CSI 1430 / 1440 / 2334 / 3334 / 3336 / 4330
Collaboration vs. the Baylor Honor Code

If God is satisfied with the work, the work may be satisfied with itself.  - C.S. Lewis

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Collaboration vs. the Honor System

You are encouraged to discuss your work with other students. Conversely, it is important that the work you turn in is your own. This is a delicate balance.

Working together on assignments is a fine idea. Another fine idea is for each person to reach their own understanding of the concepts (not to mention earning their own grade). This can be a delicate balance, especially in programming. Here are some guidelines for negotiating between the virtue of idea-sharing and the sin of plagiarism.

• Distinguish between the algorithm, the ideas that go into your program, and source code, the actual program itself. Your code should be written and typed in by you alone: don't share code electronically, for instance. This is not a trivial distinction - typically, the passage from ideas to code is precisely where your understanding of the algorithm is refined.

• Don't hesitate to get help from the instructor in debugging code you have already written. Don't hesitate to share test data.

• Always acknowledge cooperative work, where cooperative work is allowed. Also, if you use some source as a base for a program you write (e.g., if your program is a modification of a class demo or sample solution), document that fact in the program comments.

No collaboration is allowed for written examinations, as indicated by the Constitution of the Baylor University Honor System, found in your student handbook.