Academic Integrity

Learning to ethically use sources—and new tools like generative AI—can feel complicated. Our Writing Center consultants provide a supportive, judgment-free space to help you understand plagiarism, navigate citation, and integrate sources responsibly so you can write with confidence.

Cleveland State's Policy on Academic Misconduct defines plagiarism as presenting the work, ideas, or words of another person, source, or generative AI tool as your own without proper attribution. That includes paraphrasing too closely and, unless your instructor permits it, submitting work produced with translation software. Plagiarism is one of several forms of academic misconduct, along with cheating, fabrication, unauthorized collaboration, misrepresentation, and others. Because academic misconduct can carry serious consequences, it’s worth asking questions and getting clarity early in the writing process.

When it comes to AI, your instructor’s guidelines matter most. Under CSU’s policy, using generative AI on coursework without your instructor’s permission—or in ways that go against their directions—can count as academic misconduct even when you acknowledge it.

The Writing Center is here to help you navigate these questions, not to police your writing. Our consultants won’t decide whether something counts as plagiarism or whether a particular use of AI is allowed in your course—those calls belong to your instructor and the university. What we can do is talk through your questions, show you how attribution and citation work, point you to helpful resources, and help you figure out what to ask your instructor when a guideline isn’t clear. And if we don’t have the answer, we’ll help you find the person who does.

For CSU’s full policy, see the university's page on Academic Misconduct Policies and Procedures. Questions about the policy or what happens if a violation is reported can go to the Office of Community Standards and Compliance at communitystandards@csuohio.edu.