Academic Integrity

Because MLC considers the ability to express oneself clearly, correctly, and responsibly in writing to be a necessity for college work and an essential characteristic of a Christian minister, it strives to teach and maintain good writing practices. Learners are advised that grades on poorly written assignments, regardless of the course, may be reduced because of the quality of the writing; in extreme cases, the final grade for the course may be lowered due to persistent challenges with written expression. 

As a Christian community that draws its life from the gospel and prepares those called to serve in the public ministry, Martin Luther College encourages its students to pursue academic excellence with honesty and respect for intellectual property. Because of its focus on ministerial training, MLC has an additional reason to emphasize academic integrity. It is one of many areas in which learners are expected to demonstrate the faithfulness required of gospel ministers (1 Corinthians 4:1, 2). 

It is expected that all work completed for this course of study is a reflection of the knowledge, skills, and abilities of the individual submitting the work. Any use of outside sources without proper attribution that are not sanctioned by the directions of the assessment may result in significant repercussions up to and including dismissal from MLC.

It is important that you give proper credit to the author of sources that you use to support your assessments. For example, if you include critiques of a children’s book for your Children’s Literature class, you should cite that information properly and follow American Psychology Association (APA) guidelines. Additionally, if you leverage a source like Edutopia for an icebreaker activity in your lesson plan, you should cite the source in Edutopia. We’ll discuss APA and Fair Use in greater detail within the program resources.

Additionally, the APPLE - Elementary Education program relies heavily on Open Educational Resources (OER). These sources are properly cited in all course material and included in the Course References Resource within Brightspace. Learners should respect all course resources and properly cite all course resources leveraged to complete course assessments. 

The procedure for academic dishonesty within the APPLE - Elementary Education program is as follows:

1. Preliminary Step—The Course Instructor identifies potential infraction and meets with the Director of the Nontraditional Education Program to determine if academic dishonesty was likely and potential responses. 

2. Virtual Meeting Procedure—The Course Instructor, Director of Nontraditional Education, and the learner meet to discuss the concern. 

3. Notification Step—The Director of Nontraditional Education sends a formal letter on MLC letterhead to the learner and the Course Instructor outlining the findings of the virtual meeting. 

4. Consequence—The appropriate party implements the consequence, e.g., the learner attends the required meeting with the librarian to discuss resource use for formatting citation issues, or the course instructor reduces the final course grade by one letter.  

5. Hearing—The student may appeal the sanction to the Vice President for Academics, who arranges a hearing.

The decision of the hearing facilitated by the Vice President for Academics is final.