6. Violations of Professional and Ethical Standards
Because students are members, and therefore representatives, of the Mass General Brigham University of Health Professions community, appropriate professional and ethical behavior is expected at all times — including interactions on campus, at off-campus clinical placements, and anywhere else the student represents the Institute.
Examples of professional and ethical violations include, but are not limited to:
- Intentional disruption of teaching, research, administration, or other University functions
- Dishonesty, unauthorized copying of software, providing false information to the University, forgery, or misuse of University ID cards or documents
- Any behavior incompatible with professional and ethical conduct guidelines
- Any action that endangers the health or safety of self or others
Two of the most common violations — plagiarism and cheating — are defined below:
Plagiarism is the unauthorized use, misrepresentation, or improper attribution of another person's or AI-generated words, ideas, images, or results. Students must credit sources appropriately: identifying direct quotations, citing sources, and paraphrasing according to the accepted format for the discipline or instructor. Examples include:
- Copying text, images, or data without proper attribution
- Submitting AI-generated content as one's own work
- Incorporating media (graphs, tables, code) without proper attribution
Cheating is the unauthorized use or possession of materials, assistance, or information during an academic exercise — for example, using unauthorized books, notes, cell phones, or AI tools during an assessment. See the complete list in the Academic Integrity Policy.
In response to unprofessional or unethical behavior, one or more of the following actions may be taken (see sections 6.1–6.3).