The University of Colorado Boulder is dedicated to maintaining the highest standards of intellectual honesty. Commitment to these standards is the responsibility of every student, faculty and staff member. The Honor Code was designed to uphold CU Boulder's standards of academic integrity and intellectual honesty, as well as to provide quick resolution of to reports of student academic misconduct. The Honor Code process is supported by the Boulder Faculty Assembly.

All students of the University of Colorado Boulder are subject to the Honor Code for academic matters. Students must sign a statement agreeing to abide by all university policies, including the Honor Code, as a condition of admission to the university. Students who violate may be subject to discipline as set forth by the Honor Code.

 Honor Code Pledge: On my honor, as a University of Colorado Boulder student, I have neither given nor received unauthorized assistance.

Read the full Honor Code Report an incident

What is academic dishonesty?

Academic dishonesty is any act in which a student gains, or attempts to gain, an unfair academic advantage over other students. It is a violation of the Honor Code. 

Common examples include: 

  • Plagiarism: Portrayal of another’s work or ideas as one’s own
  • Cheating: Using prohibited notes or study aids, allowing another party to do one's work/exam and turning in that work/exam as one's own, copying another student’s course work, and collaborating on course work when prohibited
  • Fabrication: Falsification or creation of data, research, or resources, altering a graded work without the prior consent of the course instructor
  • Lying: Deliberate falsification with the intent to deceive in written or verbal form as applied to an academic submission
  • Bribery: Providing, offering, or taking rewards in exchange for a grade, or, an assignment, or in the aid of Academic Dishonesty
  • Threat: An attempt to intimidate a student, staff, or faculty member for the purpose of receiving an unearned grade or in an effort to prevent the reporting of an Honor Code violation, or in connection with any other form of Academic Dishonesty
  • Unauthorized Access: Gaining unauthorized access to protected academic information including, but not limited to: the Integrated Student Information System (ISIS); a faculty member’s computer, files, and/or office; or secure information on an online server
  • Clicker Fraud: Using, or having someone else use, clicker technology fraudulently in an effort to receive academic credit.
  • Resubmission: Submitting the same or similar work in more than one course without permission from all course instructors involved
  • Aiding Academic Dishonesty: Intentionally facilitating any act which may help a student to gain an unfair academic advantage including, but not limited to, any of the aforementioned acts.