Embedded Files
Krista M. Baker
IB Principal
Rationale from the Principal
Rationale from the Principal
Our mission and the IB Learner Profile guide this policy statement.
Often, when discussing policies, students and teachers alike want to know: what will happen if ____? In other words, if someone is in breach of a policy, what is the consequence? This focus tends to lean towards a negative implication and can even feel punitive. Yet policies and the delineated associated consequences for being in breach of them are meant to be instructive. The policies are here for guidance and support regarding what constitutes good educational practice.
The purpose of this policy is the same as the IB's own published Academic Integrity Policy, namely, that all stakeholders can trust an IB education. That IB grades must be a true reflection of the personal level of achievement of a student and not the result of an unreasonable advantage over others. In other words, grades are one important way to show student learning. You will find that our other policies support and reflect the values in this Academic Integrity Policy, for example, our Assessment Policy, Language Policy, Inclusion Policy, Admissions Policy, and etc.
To ensure our students' work is a true reflection of their personal level of achievement, and to ensure there is no unreasonable advantage over others, we provide this policy: Our goal is that we all share the same understanding of what academic integrity is, what is expected of all stakeholders, and yes, what consequences can come if students are not upholding their responsibilities and expectations.
It is the responsibility of all stakeholders to read and reference this policy, as it is with all of our IB policies.
The policy contains the sections listed above.
General Definitions
General Definitions
The definitions below are quoted from Academic Integrity Policy, IBO, 2019.The entire policy is linked in the Learning section for reference.
Academic Integrity Definition
Academic integrity is a guiding principle in education and a choice to act in a responsible way whereby others can have trust in us as individuals. It is the foundation for ethical decision-making and behaviour in the production of legitimate, authentic and honest scholarly work.
Cheating
Cheating is that in test situations the use of prohibited material, such as books, notes and mobile phones, as well as unauthorized collaboration on individual tasks is used. It is also cheating to hand in the same material or piece of work for different subjects.
When submitting information, it is cheating to use illegal methods to mislead and gain advantage, such as copying or printing someone else's text, in whole or in part into your own text without specifying the source so that it appears that you have created it yourself.
Collusion
This means working with someone else, perhaps a friend or parent, but not acknowledging their contribution. If you help another student to be academically dishonest this is collusion. (e.g. copying a friend’s work or allowing a friend to copy your work). It is not collusion if your teacher told you to work with someone and wants you to work collaboratively.
Duplication of work
This is the presentation of the same work for different assessment components or for different diploma requirements.
Plagiarism definition:
The IB defines plagiarism “as the representation, intentionally or unintentionally, of the ideas, words or work of another person without proper, clear and explicit acknowledgment” (Assessment principles and practices—Quality assessments in a digital age). This includes the use of translated materials. It is the most common form of student academic misconduct identified by or reported to the IB.
School maladministration definition:
The IB defines school maladministration as an action by an IB World School or an individual associated with an IB World School that infringes IB rules and regulations, and potentially threatens the integrity of IB examinations and assessments. It can happen before, during or after the completion of an assessment component or completion of an examination.
Student Specific Definitions
Student Specific Definitions
The definitions below are quoted from Academic Integrity Policy, IBO, 2019.The entire policy is linked in the Learning section for reference.
Student academic misconduct definition:
The IB defines student academic misconduct as deliberate or inadvertent behaviour that has the potential to result in the student, or anyone else, gaining an unfair advantage in one or more components of assessment.
Behaviour that may disadvantage another student is also regarded as academic misconduct. It also includes any act that potentially threatens the integrity of IB examinations and assessments that happens before, during or after the completion of the assessment or examination, paper-based or on-screen. This includes behaviour in school, out of school and online.
Full Diploma Candidate
This is a student whose status is to attempt the Full IB Diploma. See also the Assessment Policy and Subject Guidance section for more information.
Course Candidate
This is a student whose status is to attempt one or more singular courses and/or any/all of the IB Core. See also the Assessment Policy and Subject Guidance section for more information.
in text citation image accessed https://kpu.pressbooks.pub/apastyle/chapter/two-types-of-citation/
attendance image accessed https://www.sundonlower.co.uk/page/?title=Attendance&pid=59
student image below accessed https://www.freepik.com/free-photos-vectors/student-typing
Explanation and examples
Explanation and examples
Written with the student as target audience in mind.
A good tagline from the IB is "Be a content creator, not a content imitator".
Note that when we as a school upload or send a candidate's work to the IB for moderation or external marking, we must verify that we are certain what we are submitting is the student's own original work. If we cannot feel certain about that, then we cannot submit the work. If we did, it would be considered School Maladministration.
Example: By engaging with this policy and listening to your teachers, you understand that you need to be able to reference and cite your sources properly, clearly, and explicitly . You know there are specific standardized ways of referencing and your actions show you've taken account of this in written academic work.
Exemplifying actions: First and foremost, you attend your lessons consistently and are fully engaged, i.e. you have a good attendance rate. When it is time to show your work, before getting started on a larger written project, like an internal assessment, you look up and decide upon the exact referencing system you will use. MLA? APA? Harvard? Your teacher may guide you as well. You bookmark the website that shows you precisely how to use this system with a variety of sources, even AI. You know you will go back to it often to make sure you get it right in your process.
While researching, you are taking notes and you have identified for yourself clearly what resource you are looking at. You note title, author, etc. If you come across a great quote, you copy it AND you copy down the exact page or page numbers you got it from (if relevant).
When writing your draft, you use in-text citations, mentioning the author's name whose work you are references or paraphrasing their idea and immediately indicating the page number or source you read about that idea. At the same time you are using in-text citations, you are also keeping a Reference list. Each time you mention another's idea in your text, you also have it reflected in your references list at the end.
When it is time to work on the final copy, you are very careful to ensure you've effectively cited and referenced consistently using the same system throughout. You are careful to use quotation marks when you quote a text. Or you are careful that when you paraphase, you give credit to the source in the text.
Similarly, if you have done your own research or lab experiment, you must show your process and data. Even in an oral presentation, you will call out your sources.
Closely Associated IB Learner Profile Attributes
Knowledgeable, Communicator, Principled, Caring
detective image accessed at freepick.com
Examples of how we detect issues in academic integrity:
Often a teacher notices an issue with academic integrity because the work you submit doesn't match with previous work you've submitted. Basically the work doesn't "sound" like you in that the words you use are not commensurate with knowledge or language you've shown to use so far, orally or written. Remember, if you haven't been attending to lessons or submitting work, then it will be even more difficult for a teacher to know what you know and sound like. See also our Assessment Policy and Inclusion Policy> Attendance section.
When you don't sound like you: This could be a matter of not properly, clearly or explicitly citing, plagiarism, collusion, or duplication of work. It may even be a form of cheating if you've collaborated or used materials that are unauthorized. The nature of the matter is very similar no matter what exact definition of academic dishonesty it is called.
Examples of problematic student practice:
You haven't cited information that is clearly not common knowledge/not something an average academic teenager would just know. i.e. you haven't given credit where it is due. Perhaps you didn't cite anything at all, or perhaps you didn't cite it effectively, properly, and clearly, according to the system you are meant to be following.
or
There are inconsistencies in your citations and your reference list. Things appear in your reference list that don't seem to be mentioned in the text or vice versa.
or
The use of a plagiarism checker indicates similarities in others texts that are suspicious.
or
The use of AI is detected by the teacher or by a plagiarism checker.
or
Your work sounds too similar to a friend's work, a former students' work, or your own work from another assignment in another subject, etc.
or
You used a source or entity that was not permitted.
Consequences/Scenarios from school
Consequences/Scenarios from school
When might your academic integrity come into question?
And what will happen next?
A student's academic integrity may come into question when a teacher:
Doesn't recognize the student's textual or oral response (or part of the response) as the student's own
Suspects the student might have an unfair advantage over other students
Identifies or suspects plagiarism, cheating, or any form of student malpractice.
The IB definitions guide us. If we determine malpractice, we do not need to learn if it was intentional or unintentional. Deliberate or not. What will matter is at what point has the teacher become suspicious or detected an issue?
Rights and responsibilities of each stakeholder
Rights and responsibilities of each stakeholder
In a description of our practices promoting academic integrity, a picture of rights and responsibilities also emerge. Our practices support student development of the concept of academic integrity while also allowing them to develop the skills needed to apply to academic work.
At the start of the school year, the Principal explicitly presents, discusses, and in some cases, workshops all of the IB policies. This happens with teachers, students, and guardians in various forums, written and oral. It is expected that any stakeholder who has missed a meeting or presentation will refer to the presentation material that is posted on the website and also that if they have any questions whatsoever, they can contact the Principal directly. All stakeholders are responsible to familiarize themselves with this policy.
The teachers then take over the main work to do with all things learning, of which, academic integrity is embedded in many ways. For example, academic integrity isn't only about referencing accurately. It is a more holistic concept imbued in the the entirety of the learner profile and the way our standards and practices are implemented across the entire program.
In regards to academic integrity specifically, we have identified the following standards and associated practices to be of special importance: Culture (0301-03) and Lifelong Learning (0402-04). For each practice, teachers met in "Group" teams (Group 1=language and literature, for example) in June, 2024 to reflect on those specific practices. These practices supportive to student learning about academic integrity can be expected to be done by all IB teachers:
Create an assessment timeline in collaboration with the DP Coordinator. Put all summative assessment deadlines in Managebac as is an internal school agreement. If there must be a change an IB summative assessment deadline (draft or final), coordinate it with the DP coordinator. Ensure the assessment timeline is communicated to students.
Articulate teaching practices so they are in alignment with the Standards and Practices under "Lifelong Learning" (section 0402-04).
Communicate to students, as per the subject guide, what students can and cannot do, in terms of feedback and support that can be given.
Know what the IB expects when it asks teachers to check the authentication box confirming that work is the student's own. (See Academic Integrity Policy, IBO, 2019) Teachers will ensure practices are aligned with the ultimate outcome of what is being asked.
We have some special roles that also support academic integrity further. Our program library comes into the classrooms (usually Theory of Knowledge) to explicitly teach students about research, source criticism, and referencing. Our TOK teachers ask that students complete at least one practice task where they must apply a specific referencing style, thus working on the actual skill of citing and referencing. Our Extended Essay supervisors familiarize students with how academic work looks in the their subject area, remind and provide this policy and referencing resources.
It is everyone's right and responsibility to utilize open and respectful communication, as per our Mission Statement. This means that any time anyone has a question, has a concern regarding a practice not being fulfilled, or seeks further understanding, they are encouraged to set up a meeting to talk to the person directly concerned. When a concern arises, this is the first line of action and is detailed in our Complaints Procedure. This applies to all stakeholders at any time. From there, a meeting will be held and a plan of action will be agreed upon by both parties, as well as a time to follow it up to see if the matter is resolved.
The school will always communicate first to the student directly. The parent/guardian communication is detailed in our Assessment Policy and at any time there is a concern for a student, we take communication with the parent. Usually it is to reach out via Vklass message first, thus it is important parents regularly check into Vklass to stay up to date with news, announcements, and communication. Students over 18 must grant their permission for us to communicate with parents/guardians and can do this by writing it down on paper and signing it and handing it to the Principal.
Images accessed from freepik.com
Consequences/Penalties from IB
Consequences/Penalties from IB
In the IBO's Academic Integrity Policy, it is stated that the IB organization and the individual schools are partners. "The IB needs
to trust schools to complete due diligence and schools need to trust the IB to take its responsibility
seriously in the interests of all their students. All stakeholders involved in IB education must meet the expectations and do what is required to embrace, promote and maintain academic integrity to ensure a fair
and genuine assessment process." In the previous section it is outlined what steps the school will take in case of a concern with academic integrity, and in the Learning section, it is outlined how we are responsible to ensure students are introduced to and can develop knowledge and skills associated with academic integrity.
The IBO also has their own practices if and when they detect student misconduct or school maladministration. If you as a student are interested to know what those consequences, you can refer to this folder and see 2.2 Penalty Matrices or 2.3 Penalty Precedents.
LEARNING
LEARNING
Artificial Intelligence We must all embrace the verocity with which AI has developed and is available to us as a helpful tool. But there is also alot of concern about AI and various forms of academic dishonesty. For teachers and students to learn more, I recommend:
Academic Integrity Policy, IBO, 2019 (link) "Appendix 6: Guidance on the use of artificial intelligence tools"
Quick check if student use of AI is ok or not?
Did the student use AI to help them learn, if so then it is OK
Did the student use AI to pretend they did something they did not, then this is NOT OK.
Referencing and Plagiarism. One of the most common pitfalls for students.
Academic Integrity Policy, IBO, 2019 (link) Appendix 3: Plagiarism-this section gives advice for teachers to support students and also how students can avoid committing plagiarism.
Effective citing and referencing, IBO, 2022. (link) This tells you everything you need to know, how to cite, when to cite, there's a handy documentation checklist as well.
Hvitfeldtska's own library (world class!) (link) and the blog where they have an English section that also walks you through the whole process from seeking information and a list of databases to source criticism to reference guides. (link) You can always go visit them in the library for one on one support.
Information about the policy creation, revision, and review
Information about the policy creation, revision, and review
The policy came up for review in Spring of 2024 after the Asssessment Policy and Inclusion Policy were recently updated. It was identified that all three policies are interrelated and needed to be thought of as a coherent collection. Additionally the rise of AI called for more guidlines and clarification about how and when students can use AI and for what purpose.
Process description: Students, together with their mentor teachers, reviewed the policy in class council and class representatives took notes for feedback to the Program Council with the Principal. All teachers were also tasked to read the policy together with the IB Academic Integrity Policy and the publication Effective Citing and Referencing. They could then come prepared to June Program Day with reflections on the policy's improvement.
Then during the June Program Day the team reflected in Groups (group 1, group 2, etc) not only on the policy itself but also their own practices in relation to the Standards and Practices for Culture and Lifelong Learning. This allowed the Principal to map out how practices looked across the program and see where we might need to make some improvements.
After having heard feedback from teachers and students, the Principal re-wrote the policy in July 2024 while paying attention to Appendix 5 (Making academic integrity a school priority) in the IB Academic Integrity Policy to attempt to ensure all important sections were included. By school start August 2024 the new policy will be in place and be part of the startup information.
Policy Read
Policy Read
You may have been assigned to read this policy and verify you've done so. In that case, you use the form, linked below.
https://forms.gle/YNTSEZCPYJYG3aZq6
Page updated
Report abuse