If the faculty member does not say specifically that you cannot use the internet during an exam or homework, it is okay to use it?

Cheating on a 10-point quiz is not as serious as cheating on a 100-point quiz and you should not be given an honor code violation. 

If you list an author in your works cited/reference page you need to cite them within the paper.

Purchasing a program/paper or using an unauthorized tutor to complete an assignment is a cheating violation.

Samantha and Joe were studying together at the computer lab for an Information Technology exam, which involved writing code for a program. Samantha asked Joe if she could borrow his USB to download her file from the Mason computer to put on her laptop. Joe let her borrow his USB, which had a copy of his code stored on it. Samantha took Joe’s code without his permission. Samantha then told the professor that she did the work, not Joe. Who would be accused of a violation of the honor code?

Syd is a first-year student. To fulfill her general education requirements, she enrolled in a geography class. Her mid-term assignment is to write a 5-page paper on earthquakes. The professor told the class that they could use outside resources but that they must cite all the information they use in their paper using APA citation style. If students didn’t know how to use APA citation style, they were encouraged to seek out help in the Writing Center. Syd is unsure of how to use APA citations and intends to write the paper like she did in high school where she always got good grades. Will Syd be in violation of the honor code if she does not use the APA citation style and improperly cites material she has used from another site?

You do not need to cite “common knowledge” such as folklore, general facts and events in history. An example of common knowledge would be that George Mason University is in Fairfax Virginia, or that World War II was fought between 1939-1945. 

Which of the following doesn’t need a citation?

Megan and Christopher are lab partners in Chemistry class. They have been told that lab partners can assist each other in class during the experiment only. Outside of class, they need to work individually on assignments without assistance from each other.  Any questions that students have regarding the assignment must be asked on the discussion board on Blackboard.  After class, Megan was working on her lab report and was having trouble obtaining data from the on-line system. She wrote to the professor on Blackboard that she was having issues and the professor gave her instructions on how to obtain the data.  Megan wrote back to the professor saying thank you. However, after contacting the professor, Megan tried numerous times and still could not retrieve the data from the on-line system.  She feels bad asking the professor again for help.  What should Megan do?

Patients diagnosed with infectious mononucleosis