Academic misconduct on tests and exams can take various forms. Different examples of these behaviours are provided in this section, but please note that this list is not exhaustive: 

• Obtaining a copy of a test or exam before it is made available (i.e., from previous student; theft of test/exam from professor; locating test answers through test banks or note-sharing sites) 

• Providing a copy of a test or exam to other students before it is made available 

• Impersonating someone or having someone impersonate you. Impersonation can include actions such as signing an attendance sheet for a friend when they are absent, and it also involves having someone take a test or an exam on your behalf 

• Copying someone’s answers during in-person exam or allowing them to copy yours  

• Using group messaging platforms during remote tests/exams to share test answers  

• Using unauthorized aids during a test or exam, which can include cellphones, smart-watches, smart-glasses, headphones, programmable calculators, etc. 

• Consulting an unauthorized source during a test or exam, which can include AI-based tools, course textbook, crib-notes, Chegg, etc. 

• Communicating with another student during an in-person test/exam, verbally or otherwise, which can include gesturing or using predetermined signals communication 

Did you know? The examples above include behaviours that are considered to be serious breaches of academic integrity. These include impersonation during a test or exam where a student has someone else write the assessment on their behalf, using unauthorized aids and sources, and obtaining unauthorized access to tests and exams. They are considered to be more serious because each involve premeditated behaviours and a clear intent to mislead. Related sanctions for these types of cheating can be more severe, even if it’s a student’s first-time breach.

How to Avoid Engaging in this Breach

Students may not set out to cheat on tests and exams, but as explained in the preceding section, different circumstances can lead students to consider engaging in breaches. Instead, some proactive things you can do are listed below.  

Get organized. At the beginning of a term, list all the deadlines for assignments and dates for all tests and exams in your calendar. Make a note of any dates where the deadline and test dates fall close together and make a plan for how you’re going to tackle studying for each test and completing assignments. To make the most of your time, familiarize yourself with SPARK’s Time Management Module and visit Managing Time in University to access time management resources, workshop information, and more.  

Improve your study strategies. Everyone learns differently but research shows some study strategies are better than others. Visit the Best Way to Study to discover your personal learning strengths and find out what works best for you. Additionally, visit the Prepare for Tests and Exams site to learn about the different types of exams and how to prepare for each, identify how to manage exam stress, find information on related workshops, and more. 

Ask for help. If you’re struggling to understand course material prior to a test, reach out to your instructor or TA for help. There are also different study sessions across the university that can help you prepare for tests and exams, for instance the Peer-Assisted Study Sessions (PASS) in the Faculty of Liberal Arts and Professional Studies (LA&PS) that helps students succeed in challenging courses or the Student Numeracy Assistance Centre (SNACK) that provides support to students in LA&PS courses that involve math, stats, coding and Excel. Visit the Getting Help guide for further resources and sources of help at York.  

Follow instructions for tests and exams. Prior to most tests and exams, students are explicitly told what is permitted during the test/exam and what is not. If you’re unsure what the guidelines are, ask your instructor or TA prior to the test/exam.  

Did You Know? Expectations regarding the use of AI-based tools may differ from course to course and expectations may even differ from assignment to assignment within the same course. Additionally, AI-based tools are constantly evolving, so keep in mind that any corresponding rules about their use may be adapted quickly. If you are unsure whether to use these tools for any part of your academic work, it is your responsibility to check. To do so, review the strategies in Being Responsible for Academic Integrity, which include reading through assignment guidelines and rubrics, reviewing messages on eClass, and/or asking your instructor or TA directly.

How to Avoid Engaging in this Breach

Consider ways that you can be honest and transparent about the use of AI-based tools, so that you take responsibility and generate trust amongst your peers and your instructors.  

• Your instructor will usually provide guidelines on how to reference these tools, so ensure that you are following their instructions and using the correct citation style. Consider consulting the Libraries’ Citing Your Work guide or the SPARK Creating Bibliographies module for more help. 

• Besides citing the use of these tools, check with your instructor to learn if there are additional expectations for being transparent about your use of any GenAI tools that helped inform your work. 

Your instructor may require you to provide additional information about how you interacted with the AI-based tool. For instance, when submitting an assignment, you could be asked to provide a cover page or an appendix which details the type of tool you accessed and how the tool was used, among other information.  

For more information on AI-based tools and academic integrity, see the Using AI-Based Tools Responsibly section. 

Contract cheating occurs when a student outsources their academic work to a third party and then submits this work as their own. Third parties can include: online essay writing companies, freelance academic writers, or freelance tutors who require that students pay for their services. However, it is also considered to be contract cheating when classmates, friends, or family members complete your work on your behalf without payment. 

Often, contract cheating companies and hired tutors target university students through social media. In their messaging, they can be persuasive and pose as legitimate academic services. However, they are not legitimate services and contract cheating is considered to be a serious type of academic dishonesty. Not only is it associated with more severe consequences from the university, contracting a third party such as a writing company or a hired tutor to complete academic work carries additional risks for students of identity theft and blackmail.  

Did You Know? According to the Academic Conduct Policy and Procedures, students who sell, offer to sell, or distribute assignments to other students are participating in another form of academic misconduct called Fraudulent Conduct (section 5.2d in the policy). In addition to the types of academic misconduct previously identified as serious breaches in the Academic Misconduct on Tests and Exam section (i.e. test or exam impersonation, using unauthorized aids and sources during a test or exam, and obtaining unauthorized access to tests and exams.), Fraudulent Conduct is also considered to be a more serious breach compared to other forms and subject to more severe sanctions 

How to Avoid Engaging in this Breach

• Students who manage their time well are less likely to become stressed and overwhelmed, and less likely to be tempted to engage in contract cheating. To make the most of your time, familiarize yourself with SPARK’s Time Management Module and visit Managing Time in University to access time management resources, workshop information, and more. 

• To gain more confidence with academic writing, visit The Writing Centre website to learn about one-on-one appointments, workshops, online learning resources, and more.  

• If you are contacted by a writing company or an individual who wants to offer you tutoring services, apply your critical thinking skills to assess whether what they are presenting aligns with the academic integrity principles of the university.  

• If you receive messaging that you are unsure about, ask your instructor, TA, or the academic integrity staff within your Faculty for advice.  

Video: Raz’s Scenario presents a situation where a student engaged in contract cheating. It describes how Raz found themselves in this situation via their decision-making process and provides strategies that help students avoid similar situations.   

Working collaboratively may be expected for certain assessments and when that is the case, the instructor’s guidelines will indicate this expectation. For most assessments, the expectation is for individual work. Students are expected to complete these assessments independently without the assistance of anyone else, or with the assistance of any aids unless otherwise specified or approved by your instructor. Working together on an assessment when the expectation was for individual work is referred to as unauthorized collaboration or collusion. Types of academic misconduct involving unauthorized collaboration are:  

• providing academic work to another student, such as a past assignment, lab report, computer program, etc. either in person or electronically by email or on social media.  

• submitting work that was prepared with the help of other members of a class when the work was supposed to be an individual effort   

• posting past assignments or tests onto content-sharing sites to help other students cheat 

Did you know? In cases of unauthorized collaboration where one student supplied work to another, both students may be considered to have engaged in academic misconduct. As well, in cases where two (or more) students worked together on an assignment that was meant to be completed individually, each student involved may be found responsible for a breach of academic conduct and receive a sanction.

How to Avoid Engaging in this Breach

If you are unsure whether collaborating on assigned work is permitted or the extent of collaboration that is acceptable, follow the guidelines listed in Being Responsible for Academic Integrity which include reviewing the instructions for that assessment, and/or asking your instructor or TA for clarification. Even if collaboration on an assessment is permitted, it is never acceptable to copy someone else’s work or allow them to copy yours. 

You may find at times a friend, relative or a classmate will ask for your previous work. They may tell you that they simply want to view an example of a particular assignment and that they will not copy it. However, if you find yourself in this situation, the best thing you can do is to avoid giving them your work, and instead, refer them to other sources of help at the institution, for instance, their instructor, TA, the Writing Centre or another resource listed in the Getting Help guide. It can be challenging and stressful to resist strong pressure from friends, peers, and classmates to participate in activities that may constitute a breach. Yet resisting this temptation is necessary to avoid a situation where both you and the other students are found responsible for engaging in a breach. If you need strategies for coping with stress, see  Student Counselling, Health & Well-being.   

To ensure that your instructor does not suspect you of engaging in this type of breach, being transparent about any collaboration is important. Check first with your instructor if you would like to make use of collaboration, tutoring, or editorial help from others.  Additionally, when individual work is required, disclose to your instructor any:   

• use of any GenAI tools;   

• collaboration with peers;   

• consultation with tutors;   

• use of editing or translation services; or   

• reuse of coursework for multiple courses.   

Video: Maya’s Scenario presents a situation where a student engaged unauthorized collaboration. It describes how Maya found herself in this situation via her decision-making process and provides strategies that help students avoid similar situations. 

It is a breach of academic honesty to fabricate (make-up) research or results. This includes: statistics, experimental results or data, research methodology, facts, quotations, references or bibliographic material and research and the ideas of others.  

It is also a violation of academic honesty to falsify information, which includes:  

• dishonest reporting of research, lab results or data  

• misrepresenting the research and ideas of others  

• falsely reporting having met the research responsibilities for a course, for example, pretending to have completed a lab exercise  

• modifying graded, returned research reports then submitting them for re- grading as if they were the originals  

Did You Know? Using AI-based tools may create risks such as fabrication or falsification as these tools have been known to make up information and sources. Follow instructions on using these tools ethically and carefully evaluate the output to ensure the integrity of your work. For more information on evaluating output from these tools, see the Using AI-Based Tools Responsibly section.   

How to Avoid Engaging in this Breach

As a researcher, being suspected of falsification or fabrication can potentially derail a research project and damage a researcher’s reputation. It is possible to engage in these types of breaches unintentionally. As such, when it comes to conducting any type of research at the university, whether you are an undergraduate student who is participating in a laboratory experiment in a course, or a PhD student engaging in research as part of your dissertation, it is strongly recommended that you: 

• Keep a research log, notes from readings, rough drafts and retain your data. If fabrication or falsification is suspected, your records can serve as evidence.  

• When sharing your research results, ensure that your research methods and processes are communicated as accurately as possible, and that you have cited all sources appropriately. 

• Be honest in reporting your results: 

• Don’t invent information 

• Don’t invent false sources  

• Don’t include sources in your work that you didn’t consult  

• Don’t misrepresent the content of a source 

Researchers who are looking for support, guidance and oversight throughout the research process can visit the Office of Research Ethics (ORE)’s Research Ethics page.  

Representing someone else’s ideas, writing, creative works, code, or other intellectual property as your own constitutes plagiarism. Any use of the work of others, whether published, unpublished or posted electronically (e.g., on web sites), attributed or anonymous, must include proper acknowledgement (section 5.2b of the policy). Common types of plagiarism include:   

• Having someone write research papers and submitting them as your own (contract cheating) 

• copying and pasting text or images from other sources without proper acknowledgement  

• paraphrasing another’s work without proper citation   

• copying and submitting someone else’s work as your own   

Did You Know? Self-plagiarism occurs when a student takes work that they previously submitted for one course and submits it again for another without seeking the prior consent of their instructors. Although students may believe that there is nothing wrong with resubmitting their work, it is in fact considered to be a breach of cheating (section 5.2a). If you wish to continue your work on a previously chosen topic, consider exploring the topic in new ways, conducting additional research, and integrating what you have been learning in your current course. Also, be sure to ask your past and current professors for their approval.  

How to Avoid Engaging in this Breach

Two main ways to avoid plagiarism are:  

• keeping good track of information from outside sources   

• being sure to appropriately cite sources.  

To keep track of information:  

• Avoid copying and pasting from sources without attributing each source and noting where directly copied passages begin and end using quotation marks (“).  

• If you find information that you would like to use, first try to write it in your own words (i.e. paraphrase) to ensure that you are incorporating your own interpretation of the information. Then, check the paraphrased content against the original to ensure it is accurate and not too close to the original. Include a citation.  

• Use citation management tools, such as Zotero, to keep track of the readings or other sources you consult to make finding and citing them easier. Check the library’s Citing Your Work: Citation Tools for more information.  

• Keep notes on your readings and drafts of your written work, to document your writing process. If you are suspected of having engaged in plagiarism, this type of record-keeping can serve as evidence that you completed the work yourself.   

For assistance with citation, refer to these resources at York:  

At the Libraries:  

• Citing York Work Guide 

• Chat with library staff for citation help or drop-in to the Libraries’ reference desks in-person 

At the Writing Centre: 

• Drop in or book a one-on-one appointment with the Writing Centre for support with sources, citing them and finding your voice amidst them 

• Watch the Writing Centre’s Citation Video Series 

Also, see the Academic Integrity Checklist for help in avoiding plagiarism. Read more about plagiarism in the Creating Bibliographies module.