7 UNDERGRAD EXAM TIPS: These essentials will help keep you on track

ACADEMIC INTEGRITY: KNOW THE CODE

Concordia places the principle of academic integrity — that is, honesty, responsibility and fairness in all aspects of academic life — as one of its highest values. Instructors, students and administrators are expected to be honest and responsible in their academic conduct and fair in their assessment of academic matters.

• Discover what academic integrity means.
• The Academic Code of Conduct is Concordia's official policy on academic integrity — read it carefully! 

The most common offense under the Academic Code of Conduct is plagiarism, which involves copying material, either word-for-word or as a paraphrase, from anything ranging from books to internet sites, course notes, oral or visual presentations, lab reports, computer assignments or artistic works. 

• Brush up on your paraphrasing skills. 
• Refresh your memory on how to cite and quote your sources.

Plagiarism can also refer to copying images, graphs, algorithms, tables and ideas. Even translating the work of another person into another language without citation is plagiarism. 

• Attend the Avoiding Plagiarism at the Undergraduate Level workshop on Oct. 20.

Unauthorized collaboration can be defined as cooperating, collaborating, or otherwise giving or receiving assistance in completing academic activities without the instructor’s permission. Concordia’s Academic Code of Conduct states that unauthorized collaboration is an offence. 

How do I know how much collaboration is allowed?

• Collaborative work allows students to explore concepts in much greater depth than what would be possible individually. However, ensuring that you are submitting work that fairly demonstrates your own academic ability is important!
• The instructor decides what collaboration is appropriate for each assignment. If you are unsure, always ask the instructor for clarification. Unless they specify otherwise, you should assume that coursework should be done individually.
• Discussing course material and solving practice problems are good ways to facilitate your own learning. However, discussing solutions or ideas for an individual assessment becomes an academic offence.

Still confused about the rules? Attend the Cheating and Other Academic Offenses workshop on November 4! You’ll learn the dos and don'ts of academic integrity, from cell phone possession to accessing course materials on file sharing websites.

If you have more questions, the Student Advocacy Office can help!

Students will write online exams through either the Moodle or COLE platform. Some exams will be proctored (supervised) using either a recording software or live invigilation. Consult your course syllabus carefully for information about whether your exam is proctored and how you should prepare if it is proctored.

For more information, review the online exam FAQs and watch the COLE Video Tutorials.

There are two kinds of proctored exams: auto proctoring (using a recording software) and live online proctoring (using Zoom). Read the Proctored Exam FAQs to learn how these differ. 

Both methods of proctoring require a desktop computer or a laptop with webcam and microphone (built-in or external) and Google Chrome browser with the Proctorio extension installed.

If your exam is proctored, you will be given access to one trial proctored practice exam before the exam date to test the system and get familiar with COLE. You can log in to cole.concordia.ca to find it on the dashboard once it’s made available to you.

Non-proctored practice exams with different question types are accessible at all times to help you become familiar with COLE. You can try those any time and as many times as you wish! 

Academic misconduct is a serious form of intellectual dishonesty and the university will investigate all suspected allegations of academic misconduct according to the process in the Academic Code of Conduct.

The sanctions vary according to many factors, including the severity of the violation, what year you are in your program and whether it is a first violation.

Unsure about what constitutes an academic offence under the Academic Code of Conduct? Have questions about academic integrity? Connect with Concordia resources.

ON CAMPUS AND BEYOND

Visit Concordia's COVID-19 information page to keep informed of latest developments.

If you have questions not addressed by the FAQs, please contact: covid19info@concordia.ca.