Anyone who refuses this responsibility both misses the point of a college education and proves unworthy of it. Hofstra University would rather educate than expel the offender. A student who commits any act of academic dishonesty is rejecting the responsibility that is inherent in the pursuit of learning and may forfeit the right to remain a member of the academic community, unless he or she is willing and able to recognize the seriousness of the offense and demonstrates such recognition by abstaining from further violation of academic propriety. One learns and contributes to the body of knowledge by reviewing work already done and by using it as the basis for generating new ideas, discovering new data, and drawing new conclusions. Though the process of learning is undeniably collaborative, one's achievement in that process is assessed on the basis of one's individual contribution.
Academic honesty requires carefully distinguishing one's own work from that of others.
Each individual must fully acknowledge when, where, and how his or her work refers to or depends on that of others. This means carefully tracing the boundary between other's efforts and one's own, clearly noting where other's work leaves off and one's own begins. If the work contains facts, ideas, opinions, discoveries, words, or other elements found in sources, these must be fully and appropriately acknowledged, following a prescribed format for doing so. Thus, the use of other's ideas as well as their words needs to be acknowledged. The official guides in these matters are the Hofstra Writer's Guide, or, for New College students, the New College Writing Program Manual.