Academic Integrity Guidelines
ACADEMIC INTEGRITY GUIDELINES
High School
Updated 23 February 2007
Statement:
Academic Misconduct in any form, whether intentional or unintentional, is unacceptable in
Definitions:
Academic Integrity is a commitment to the values of honesty, trust, fairness, respect, and responsibility in the academic process.
Council Rock School District
The Director of Elementary Education
Two High School Administrators (appointed by the Superintendent)
Two teachers from each high school (appointed by the high school principal)
The Superintendent will serve as the chair of this committee but will be a non voting member of the committee.
Academic Misconduct includes but is not limited to cheating, plagiarism, falsification, multiple submission, complicity or interference.
- Cheating – Giving or receiving unauthorized assistance (e.g., copying, using crib sheets, stealing exams, using electronic aids/devices, Internet sources, using aids like Cliff’s Notes instead of reading the original work) in any academic work or examination. Using or attempting to use any unauthorized materials, information or study aids in an examination or academic work.
- Plagiarism – Representing the ideas or language of others as one’s own.
o Using text from another source (e.g. web sites, books, journals, newspapers, etc.) without documenting the source.
o Using a direct quotation from a text without quotation marks, even if the source has been cited correctly.
o Paraphrasing or summarizing the ideas or text of another work without documenting the source.
o Substituting a word or phrase for the original while maintaining the original sentence structure.
o Citing sources incompletely with intention to deceive.
o Using graphics, visual imagery, video or audio without permission of the author or acknowledgment of the source.
o Translating text from one language to another without citing the original work.
o Obtaining packaged information (e.g. foreign language translation or a completed paper from an on-line source) and submitting it as one’s own work without acknowledging the source.
o Falsification of citations
· Falsification – Falsifying or inventing information or data.
- Multiple Submission – Submitting substantial portions of any academic exercise more than once without prior authorization and approval of the teacher.
- Complicity – Facilitating any of the above actions or performing work that another student then presents as his or her own work. (e.g., copying someone’s homework, allowing someone to copy homework )
- Interference – Interfering with the ability of a fellow student to perform his or her assignments. (e.g., stealing notes or tearing pages out of books).
Teacher Responsibilities for Encouraging Academic Integrity:
· To create a learning environment that supports academic integrity.
· To educate and hold students accountable for complying with the Council Rock Academic Integrity Guidelines.
Student Responsibilities for Maintaining Academic Integrity:
- To read, understand, and follow the Council Rock School District Academic Integrity Guidelines.
- To authenticate any assignment submitted to a teacher. Students must be able to produce proof that the submitted assignment is actually their own work. Authentication of an assignment may include:
o Keeping copies of all drafts of work.
o Keeping photocopies of research materials (including downloads from web sites).
o Keeping notes, note cards, source cards.
o Keeping logs of work on assignments and papers.
o Saving drafts or versions of assignments electronically under individual file names.
The inability to authenticate work is sufficient grounds for a charge of plagiarism.
· To provide proper documentation by including one or more of the following:
o Following the district-approved documentation format per teacher direction.
o Submitting an "acknowledgments page" (when applicable) to credit help given by others (e.g., help that has been approved by the teacher giving the assignment).
o Using in-text or in-project documentation (e.g., media presentation) accurately and appropriately.
o Using Works Cited and/or Works Consulted pages accurately and appropriately.
o Submitting only his or her own work.
Academic Misconduct Consequences: Except for the progressive consequences outlined below for plagiarism, verified violations of these Academic Integrity Guidelines for Academic Misconduct will be within the discretion of the teacher who may:
· refer a student to a school administrator for their misconduct.
· award a zero (0) for the assignment, test, or examination.
Plagiarism Consequences: The progressive discipline outlined below is a guideline for administrators and teachers. There is a presumption that the nature of the infraction and the age/grade of the child will be taken into consideration as these consequences are applied. All “verified” instances of plagiarism will be documented and referred to the school administrator.
· Any “verified” first offense of this policy – whether intentional or unintentional –will result in a grade of zero (0) for the assignment. The teacher will provide a second chance opportunity for the student to correct the assignment and learn from the mistake. The teacher has discretion, given the nature of this offense, to remove the zero and grade the newly submitted project or, where this first offense is clearly intentional, to assign the lowest possible passing grade for this assignment.
· A second “verified” offense is deemed intentional. That second offense will result in the following:
o An automatic and irrevocable zero (0) for the assignment.
o A referral to the school administrator with a recommendation for school discipline that may include a suspension from school.
o A requirement that the assignment be resubmitted in conformity with the guidelines established herein
· A third “verified” offense of this policy will result in the following:
o A referral to the Council Rock School District
o The
Academic Misconduct in a Graduation Project
When the second or third verified offense involves a Graduation Project, the student will receive an “NS” for the project and must complete a new Graduation Project in a different course.
For purposes of these consequences, verified shall mean that the student has been provided an opportunity to see the assignment, be presented with the infraction and has had an opportunity to present his/her explanation to the teacher and administrator
Unless circumstances dictate otherwise, all hearings before the Council Rock School District
Adapted, with permission, from the Academic Integrity Policies of Springfield Township High School and Fairleigh Dickenson University