TEDS/TGS
is on the semester system. The academic year has two semesters of 18 weeks
each, the first beginning at the end of August and the second in January. Generally
international students are admitted to begin classes in the fall semester,
which begins at the end of August. Classes are also offered during five summer
sessions of three weeks each.
The
semesters at TEDS are divided into "quads." Some classes are taught
for only one quad - for one-half of the semester. Others are taught for the
full semester. Credit hours refer to the number of hours credit given for each
class. The number of credit hours needed for graduation varies from one program
to another, but all international students must carry a full class load
each semester, which is 10 credit hours for graduate students and 9 hours for
doctoral students.
Most
examinations at American colleges and universities are written, rather than
oral, and they are administered more frequently than in many other national
educational systems where only one examination is given at the end of the
school year. In addition to written exams, students may also be required to
write research papers. All students, whether or not English is their primary
language, are expected to complete all examinations - quizzes, midterms,
finals, comprehensives, etc. within the time allotted for that particular exam.
You
will have two advisors while at TIU: your Faculty Advisor and the International
Student Advisor. Your Faculty Advisor will assist you in determining what
classes you should take. The International Student Advisor will help you if you
have difficulties of a personal nature or need advice on banking, housing,
immigration issues, etc. Whenever you have a problem you cannot deal with
alone, you should contact the International Students Office at extension 4063.
ACADEMIC INTEGRITY
Plagiarism (copying material without giving credit to the source)
and cheating are strictly forbidden and may result in expulsion from the
university. You are responsible
to be fully aware of what is considered as plagiarism at Trinity. You cannot
assume that standards used in other countries apply here. Any professor can
give you clearly defined examples of what plagiarism is and what it is not.
Plagiarism is a serious offense that may result in failure or dismissal.
What is Plagiarism? Plagiarism gives the impression that the words or ideas in
one・s writings are one・s own, when in reality they are taken from someone
else・s written or oral work. One plagiarizes when, intentionally or not,
one uses someone else・s words or ideas but fails to credit that person.One
plagiarizes even when one does credit the author but uses his or her exact words
without indicating this with quotation marks or block indentation. Plagiarism
occurs ：when you use words so close to those in your source, that if your
work were placed next to the source, it would be obvious that you could not
have written what you did without the source at your elbow.； (Wayne C. Booth,
Gregory G. Colomb, Joseph M. Williams, The Craft of Research [Chicago:
University of Chicago Press, 1995],167).
Plagiarism takes many
forms, but all are considered to be a form of taking what belongs properly to
someone else. In the words of the above authors, it is ：stealing,； and, hence,
a breach of ethics and academic integrity. Here are a few definitions of
different types of plagiarism.
Intentional Plagiarism of Words - Absence of quotation marks or block quotation with
proper reference to the source. An example would be if the writer prefaces the
copied material with a couple of introductory words.
Intentional Plagiarism of Ideas - By developing an idea that originates with someone
else as a part of one・s argument, even when a reference is made to the source.
Intentional Plagiarism of Papers, Abstracts,
etc. - This includes the
purchase or copying [including from the internet] of someone else・s paper,
abstract, or thesis and submission as if it were one・s own.
Indirect Plagiarism of Words - A periphrastic use of someone else・s words, even
when loosely reworded; a wording of the material that suggests it is your own.
(Examples of all of these types of plagiarism may be found in the
Academic Handbook available in the TEDS/TGS Records Department.)
While
intentional plagiarism is a serious offense of the community standards,
indirect plagiarism is no less so. The latter is at the least an expression of
poor scholarship. Periphrastic rewording of someone else・s ideas creates the
impression that the material is original with the writer. Second, no
participant can justify plagiarism, whether it be from one・s cultural
background that shows some tolerance of plagiarism, one・s inadequate
preparation in writing papers or of doing research, or a lack of awareness of the
community・s standards.
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Trinity
Evangelical Divinity School
International
Students Office
2065 Half Day Road
Deerfield, Illinois 60015 U.S.A.
Phone: (847) 317-4063
Email:
evangeme@tiu.edu
Updated 09/05/2003