Appendix A

I. RATIONALE

 The Ateneo de Naga University seeks the integral formation of men and women who will contribute to the total development of the family and the society in Bikol. By enrolling at the Ateneo, the Ateneo student adheres to the University Mission and exemplifies the traits found in the Profile of the Graduate, among them the value of honesty.

 Intellectual or academic honesty among others is expected of the Ateneo student. This value when transformed into concrete practice will determine the student’s character and performance in later life.  All members of the community have the moral responsibility to promote the value of intellectual honesty, and, thus all have the major responsibility to address instances of dishonesty either by reporting it or by directly confronting it.

  The teacher is a molder of character and an exemplar of values to the students. Any act of dishonesty by a student must be checked. If not, it will lead to the belief that dishonesty is acceptable. This would be a direct contradiction of the Profile of the Graduate.

 Every student must practice honesty. It is said that the test of honesty is what one does when nobody is looking. Dishonesty, once proven, carries a stiff penalty as provided for in the Student Handbook and by this policy.

II. DEFINITION OF AND GUIDELINES ON ACADEMIC DISHONESTY

Dishonesty denotes a willful perversion of truth in order to deceive, cheat, mislead or defraud. Dishonesty often brings an unfair advantage to the one committing it. Therefore, dishonest acts are actions that are contrary to the truth; they are actions which convey what is counterfactual. 

 Academic or Intellectual Dishonesty refers to but is not restricted to actions such as cheating during tests, quizzes, or recitations. Rather, it also includes to those acts or behavior outside the classroom or even the campus that involve deceit and untruthfulness in the academic life of an Ateneo student. 

  There are three general forms of academic dishonesty:

1) Cheating during tests, quizzes, examinations, recitations, and/or other evaluative processes done within the classroom;

2) Plagiarism or the submission of another’s work whether in part or in toto as one’s own; also, the 

use of another’s work or  ideas  without explicitly mentioning the source;

3) Acts which abet or contribute to the commission of the above mentioned practices.

Some Specific Guidelines on Academic Dishonesty 

• Academic assignments, projects, term papers, thesis, and the like are opportunities for honest learning and true growth in academic discipline. All academic assignments are to be done by the student either individually, or when required by the assignment, by the defined student-group alone. “Help” from others which removes from the student the burden of authentic work and personal growth is academically dishonest. 

• Academicians respect the work of others. This is their intellectual property. It is academically dishonest to represent as one’s work the work of another be this the work of a peer, a relative, a friend, an expert, or even an author whose work is published in a journal, a book, or in the internet.

• Plagiarism is also a form of academic dishonesty. Plagiarism occurs when one represents as one’s own another’s written text, in whole or in part, either by outright copying or by superficial paraphrasing without acknowledging the author or source. 

• It is the responsibility of the student to properly credit another’s work. Other’s texts in one’s work should be set off by quotes (or equivalent), and the source acknowledged. This is also true, mutatis mutandi, for computer programs, scientific or technological projects, surveys, theses, and the like.

• Data incorporated in required projects must be authentic. They must not be fabricated, falsified, tampered with, or fraudulently manipulated. 

• Tampering with or falsification/fabrication of academic records and documents are fraudulent forms of academic dishonesty.

III. INSTANCES AND INDICATORS OF ACADEMIC DISHONESTY

  Practices of academic dishonesty include but are not limited to the following.

A. During quizzes/tests, and exams:

• Looking at somebody else’s examination paper, or allowing another student to look or glance at his/her paper

• Copying or allowing another person to copy from one’s paper; in the latter case both parties are liable

• Unauthorized communication with another student in any form, i.e. signaling, whispering or murmuring

• Unauthorized opening of one’s notes, books, photocopied materials

• Allowing another student to take the quiz, test, or exam on behalf of the examinee

• Passing answers to seatmates/classmates

• Submitting two sets of answers on a particular test or exam, and later claiming the one with the higher rating as the one for recording

• Unauthorized possession, use, and distribution of the questions for quizzes, tests  or of exams (“leakage”)

• Possession, use, distribution of “kodigo”

B. During formal graded recitations:

• Coaching classmates with answers

• Unauthorized glancing at one’s or a seatmate’s notes, books, or photocopied materials

C. With regard to Course Requirements like papers, theses, projects, assignments, computer programs or applications:

• Submission of a research/reflection paper where plagiarism was committed, i.e. papers that were copied in part or in toto, or whose contents were simply a rearrangement of the original

• Submission of a requirement that was bought from or made by another person

• Falsification and/or fabrication of data, documents, records for one’s course requirements

D. Acts abetting Academic Dishonesty:

• Coercion of, and connivance with others, contributing in the commission of these acts

• Lying about one’s knowledge of instances where academic dishonesty has been committed

• “Covering up” one’s or another’s  commission of academically dishonest acts 

IV. SANCTIONS

Any offense of academic dishonesty that is proven, is recorded and subjected to sanctions. A student who is proven to have violated the policy will be automatically disqualified from receiving academic recognition for the semester when the infraction was committed. Consequently, cases of intellectual dishonesty bear serious consequences on a student’s eligibility for graduation honors.  

 Below is a table of offenses and the sanctions that may be applied according to the deliberation and decision of the OSA through the Disciplinary Board on specific cases. Moreover, since the table is not comprehensive, the determination of other offenses and their appropriate sanctions falls on the OSA and/or the Disciplinary Board.

V.     GENERAL IMPLEMENTING PROCESSES/PROCEDURES

1.   At the beginning of every semester, teachers shall orient their students on the contents of this policy and on the value of intellectual honesty.

2.   In cases when a teacher or personnel becomes aware of the occurrence of an infraction of the policy:

•         The teacher shall inform the student involved of his/her violation and sanctions for the offense, and rights and procedures for appeal. In cases of cheating during examinations and tests, the teacher shall confiscate the student’s test paper together with the cheating paraphernalia and then write an incident report. If possible, the teacher shall identify witnesses who will voluntarily testify concerning the incident.

•         The teacher or personnel shall submit the written complaint and incidental report in triplicate within 72 hours to the Office of the Student Affairs (OSA). One copy of the report shall be given to the student, the second copy shall be part of OSA’s file and the teacher shall keep the third  copy.

•         If the accused student admits to the offense, appropriate sanctions shall be imposed. On the other hand, should the student deny the accusation, the student has the right to appeal to the Disciplinary Board through the OSA within three (3) working days upon receipt of the written case report. Failure   to do so would mean that the student waives his/her right to appeal.

•         In case of appeal made by a student, the OSA shall call in the accused and proceed with an investigation. The OSA shall consolidate the pertinent documents and submit to the Disciplinary Board its recommendations. In turn, the Disciplinary Board shall adjudicate over the case, observing the approved procedures of the process.

3.   In cases when a student becomes aware of the occurrence of an infraction of the policy:

•         The student shall inform the immediate authority, e.g., the teacher handling the class where the violation took place;

•         If there is no immediate authority, the student should inform the OSA by writing and signing a pre-formatted incidental report.

4.   Since all scholars are expected to be role models of academic commitment and achievement, any scholar found committing acts of academic dishonesty  shall lose his/her scholarship. Cases of academic dishonesty where the accused is a student on scholarship, shall be handled by the Disciplinary Board.

5.   Students proven guilty of violating the policy shall undergo counseling at the College Guidance Center (CGC). Moreover, a clearance from the CGC stating that counseling has been undergone will be required of student-violators for their next enrollment.

6. The policy shall supersede all previous formulated policies and guidelines on academic dishonesty, e.g., on cheating, shall apply to all enrolled collegiate and graduate school students, and shall be published in the handbook for the next academic year.

TEST SECURITY

 The following rules shall be observed by the teachers and/or proctors in the administration of examinations, tests/quizzes or any other evaluative exercises.

1.       Examination rules, violations and sanctions among others shall be given emphasis during the classroom orientation of college freshmen and the upperclassmen by their respective teachers in all subjects.

2.        A teacher handling the subject shall be responsible for administering the examination (tests and quizzes included). The teacher shall see to it that honesty in taking any academic exercise is upheld.

3.        As a rule, only a teacher shall proctor another teacher’s examination. However, due to special circumstances, other academic support staff may be considered upon the approval of the department chair. In no case shall  a student be called to proctor any other students’ exams.

4.        Students, proctors or test administrators shall  not leave the room once the examination, test/quiz has started

5.        Classroom management especially during examination shall be observed carefully. The following are some suggestions:

a.        All notebooks, books and other materials and electronic devices like cell phones, calculators, and palmtop/laptop computers shall be placed in a designated section inside the room. The use of the above are prohibited unless expressly allowed by the subject teacher as integral to the exam.

b.        The proctor/test administrator shall not allow any form of verbal and non-verbal communication among students once the latter have received the test papers.

c.        Test administrators/proctors shall remind students to keep test papers to themselves.

 d.         Any difficulty with or clarification of the test questions shall be addressed to the proctor/test  administrator.