ACADEMIC INTEGRITY POLICY
Philosophy
In line with the IB Learner Profile of being principled, we believe it is essential that all teachers, regardless of discipline expertise , provide correct and consistent guidance on how to effectively work collaboratively, how to properly cite sources, and to support a transparent learning environment so that students complete their tasks with integrity from the start. It is during the school years that students’ characters are formed, and equipped with the skills to work independently. Our students are encouraged to be lifelong learners who act responsibly towards a peaceful, sustainable future.
IB Standard B1.5d | The school has developed and implements an academic honesty policy that is consistent with IB expectations. |
Our school defines academic honesty as a set of values and skills that promote personal integrity in teaching, learning and assessment. We believe that in order to achieve this, it is important that we focus on educating our students to be principled, to recognize and celebrate authentic student work, and to take pride in promoting student learning through inquiry that includes responsible use of information and communication of original work.
Important to know
The Academic Honesty Policy is designed to define and clarify the expectations associated with the submission of authentic work. It will provide staff, students, parents, counselors, and administrators with a common understanding of malpractices, define the responsibilities of all parties in preventing malpractices, and encourage principled behavior in the learning environment of our schools.
What is academic Honesty ?
Academic honesty is acknowledging responsibility for the production of students’ own work, recognition of the work of others, and maintaining honor and trust in the learning environments of our schools. In order to understand appropriate academic honesty practice, it is important to clarify behavior that can lead to an unfair advantage in academic work, hereby referred to as malpractice.
Purpose of Academic Integrity Policy
Academic honesty in the IB is a principle informed by the attributes of the IB Learner Profile. As stated, all members of the IB community must strive to be “principled”, acting with “integrity and honesty, with a strong sense of fairness and justice, and with respect for the dignity and rights of people everywhere”. Students must demonstrate academic honesty at all times and avoid any form of academic misconduct.
Academic integrity forms the backbone of our school community, one dedicated to learning, to the search for understanding, and to open, critical inquiry. In practice, academic integrity refers to a complex of ethical principles and behaviors that pertain to everyone — not just students — teaching, learning, and working in an academic context.
Worth Being Familiar
Academic misconduct is defined as behavior that results in, or may result in, the student or another student gaining an unfair advantage in one or more assessment components (MYP: From Principles into Practice 95). Malpractice includes plagiarism, collusion and duplication of work etc(as defined below) Intellectual property refers to creations of the mind, such as inventions; literary and artistic works; designs; and symbols, names and images used in commerce (What is intellectual property). Forms of intellectual and creative expression for example, works of literature, art or music must be respected and are normally protected by law.
Misconduct | Definition | Examples |
| Plagiarism | The Representation of ideas or work of otherperson as the students own- Presenting as your own (with or without the author’s permission) information collected, organized, or written by someone else.Plagiarism can include taking someone’s ideas or concepts and portraying them as your own. Plagiarism can be intentional and unintentional, but both are treated the same way. | Copying an article from a website and not giving credit but not understanding you had to give credit…it is plagiarism. Always ask your teacher if you should give the original author credit if you are unsure. Copying and pasting information from a website into your work, and then failing to give the website credit. Reading an article or a text, taking ideas from it, and then claiming them as your own ideas. |
| Collusion | Supporting academic misconduct by another student, as in allowing one’s work to be copied or submitted for assessment by another. | You let another student copy from your homework. The teacher gives a lab report to be completed individually and you work with other students but submit the work with only your name on it. If the teacher gives work to be completed individually, you should not work with other students or give friends your work. This is knownas unacceptable collusion. In an exam, test or quiz, you share your answers with other students taking the same exam, test or quiz. |
| Duplication | The presentation of the same work for different assessment components. | You completed a DesignEvaluation in MYP 4 and youcopied parts of it to complete your Personal project Design related report in MYP |
| Cheating | Behavior that gives an unfair advantage e.g., saying you have turned in an assignment when you did not, using cheat sheets, electronic devices, fabricating information trying to earn more time or credit on an assignment, project, or exam. | Misrepresenting yourself on a summative task such as saying you have turned in an assignment when you did not. Using restricted material during assessment task, such as cheat sheets, or electronic devices. Leaving the room during an assessment task and using restricted materials prior to returning. Fabricating information to try to earn more time or credit on an assignment, project, or exam. |
| Fabrication/Falsification of Data | Misrepresenting the results of your research | Modifying experimental datato show a nonexistentcorrelation that would support your hypothesis |
| Facilitation of academic dishonesty | Helping others cheat | Giving a friend exam answers or taking an exam in their place |
| Contract cheating | Paying or bribing someoneto help you cheat | Buying exam answers, pre written essays etc |
| Deceit | Lying or falsifying information | Fabricating an illness to get outof an exam |
| Use of translated material without Attribution | Coping a passage of text, translating this passage into another language, and using the translated text without acknowledging its source still constitutes plagiarism. |
Guidelines for students to avoid misconduct:
To Avoid Plagiarism: If you ever use someone else’s words or ideas, give them credit. In the same sentence where you copied their ideas or words, you must mention the author or location where you found the information. Using outside sources makes a better argument and gives your work greater credibility.
To Avoid Collusion:Always do your own work. If you are unsure, ask your teacher before you ask a classmate. During an exam or other assessments, avoid talking or looking at classmates. Raise your hand to make a request to the teacher.
To Avoid Duplication: Start a new document whenever you start a new assignment, and avoid copying anything from earlier work. Ask your teacher when you are unsure if you can borrow an idea from a previous piece of work.
To Avoid Cheating: Leave all electronic devices in your locker when taking an assessment. Avoid talking to or looking at classmates during an assessment. Be a principled human being and tell the truth.
To Avoid Fabrication/Falsification of Data: It’s better to clearly define and document research protocols, methodologies and procedures to avoid any fabrication at the end. Also, implementing monitoring mechanisms to detect any unusual patterns or inconsistencies in data will be useful while conducting the research.
- To Avoid Facilitation of academic dishonesty: The first thing is to take pride in your work and learning process. We have to understand that assessments are meant for the development of critical thinking and identification of learning gaps, so it should be considered as the process of self reflection and improvement. So it’s better to do strategic planning, time management and adopt techniques for your study that suits your style.
- To Avoid Contract cheating: Develop effective study habits, with the legitimate resources, consulting the teacher/instructor, developing critical thinking, commit to academic integrity and be aware of available support services, such as writing centers or tutoring, to help in improving the skills and confidence in completing assignments.
- To Avoid Deceit: Avoiding deceit is an ongoing process that requires self-awareness, commitment, and a genuine desire to build and maintain trust. Build a relationship with your instructor and explore alternative assessment methods. Develop healthy coping strategies for stress and challenge By consistently practicing honesty and integrity, you contribute to a more trustworthy and ethical environment.
Roles and Responsibilities
Implementing this academic honesty (integrity) policy is the collaborative work of all the members of the school community, even though each one has a specific role and responsibility.
Pedagogical Leadership Team :
1.Create the academic honesty policy collaboratively with the teachers, promoting good practices and fostering a safe school environment that motivates the school community to act honestly.
2. Ensure the policy document practices are implemented.
3. Promote and encourage teachers to educate students regarding the policy.
4. Enforce the consequences when a student or teacher violates the policy.
Teachers
1.Early Introduction:-
Begin introducing the concept of academic integrity from the earliest grades. Explain in simple terms what it means to do one’s own work, give credit to others and why it’s important.
2.Role Modeling:-
- Academic integrity can be demonstrated through practicing self honesty, proper citation and responsible behaviour in teachings and interactions.
- If faced with a challenging question, a teacher can demonstrate how researching the answer and sharing the process can support learning.
- Discussions can be initiated on real-world ethical dilemmas, highlighting the importance of ethical decision-making and integrity.
3.Create a supportive learning environment:-
- Give students confidence in their own skills and potential.
- Implement the school’s academic honesty policy through relevant ATL skills development in all subject group classes.
- Provide guidance regarding studying, writing an academic document, inquiring and citing sources so that students gain a clear idea of the purpose of correct citation and referencing in a variety of disciplines.
- Promote a classroom environment that encourages academic honesty and critical thinking.
- Allow time to teach important skills(note-taking, citing & referencing etc)
- Ensure that students feel confident to ask for support when needed.
4.Clarify Expectations:-
- Clearly communicate the expectations and the rules of the course (late submissions, use of plagiarism detection software etc).
- Detailed explanation on strategies and tools to be used for checking the authenticity of the work.
- Provide clear definitions of all forms of academic misconduct and unethical behaviour with examples.
- Clear directions on collaborative & group learning and independent work.
5. Recognise student stress and support them:-
- Coordinate and establish tasks and deadlines collaboratively with teachers from different subject areas to prevent students from facing simultaneous deadlines.
- Teach students about time management.
- Identify early indicators when students may seek shortcuts as a result of stress or anxiety and assist them in comprehending the repercussions of engaging in academic misconduct.
- During assessments, all teachers collaboratively work on less homework or no homework policy.
- Regular reminders to the students about the course expectations.
Librarian
- Support teachers and students in identifying good practices regarding academic honesty and actively engage in promoting the importance of research ethics.
- Providing authentic resources for teaching and learning by ensuring that students and researchers have access to a wide range of academic resources, including books, journals, databases, and other materials.
- Offer personalized research assistance to help students locate relevant, credible, and scholarly sources.
- Collaborate with faculty members to integrate information literacy and academic integrity concepts into the curriculum.
- Introduction and promotion of plagiarism detection tools that can help students review their work for unintentional plagiarism before submitting assignments.
- Creates/Develops subject-specific resource guides that point students to reputable sources for their research. This may involve discussions, presentations, or events that emphasize the ethical responsibilities of researchers.
- Provide guidance regarding citing sources so that students gain a clear idea of the purpose of correct citation and referencing in a variety of disciplines.
Students
1. Learn and practice academic honesty as part of their ATL skill development and be aware that the coordinator, librarian, and teachers are available to offer further advice and guidance.
2. Support the spirit of academic honesty both in attitude and action when completing all assignments.
3. Understand that no assignment is excluded from this policy.
4. Receive and sign a student version of relevant academic honesty forms to show comprehension and compliance with the school’s Academic Honesty Policy.
Families
1. Support the ethical values of honesty and integrity.
2. Share school’s enforcement of the academic honesty policy, especially with regard to work done outside of school.
Procedures for the Reporting, Recording and Monitoring of Academic Misconduct
- Upon any instance of a suspected violation of the Academic Honesty Policy, the following procedure will be followed:
1.The teacher who assigned the work will carry out an investigation. In the process, the teacher will consult the Program Coordinator to determine a plan.
- Consult with the student involved.
- Consult with any other individuals who may be involved.
2. If the teacher determines the student is responsible for the misconduct, he/she will document in the Incident Report Register which is kept with the Program Coordinator and/ or Head of School.
Alternatively, the incident is reported through a Google form, and evidence is saved for further reference.
3. Action plans are made and follow-up is done by the teacher/ Coordinator/ Head of School.
4. To ensure the violation is not repeated, the student will meet with the teacher to learn what steps should be taken in the future to avoid this type of academic misconduct. The student must reflect on the incident and a handwritten, duly signed copy must be maintained as evidence. The teacher should provide a summary of this meeting to the Program Coordinator who will attach it to the original incident report.
Consequences of Academic Misconduct
Academic dishonesty is treated as a learning opportunity. Instances of verbatim copying or lack of citation are considered first-draft material, and students are taught or re-taught the skills needed to rework the material in their own words and to cite quotations.
Self-evaluation and teacher explanations of rubrics are created to provide methods for reflection on a student’s ability to do academically honest work, and goals will be set by the student or together with the student and teacher to improve skills and attitudes leading to academic honesty.
Malpractice is generally considered to be the result of a lack of language and/or research skills and is addressed accordingly. In the event that a student with proficient language skills willfully and deliberately continues malpractice, the following can occur:
1. The student may be asked to redo the work, but he/she may not receive full credit for the work
2. The Programme Coordinator will meet with the student and the teacher to discuss the incident. If need be, seek support from counselors for further guidance for any behavioral issues.
3. A conference including parents, teachers, student, and the Program Coordinator will take place to discuss academic misconduct and how to avoid it in the future. Based on the pulse of the violation, the student may have a meeting called between the Principal and parents
4. In rare and extreme cases, the student may be placed on an academic contract or receive in-school/off-campus suspension.
Criteria | Yes/No |
| Are students learning and practicing academic honesty as part of their ATL skill development across subject groups/Personal projects etc? | |
| Are students taught to give credits to the source (whether internet, book, etc.)whenever they use someone else’s ideas or words? | |
| Are students encouraged to seek support from their teachers and the librarianswhen they do not know when or how to reference a source? | |
| Are teachers clearly recording and informing the amount of contribution done byeach student in completing the work assigned whether individually or collaboratively in groups | |
| Are we engaging students to do self-reflection using the attributes of IB learner profile? |
Checklist for teachers to ensuring Academic Integrity
Communication Plan
This academic honesty policy will be published on parent portal for each grade level, and published in Managebac and shared google drive. The common referencing system will be MLA (Modern Language Association)
Learning Journey
Start explaining about academic integrity in early stages, not before the exams.
Role model integrity in your day to day teaching
Young children know that stealing is not so good and understand what it means to have an unfair advantage.
Consider prior learning
Think about the diverse skills, cultural backgrounds and prior education your students bring as they begin their IB journey. This will help you customize your teaching strategies effectively.
Establish a classroom culture that prioritizes learning and personal growth over grades
By focusing on the learning journey rather than just the outcomes, students are more likely to understand the value of their own effort, learning and integrity. This approach encourages them to engage with their studies authentically, seek help when needed and take pride in their genuine accomplishments.
Academic Integrity/Honesty Policy Revision
The school’s academic policy was first developed in December 2022 during MYP consultancy. The document reflects current practice in the school year 2022-2023. The next review of the policy will take place in August 2023.
The school keeps referring to the Academic Integrity Policy document framed by IBO.
We at Harvest acknowledge the fact that we are in Candidacy phase for MYP. Hence this policy will be subjected to review based on the feedback from MYP Consultant. (Review committee includes Head of School, Principal, Coordinator and the facilitators.)
Last reviewed – November 2023
Members : Ms.Survathy AN ( Head of School), Ms.Ruchira Banka ( MYPC), Ms.Radhika Muraleedharan ( PYPC), Ms.Bhawna Sharma( IB Librarian)
Bibliography: Sources and References
The Conduct of IB Middle Years Programme On-screen Examinations, May and November 2016. International Baccalaureate Organization,
https://xmltwo.ibo.org/publications/MYP/m_0_mypxx_guu_1609_1/IBdocs/m_0_mypxx_plan-nc_1601_1_e.pdf
General Regulations: Middle Years Programme. International Baccalaureate
Organization, 2014, http://www.teachthought.com/literacy-2/101-blogs-aboutschools-books-and– libraries/
MYP: From Principles into Practice. International Baccalaureate Organization, Sept. 2017. The Responsibilities of IB World Schools in Ensuring the Integrity of IB assessments. International Baccalaureate Organization, 2017, https://resources.ibo.org//data/g_0_iboxx_amo_1709_1_e.pdf
“U nd erstanding Academic Misconduct.” MYP: From Principles into Practice, International Baccalaureate Organization, Sept. 2017, https://ibpublishing.ibo.org/server2/rest/app/tsm.xql?doc=m_0_mypxx_guu_140
9_2_e&part=8&chapter=6 “Wh at Is Intellectual Property. ” WIPO World Intellectual Property
Organization, WIPO, www.wipo.int/about-ip/en/
Https://Www.ise.edu.ee/WpContent/Uploads/2015/02/MYP/Academic-Honesty-Policy.pdf
Https://Www.ise.edu.ee/WpContent/Uploads/2015/02/MYP/Academic-HonestyPolicy.pdf
www.ise.edu.ee/wp-content/uploads/2015/02/MYP/Academic-HonestyPolicy.pdf.
“Academic Honesty—Middle Years Programme.” Academic Honesty in the IB
Educational Context, International Baccalaureate Organization, 2014,
https://ibpublishing.ibo.org/server2/rest/app/tsm.xql?doc=g_0_malpr_sup_1408_1a_e&part = 2&chapter=3
