Academic Honesty

Academic honesty is of utmost importance to the culture of the American School of Tegucigalpa in that it

is tied directly to our mission of nurturing globally responsible citizens who understand the importance of

making knowledge and learning transparent.

The American School of Tegucigalpa (AST) is a student-centered, college preparatory institution that

fosters globally-responsible citizens and leaders by offering a rigorous, international education which

promotes core values in a safe, innovative, and collaborative environment. As such, it is an institution that

holds academic honesty as one of its core values.

Below are definitions of categories of Academic Dishonesty developed in part from the IB Organization Academic Integrity Policy in the Diploma Programme, and the University of Texas (UT) Academic Dishonesty website.

Plagiarism - the representation, intentionally or unintentionally, of the ideas, words or work of another

person without proper, clear and explicit acknowledgment. The use of translated materials, unless

indicated and acknowledged, is also considered plagiarism.

Collusion - supporting academic misconduct by another student, for example allowing one’s work to

intentionally or unintentionally be copied or submitted for assessment by another.

Cheating - attempting or succeeding in gaining an unfair advantage. This can include copying from

another student’s exam paper, knowingly using or buying homework solutions or submitting a substantial

portion of the same academic work more than once without prior written authorization from the instructor.

Fabrication - the use of invented or misrepresentative information.

Misconduct - includes taking unauthorized material into an examination, disruptive behavior, or

communicating with others during an examination.

Communication about the content of an exam - sharing the content of an exam before or after the

examination with others (prior to everyone taking the exam).

As per the IB review/recertification process in the 2018-19 school year, AST devised their own Academic

Honesty Policy which builds on existing practice and policy. This policy is revised and if necessary

amended, each school year.

The  AST Academic Honesty Policy (4 pages) may be viewed separately.

HOW TO AVOID PLAGIARISM, FABRICATION, AND COLLUSION

“Plagiarism is pretending that an idea is yours when in fact you found it in a source. You can therefore

be guilty of plagiarism even if you thoroughly rewrite the source's words. One of the goals of education is

to help you work with and credit ideas of others. When you use another’s idea, whether from a book, a

lecture, a Web page, a friend’s paper, or any other source, and whether you quote the words or restate the

idea in your own words, you must give that person credit with a citation... you may have cited your

source, but if you do an improper or inadequate job of it, you can still be guilty of plagiarism... No source

may elect not to be cited” (Harris 133)

When should you cite?

The first thing you should consider is the material being used is “Did you think of it?” or “Is it yours?”

Your opinions, observations, ideas, commentaries, arguments or analysis do not need to be cited. (154)

“Whatever does not originate with you does need to be cited” (154). The only exception to this rule is that

Common Knowledge does not need to be cited. Common Knowledge includes whatever can be located in

an ordinary encyclopedia or is expected to be known by an educated person such as: Easily Observable

information, commonly reported facts, and common sayings. (154) CAUTION! Even with common

knowledge “The specific expression of common knowledge must be identified” (154). If you use someone

else words you must CITE THEM. Follow this simple: “IF IN DOUBT, CITE IT” (156)

What are some improper uses of sources?

• Not using quotation marks because it is “just a couple of words”

• When paraphrasing, copy some “word for word” from the original without putting quotation

marks.

• When summarizing, still retaining exact phrases without properly quoting them. (166)

What are your responsibilities?

Protect your writing – “Do not lend your papers to another for “reference” (137). If your paper ends up

being copied you may be implicated as an accessory to plagiarism.

You bear the ultimate responsibility for your projects – Proofread your final paper or

presentation material carefully to ensure the content matches your intention. (136) Avoid collusion –

collaboration with fellow students or tutors should be clearly identified as acceptable by the

instructor or the written instructions for the project. If there is no clear permission to collaborate

you are expected to work individually.

Source: Harris, Robert, The Plagiarism Handbook. Pyrcsak Publishing; Los Angeles, California 2001

“Copyright 2001 by Pyrczak Publishing. All rights reserved. Reproduced with permission.”