Frequently Asked Questions
There is a national plagiarism policy that applies to all active learners at the CPA Western School of Business. The policy was developed nationally to ensure consistency between all regions and programs. The CPA Canada Plagiarism Policy and Appeals information can be found in the Policies section of the CPAWSB website.
Some examples of actions considered to be breaches of the CPA Canada Plagiarism Policy are:
- Submitting another learner’s work as your own;
- Copying CPA provided solutions for assignments;
- Sharing your work with others (including electronic files);
- Including the words, ideas, work, or data of another person without reference to the original author or source;
- Theft of someone else’s work.
Collaboration between learners is an essential part of learning and is encouraged. It is possible to assist each other with your studies without jeopardizing your academic integrity.
If it is unclear what information can or cannot be shared with other learners, you can contact your facilitator through D2L for guidance, and consult the CPA Canada Plagiarism Policy.
No. Learners must always cite the direct source when referencing materials (for example, the Income Tax Act vs CPA Canada Handbook vs CPA Canada Learning eBooks). Improperly citing or failing to cite the author or original source of any CPA provided or outside resource is considered plagiarism.
Yes. You must always cite another person's ideas whether you are paraphrasing them or using them directly in your response.
No. Formal citation methods do not need to be used; however, you must cite any source you include in an assignment. For example:
- If you are using information in your assignment from reading the CPA Canada Learning eBook,
Per Chapter XXX of the CPA Canada Learning eBook…
In addition to using proper citations, you must use quotation marks when you copy exact phrases, sentences, and paragraphs from a source.
Example:
- Per Section 85 of the Income Tax Act, “the amount that the taxpayer and the corporation have agreed on in their election in respect of the property shall be deemed to be the taxpayer’s proceeds of disposition of the property and the corporation’s cost of the property.”
Outside of your facilitator or contacting CPAWSB, the CPAWSB blog contains informative posts that cover many topics related to academic integrity (including plagiarism).
Academic Integrity Blog Posts
Academic Integrity is taken very seriously at the School because of the strong link between academic integrity and professional integrity. Someone who is willing to take a shortcut while preparing an assignment may be more likely to compromise ethical standards as a professional. If you feel like your work may have been plagiarized, it is best to report it rather than turn a blind eye.
Have you ever been ready to hand in an assignment but been unsure if you’ve accidently plagiarized?
Below we outline some tools and methods to help you check your own work for plagiarism, make corrections, and avoid the unnecessary penalties.
Questions about academic integrity can arise when you don’t know what exactly needs to be cited, and when you must give credit to someone else.
To help answer those questions, we define common knowledge and outline when to give credit below.
This is the first in a two-part series about writing in your own words and citing sources.
Your assignments are an opportunity for you to demonstrate that you understand the concepts and ideas that you are supposed to be learning in your courses or modules. Pasting quotes from textbooks or other sources doesn’t allow you to demonstrate that understanding.
