ACADEMIC INTEGRITY POLICY

Sands CISD

 

Academic Institutions across the country at all levels have policies in place that preserve the integrity of completing authentic coursework. These policies provide consequences for students who fail to live up to the academic standards of that institution. We at Sands CISD are no different. We strive to produce students with integrity who will follow standards of excellence and who live up to honest educational practices. This policy outlines the academic integrity that Sands CISD stands for.

Listed below are the definitions of the different types of academic dishonesty.

 · Cheating: this includes, but is not limited to:

  • copying from another student’s test paper, project, or other assignment;
  • use or possession of materials that are not authorized by the person giving the test, project, or other assignment, including but not limited to class notes, calculators, electronic devices, and specifically designed cheat sheets, textbooks, cell phones or other electronic devices, etc.;
  • providing aid or assistance to or receiving aid or assistance from another student or individual, without authority, in conjunction with a test, project, or other assignment;
  • discussing the contents of a test with another student who will take the test;
  • using, buying, stealing, transporting, soliciting, or coercing another person to obtain answers to or information about an unadministered test, project, or other assignment.

· Plagiarism:  this includes, but is not limited to:

representing as your own work any material that was obtained from another source, regardless how or where you acquired it. This includes:

  • Borrowed material from written works can include entire papers, one or more paragraphs, single phrases, or any other excerpts from a variety of sources such as books, journal articles, magazines, downloaded Internet documents, purchased papers from commercial writing services, papers obtained from other students (including homework assignments), etc.
  • By merely changing a few words or rearranging several words or sentences, you are not paraphrasing. Making minor revisions to borrowed text amounts to plagiarism. Even if properly cited, a "paraphrase" that is too similar to the original source's wording and/or structure is, in fact, plagiarized.

· Collusion: working with another person on an assignment for credit without the instructor's explicit permission to do so.

· Misrepresenting Facts: providing false information to postpone an exam or obtain an extended deadline for an assignment and lying on applications for awards or other non-class-related activities that affect your high school diploma or transcript (ex: NHS points, CAS for IB students).

· Multiple Submissions: submitting essentially the same written assignment for two courses without authorization to do so.

 

Consequences

There are three levels of consequences which escalate with each subsequent infraction.

The levels will follow a student throughout his/her phase of school at Sands School, across content areas. This means that it will follow an elementary student during his time in Elementary, it will follow a junior high student during his time in junior high, and it will follow a high school student during his time in high school.

 

First Offense:

· The student will be sent to the principal with academic dishonesty referral. Principal logs first offense for cheating and warns student about the cheating policy and consequences.

· Parents will be contacted.

·The student must re-take or re-do the exam/assignment during detention or as directed by principal with a maximum score of 50.

Second Offense:

  • The student will be sent to the principal with academic dishonesty referral. Principal logs second offense for cheating and warns student about the cheating policy and consequences.
  • The student receives a zero for the assignment.
  • Parents will be contacted.
  • Three days ISS.
  • Student becomes ineligible for the National Honor Society and any elected position, including, but not limited to, class officer, student council officer, Cheerleader, Bionic, etc.

    Third Offense:

  • The student will be sent to the principal with academic dishonesty referral. Principal logs third offense for cheating and warns student about the cheating policy and consequences.
  • The student receives a zero for the assignment.
  • Parents will be contacted.
  • Student is immediately removed from all weighted classes, if applicable.
  • For applicable 6th -11th graders, transfer to Sands CISD is revoked at the end of the year.
  • Student is assigned Saturday school for one day and will be assigned 5 days of ISS.

 

 

 

 

 

 

We all have a role in maintaining academic integrity. This includes:

Responsibilities of Student

 · Read and gain a clear understanding of the different types of academic dishonesty in order to avoid them.

· Give oneself enough time to adequately complete assignments so that the temptation to cheat is not present.

· Make sure that you do not look at other students or their work while testing. Make sure that your paper cannot be seen during a test.

· Do not talk or use electronics during a test, even if you are finished.

· Do not discuss a test or quiz with other students until all students have taken the assessment. This includes students from other classes, not just your own.

· Do not work with other students unless your teacher has made it clear that this is allowed; do not copy someone else’s homework and do not let someone else copy your homework.

· Make sure you know how to cite or paraphrase correctly to avoid plagiarism.

· Make teachers aware of instances of cheating if you know about them.

 

Responsibilities of Teacher

· Educate all students on the Academic Integrity Policy as well as the definitions of the different types of academic dishonesty, as well as any class-specific procedures (ex: cell phone usage).

· Put Academic Integrity Policy on syllabus and require students to sign honor code at the beginning of the year. (If a student refuses to sign the Honor Code, (s)he may not enroll in LEAP classes.)

· Enforce the policy equally among students.

· Test on assigned days as to not overload the students. Keep a calendar so that students know ahead of time what will be expected of them.

· Fill out academic dishonesty referrals for all infractions.

· Keep clear documentation and provide documentation and a statement of events as needed to principal and appeal committee for the duration of a student’s academic career at Lubbock High School.

 

Responsibilities of Administration

· Read and gain a clear understanding of the definitions of academic dishonesty and Academic Integrity Policy.

· Track offenses of students across all classes.

· Provide documentation of conference, as applicable, to appeal committee.

· Publish Academic Integrity Policy on the Sands CISD website.

 

Responsibilities of Parents

· Remind students about core values and the importance of integrity in regard to academics.

· Support students’ effort as opposed to grades. Feeling excessive pressure to succeed can increase a student’s likelihood to seek outside sources for “help” on assignments.

· Know what is being required of students. Keep track of assignments, calendars, etc. so that support can be provided for your child in his/her academics. Be mindful of tasks such as essays or projects that may take an extended amount of time to complete.

 

Sources

The Campus Improvement Committee referenced and/or quoted information from the following sources to create this policy.

 Garland High School. “GHS Honor Code 2013”;

“IBO Honor Code” Palo Alto High School. “Academic Honesty Policy”

“Teaching for Integrity: Steps to Prevent Cheating in Your Classroom,” The School for Ethical Education. Accessed June 19, 2013. http://ethicsed.org

 

Academic Integrity Policy.pdf