A student commits a violation when he or she does something which aims to mislead others about his academic performance or the success of an academic activity-related requirement.

Examples of violations

• Using another person’s text and passing it off as one’s own, without citing any references. This is the case even if such use is partial.
• Handing in an assignment that was written or done fully or partly by another person.
• Handing in the same work in two different courses, without prior authorization.
• Getting unauthorized access to questions, answers, or any other exam-related material.
• During an examination, possessing or using any documents, materials or unauthorized instruments.
• Requesting or obtaining unauthorized help during an exam.
• Replacing another person - or getting replaced - during an exam or evaluation.
• Inventing a fact or falsifying data in an assignment that is being evaluated (a thesis or dissertation, for example).
• Modifying the results of an evaluation.

For more information, refer to the Regulation regarding the intellectual integrity of students.

You want to strengthen or preserve your integrity? See the Good practices and resources page.

I teamed up with another student as part of an individual assignment. Our submissions are therefore very similar. But I did not copy his work. Both of us contributed to the process and achievement of the results. Is this an academic violation?

Yes. It is no longer an individual assignment since one part was carried out by the other student.

I am in possession of prohibited material during an exam, but do not use it. Is this an academic violation?

Yes. The mere possession of prohibited material is a violation.

One of my colleagues is having trouble doing an assignment. I sent him mine to serve as an inspiration to him. Is this an academic violation?

Yes. We must distinguish between offering help and enabling plagiarism.

I used documents that are available on the Internet (newspaper articles or magazines, videos, websites...) without citing them. Is this plagiarism?

Yes. The teacher must be able to identify the student’s specific contribution, in order to accurately evaluate what he has learnt.

In my assignment, I inserted the full text of a document available on the Internet (or printed) and mentioned the source in the footnote. Could this be plagiarism?

Yes. Not only should the source be mentioned, but the extract must also be enclosed in quotation marks.

When a student commits an academic violation, he runs the risk of sanctions.

Sanctions are fixed according to:

• Severity of the violation;
• Prior violations that the student might have committed;
• Circumstances.

Among the possible sanctions:

• Warning.
• A grade of zero for the work or examination in which a violation was committed. The overall mark may also be reduced, but the student does not automatically fail the course.
• Failure of the course. The student receives a grade of E.
• Suspension for a period that may not exceed two years.
• Permanent expulsion.

In all cases, decisions on sanctions are inserted in the student’s file.

In case of a simple doubt, the teacher informs the person responsible for intellectual integrity. Depending on the case, the person responsible for intellectual integrity nominates an investigator as well as a committee responsible for evaluating the report and hearing the student(s) concerned by the report.

The School may impose any sanction it considers appropriate, including suspension or expulsion.

Students found guilty of a violation of this regulation may appeal the decision and sanction.

For more information on the procedures, see the Regulation regarding the intellectual integrity of students.