. You will be confronted with the evidence and asked to explain it. Seldom is any explanation other than "Yes, I cheated" accepted because I only confront cases for which I have very good evidence. Unfortunately, I still have three to five cases a semester.
Students often say they didn't realize what they were doing is cheating. That's why I'm spelling it all out here.
Here are some things that you might have an opportunity to do. Don't.
Students think they can get by with cheating because I have so many students. Unfortunately, I am cursed with a brain that makes similar language and similar selections jump out at me. (Students think they can get by me with "thesaurus changes" -- taking someone else's work and changing a word here or there. In general, they can't.)
The list above shows just some of the cheating for which I have had to confront students and dock their grades. Depending on the severity of the cheating -- and the conduct of the student once confronted with the violation -- the grade sanction might be half a letter grade or more. Students will also be referred to the university's Judicial Affairs Coordinator. This is the university's policy and I follow it.
Don't cheat in my class.
Any questions? I'll take them in class or by e-mail.