"Work for grade" is defined as any work presented to an instructor for a formal grade or undertaken in satisfaction of a requirement for successful completion of a course or degree requirement.  All work submitted for grade is considered the cadet's own work.  "Cadet's own work" means that he or she has composed the work from his or her general accumulation of knowledge and skill except as clearly and fully documented and that it has been composed especially for the current assignment.  No work previously submitted in any course at VMI or elsewhere will be resubmitted or reformatted for submission in a current course without the specific approval of the instructor.
In all work for grade, failure to distinguish between the cadet’s own work and ideas and the work and ideas of others is known as plagiarism.  Proper documentation clearly and fully identifies the sources of all borrowed ideas, quotations, or other assistance. The cadet is referred to the VMI-authorized handbook for rules concerning quotations, paraphrases, and documentation.
In all written work for grade, the cadet must include the words "HELP RECEIVED" conspicuously on the document, and he or she must then do one of two things:  (1) state “none,” meaning that no help was received except as documented in the work; or (2) explain in detail the nature of the help received.  In oral work for grade, the cadet must make the same declaration before beginning the presentation.  Admission of help received may result in a lower grade but will not result in prosecution for an honor violation.
Cadets are prohibited from discussing the contents of a quiz/exam until it is returned to them or final course grades are posted.  This enjoinder does not imply that any inadvertent expression or behavior that might indicate one’s feeling about the test should be considered a breach of honor.  The real issue is whether cadets received information, not available to everyone else in the class, which would give them an unfair advantage.  If a cadet inadvertently gives or receives information, the incident must be reported to the professor and the Honor Court.
Each cadet bears the responsibility for familiarizing himself or herself thoroughly with the policies stated in this section, with any supplementary statement regarding work for grade expressed by the academic department in which he or she is taking a course, and with any special conditions provided in writing by the professor for a given assignment.  If there is any doubt or uncertainty about the correct interpretation of a policy, the cadet should consult the instructor of the course. There should be no confusion, however, on the basic principle that it is never acceptable to submit someone else’s work, written or otherwise, formally graded or not, as one’s own.
The violation by a cadet of any of these policies will, if he or she is found guilty by the Honor Court, result in his or her being dismissed from VMI.  Neither ignorance nor professed confusion about the correct interpretation of these policies is an excuse.

(2)                Departmental Policy

(3)                Faculty Policies

(a)                Peer Collaboration:
Peer collaboration is not permitted for this course.
All homeworks and the paper/presentation are certified as your own, independent work.  You may not receive assistance from any sources other than your instructor and any sources authorized by your instructor.  You may discuss general course concepts with each other; however, you may not discuss specific assigned problems.
All lab work is certified as the work of the lab group only.  You may not receive assistance from any sources other than your instructor and any sources authorized by your instructor.  You may discuss general lab concepts and procedures with each other; however, you may not share lab data.
All tests and exams are certified as your own, independent work.

(b)                References:
Students must properly reference direct quotations (with quotation marks and source), as well as significant paraphrasing (with source).
Unless a direct quotation is necessary, put the information in your own words to demonstrate your understanding of the material.
See "Easy Access" for more information regarding quotations and proper paraphrasing.

(c)                Other:
Use your lecture material to aid in the preparation of your lab reports.
All hand-drawn design layouts must be neatly drawn to scale on grid paper using a straight-edge. Colored pencils are recommended.
Paper topic must be approved by the instructor.