CHEATING AND PLAGIARISM
Our school requires academic honest from all students; this requires students to always submit original work and to give credit to all research sources correctly and consistently. Students must understand that the tests/exams they complete and the assignments they submit for evaluation must be their own work and that cheating and plagiarism will not be condoned. If a student cheats or plagiarizes then they are not providing the evidence of their achievement of the overall curriculum expectations for a course. Just like late and missed assignments there are consequences for not providing the required evidence of achievement in a timely manner.
Cheating is defined as any attempt to give or obtain unauthorized assistance in a formal academic exercise.
Plagiarism is an act of theft known by many names: cheating, borrowing, stealing or copying. Plagiarism is intentionally or unintentionally using another person’s wards or ideas and presenting these as one’s own. It includes using just one un-cited sentence from a book, from publication notes, submitting an essay written by another student, allowing a student to submit your work, obtaining one of the many services provided on the Internet, having someone independently correct one’s punctuation, spelling, or sentence fragments. It is a serious offence that may result in significant academic consequences. If students or parents are unsure about the rules of plagiarism, feel free to check with the teacher before the work is handed in. A mark of zero is automatic where plagiarism is proven.
Procedure
When plagiarism/cheating is detected, the following process will be followed:
The teacher and the student will discuss the teacher’s concerns. When dishonesty is confirmed by a teacher following an investigation, the incident and the consequences will be communicated to the principal, the student and parent(s)/guardian.
If the plagiarism is found to be intentional, the academic penalty will be a mark of zero for the assignment in question and a record of this will be kept in the principal’s office; repeated pattern of academic dishonesty may result in an escalating severity of consequences.
If the plagiarism is found to be unintentional, the student will be given the opportunity to rewrite the paper by an agreed upon date or receive a mark of zero.
To reduce the number of plagiarized assignments and to ensure equity for all students, assignments for evaluation and tests or exams will be completed under the supervision of the teacher. To significantly reduce cheating, electronic devices are not allowed in classes to avoid activities such as texting answers within the classroom and having tests photographed and then emailed to other students in other classes.
If a student chooses to submit a plagiarized assignment for evaluation and the teacher determines it is plagiarized, then the teacher will take into consideration this factor and weigh all of the evidence of student achievement to determine the student’s report card grade which will not misrepresent the student’s actual level of achievement