Academic dishonesty or academic misconduct is any type of cheating that occurs in relation to a formal academic exercise. It can include
Plagiarism: The adoption or reproduction of original creations of another author (person, collective, organization, community or other type of author, including anonymous authors) without due acknowledgment.
Fabrication: The falsification of data, information, or citations in any formal academic exercise.
Deception: Providing false information to an instructor concerning a formal academic exercise--e.g., giving a false excuse for missing a deadline or falsely claiming to have submitted work.
Cheating: Any attempt to obtain assistance in a formal academic exercise (like an examination) without due acknowledgment.
Bribery or paid services: Giving assignment answers or test answers for money.
Sabotage: Acting to prevent others from completing their work. This includes cutting pages out of library books or willfully disrupting the experiments of others.
Professorial misconduct: Professorial acts that are academically fraudulent equate to academic fraud and/or grade fraud.
Impersonation: assuming a student's identity with intent to provide an advantage for the student.
Academic dishonesty has been documented in every type of educational setting from elementary school to graduate school. Throughout history this type of dishonesty has been met with varying degrees of approbation.