Student Resources for Academic Integrity

Saint Louis University has provided these resources to assist SLU students in matters concerning academic integrity. 

Where Do I Find Help at SLU? 

Your well-being is very important to everyone at the University, and the SLU community is here to support you and your academic success. 

Violations of academic integrity can occur for many reasons and the University has many resources that will help you succeed academically and personally. Please speak with your instructors, seek out academic support, or contact the Dean of Students if you feel personally lost or overwhelmed. All of these options are preferable to violating our community’s academic integrity standards. 

What Are Academic Integrity Violations at Saint Louis University 

There are six academic integrity violations at SLU:  cheating, plagiarism, collusion, sabotage, falsification, and concealment.  The formal definitions of the violations are found in the University Academic Integrity Policy.  

Collusion vs. Collaboration

Many students have questions about the academic integrity violation collusion – unauthorized assistance with an assignment or assessment. The following explanation may help clarify the difference between collusion and collaboration: 

The distinction between students discussing their work with peers and colluding on assignments lies in the nature and intent of the interaction. Discussing work with peers involves openly sharing ideas, seeking advice, and providing feedback on each other’s work, with the intent to enhance understanding, learn collaboratively, and support each other’s academic growth while maintaining individual responsibility. This practice is common in study groups, classroom settings, and peer review sessions where collaborative learning is encouraged, and it is considered ethical and beneficial if students complete their own work and do not share exact answers or detailed solutions. 

In contrast, colluding on assignments involves secretly working together in a manner that breaches academic integrity, often by sharing answers or submitting substantially similar work as one’s own. The intent here is to unfairly improve grades or reduce individual effort, often at the expense of learning and fairness. This typically involves activities explicitly prohibited by academic policies, such as sharing written assignments or copying each other’s work, and is considered unethical and dishonest as it involves deception and violates academic integrity rules. 

For example, discussing work might involve students meeting to discuss a challenging topic, sharing resources, and clarifying doubts, then independently writing their own essays reflecting their individual understanding. On the other hand, colluding might involve students dividing sections of an essay among themselves, each writing a part, and then combining the parts to submit identical or highly similar essays. 

What to Expect if You Have an Academic Hearing Panel

Overview

The director of academic integrity will appoint an Academic Hearing Panel (AHP) to adjudicate your case. A chair of AHP will be appointed and will communicate specifics of the hearing to you. The charge of the AHP is to listen to the case as presented by the instructor and the student, to ask necessary questions to gain clarification and full understanding of the presented facts, and then to determine whether there has been or has not been a violation of the University Academic Integrity Policy. 

Questions? 

Please reach out to the director of academic integrity with any questions at academic.integrity@slu.edu.