Penn State provides a host of resources to every Penn State student. Here are some pages that we think might be of particular interest to our online students.
Penn State Information and Resources
The pages that follow provide specific information that you can skim through quickly. Perhaps something will catch your eye that you might want to investigate further.
In any course, whether it is face-to-face or online, as a student of The Pennsylvania State University, you are required and expected to understand and accept our policies on academic integrity and plagiarism. While you may have read this information in other courses, you are encouraged to re-read it.
Academic Integrity
Academic integrity is the pursuit of scholarly activity free from fraud and deception and is an educational objective of this institution. Violations of academic integrity include but are not limited to, cheating, plagiarizing, fabricating of information or citations, facilitating acts of academic dishonesty by others, having unauthorized possession of examinations, submitting work of another person or work previously used without informing the instructor or tampering with the academic work of other students. At the beginning of each course, it is the responsibility of the instructor to provide a statement clarifying the application of academic integrity criteria to that course. A student charged with academic dishonesty will be given oral or written notice of the charge by the instructor. If students believe they have been falsely accused, they should seek redress through informal discussion with the instructor, department head, dean, or campus executive officer. If the instructor believes that the infraction is sufficiently serious to warrant referral of the case to Judicial Affairs, or if the instructor will award a final grade of "F" in the course because of the infraction, the student will be afforded formal due process.
For this and every course, you are required to read and abide by Penn State's Academic Integrity Policies. Each course syllabus contains a statement similar to the one below with links to the Eberly College of Science's policies governing Academic Integrity:
All Penn State policies regarding ethics and honorable behavior apply to this course. Academic integrity is the pursuit of scholarly activity free from fraud and deception and is an educational objective of this institution. All University policies regarding academic integrity apply to this course. Academic dishonesty includes but is not limited to, cheating, plagiarizing, fabricating information or citations, facilitating acts of academic dishonesty by others, having unauthorized possession of examinations, submitting work of another person or work previously used without informing the instructor or tampering with the academic work of other students.
For any material or ideas obtained from other sources, such as the text or things you see on the web, in the library, etc., a source reference must be given. Direct quotes from any source must be identified as such.
All exam answers must be your own, and you must not provide any assistance to other students during exams. Any instances of academic dishonesty WILL be pursued under the Eberly College of Science Academic Integrity Policies concerning academic integrity.
The Eberly College of Science Code of Mutual Respect and Cooperation embodies the values that we hope our faculty, staff, and students possess and will endorse to make The Eberly College of Science a place where every individual feels respected and valued, as well as challenged and rewarded.
To learn more about specific scenarios such as: How to avoid plagiarism? Academic integrity issues that may arise when collaborating with a group? and others, visit Penn State's Academic Integrity Training. You can test your understanding of these issues and those that score 80% or better will earn a certificate.
Use the Penn State Libraries!
As a Penn State student enrolled through World Campus, you have a wealth of library resources available to you — just like on-campus students! Please review the World Campus and Distance Researchers page on the library site. Eligible users include currently enrolled or employed Penn State faculty, staff, and students in good standing who do not have access to a Penn State campus.
As a registered user of Penn State Libraries, you can...
- search for journal articles (many are even immediately available in full-text);
- request articles that aren't available in full-text and have them delivered electronically;
- borrow books and other materials and have them delivered to your doorstep;
- access materials that your instructor has put on electronic Library Reserves;
- talk to reference librarians in real time using chat, phone, and e-mail;
- ...and much more!
For additional information on using the Library as a World Campus student check out the following two flyers.
- Using the Penn State Libraries System
- How Penn State World Campus Students Can Request Library Materials
Library Contact:
Denise Wetzel
Science & Engineering Librarian
dawetzel@psu.edu
Statistics (Mathematical) Library Research Materials
Research or Subject Guides
Research guides help you find high-quality information and are created by librarians who are subject specialists in a wide array of disciplines. Search the research guides by keyword or use the alphabetical list to find the appropriate guide.
SAGE Resarch Materials
SAGE's Little Green Books, Methods Map, and Methods lists are all now available to all Penn State students for FREE! This includes the famous series, Quantitative Applications in the Social Sciences. This entire series is available on SAGE Research Methods, with additional tools across the site to filter your search on just these titles.
To access these SAGE Research Materials, go to the Penn State Libraries > click on the Databases tab > select 'S' > then click on the SAGE Research Methods Online link:
Penn State has been successfully offering education at a distance since 1892. One big reason for this success is because of the work of the folks in Student Services. From financial aid to technology support to career services, students are all encouraged to take advantage of the vast expertise they have gained over the years. They have recently received recognition for their work with students in the military. If you have not logged into your World Campus portal, follow the link to find out how. Penn State's World Campus has a variety of different services related to learning online that at one time or another, you may want to take advantage of.
Besides the help you may have received in getting admitted to a program, registering for courses, and technical support once your course gets started, there are also support services for students that you might not be aware of. These include:
- Financial Aid, Scholarships, and other benefits
- Support for Students in the Military
- Support for Students with Disabilities
- Career Services
Do you know how to defer loans you do have while you are a student? First, it is important to know that you have to be at least a half-time student in order to be loan eligible. And, once you have a loan it is important to demonstrate satisfactory academic performance, i.e., completing a course with a passing grade or your opportunity to obtain future aid may be in jeopardy!
World Campus provides a Student Portal that has links to help you answer all of your questions. The screenshot below of this portal points to some of the important links to check out!
Resources
There are a handful of valuable resources that every student will want to take advantage of while they are at Penn State including your account profile, Canvas, Office 365, Zoom, web publishing, software, and others. This page offers you a quick listing of services to check out!
When is the first day of classes? What does the drop/add period end? The Penn State calendars are a page that every student visits at one point or another!