SMIDGE Platform

All users of learning materials hosted on the SMIDGE MOOC Platform are expected to abide by the following standards to ensure the integrity of learning within the learning experiences. Learners are expected to familiarize themselves and comply with the Terms of Use for the SMIDGE MOOC Platform.

Academic misconduct undermines the value of SMIDGE MOOC Platform credentials and devalues the authentic efforts of other learners. Learners who engage in misconduct are therefore subject to consequences as described below. 

Academic misconduct is defined as any activity which circumvents, or attempts to circumvent, the learning experience provided by the course through violation of course learning policies or specific policies provided by the instructor or outlined by the syllabus, or misrepresentation of the authorship or conditions of completion of course activities. The following standards provide clarification of the most common types of academic misconduct, but the list is not exhaustive. Other behavior may constitute academic misconduct in a particular course or across the SMIDGE MOOC Platform.

Definitions

Work within a SMIDGE MOOC activity - all activity on the platform including logins and all course activities is subject to these policies. Work includes but is not limited to exams, quizzes, peer review activities, assessments, discussion board contributions, guided projects, and labs. Furthermore, activities outside the platform that pertain to coursework on the platform are also covered by these policies.

Unauthorized - activities that violate SMIDGE MOOC Platform’s Terms of Use, course or platform policies, activities which are illegal, or those activities which violate academic standards or standards of integrity that a learner on the platform should be expected to know are considered to be unauthorized.

Violations

1. Plagiarism: Plagiarism is when you copy or reproduce words, ideas, or any other materials from another source without giving credit to the original author. Plagiarism also includes the practice of employing or allowing another person to alter or revise your work, and then submitting the work as your own. Learners may discuss assessments among themselves, or with an instructor or tutor, but all assessment submissions must be original works done independently by the learner. This includes work paraphrased, translated or otherwise modified using automated means. Plagiarism can also include self plagiarism, where a learner submits the same work that they had already submitted for another assessment or module, where this is not disclosed and permitted.
2. Use of Unauthorized Materials: using or consulting unauthorized materials (including electronic materials and generative AI tools including, but not limited to, ChatGPT or similar software or applications) or using unauthorized equipment or devices on any work within a SMIDGE MOOC Platform activity, unless expressly permitted.
3. Unauthorized collaboration: working together with any person on any activity unless expressly permitted.
4. Contract cheating: paying, trading, or otherwise getting another person to create work for submission to the SMIDGE MOOC Platform course or for work within the SMIDGE MOOC Platform activity.
5. Impersonation: completing work within any activity (including but not limited to assessments and learning activities) when logged in as another user or having another user complete work within an activity when logged in as you;
6. Unauthorized sharing of resources: making any information about or solutions to homework, quizzes, exams, projects, and other assessments available to anyone else (except to the extent an assessment explicitly permits sharing solutions).
7. Fraud: any misrepresentation about the authorship or the conditions under which work within the activities was performed not otherwise specified or falsifying any evidence in support of any mitigating circumstances claim.
8. Other: any other behavior that confers an unfair advantage to you or someone else or any activity that attempts to dishonestly improve your results or improve or harm the results of others in the performance of work within the SMIDGE MOOC Platform activity.