I cannot emphasize enough the issue of academic dishonesty. Every semester that I have taught, I have run across someone who violates the code of academic integrity. You should know and be familiar with what constitutes academic dishonesty namely cheating, fabrication, facilitating academic dishonesty and plagiarism. These are defined on page 29 of your Spring Schedule for Classes under Academic Information.
Please, please do not take this one issue lightly. Not only is it my responsibility as "teaching assistant" but also my ethical obligation as an academic to report any cases directly to the Student Honor Council and I will not hesitate to do so. The most common cases occur when students work together on an assignment. While I encourage you to collaborate, there is a fine but concrete line between working together and cheating. This will be very important when you work together on lab exercises or in discussion groups. When you are asked to turn in your own work, it must be your own words and thoughts. Cheating/Plagiarism implies unoriginal thought, copying from your fellow student or from the textbook or from outside sources. Working together, on the other hand, implies active participation in discussion of ideas, pointing a fellow student to the correct path to the answer and not the correct answer. Another common mistake that students make is copying from the textbook or other source. If the answer is not in your own words, then you must reference it. In most cases, we will require you to answer in your own words and not in the words of Ms. Deming or the author of your textbook. You must be able to paraphrase the material demonstrating an understanding of the subject matter. If these words seem fuzzy to you, and you are uncertain about the issue of academic integrity, my advice to you is not to assume something is okay when you are uncertain. Come and ask me or Ms. Deming before you make the mistake of violating academic integrity.
The consequences for irresponsible actions are severe and the normal sanction, if the Honor Council decides that you have violated the honor code, is an XF on your transcript denoting "failure due to academic dishonesty." When I do encounter, what I consider to be violation of academic integrity, I will report the case to the Student Honor Council and subsequently inform the students involved and Ms. Deming. If you have any questions, please contact the Honor Council at (301) 314-8204.