Definitions

• Academic integrity is an attitude of honesty toward educational activities which have been confirmed through student behaviours that demonstrate respect for truth, justice, and the dignity of all.

• Academic dishonesty is behaviour intended to obtain false and advantageous academic evaluations.  Commonly, academic fraud refers to cheating or plagiarism but it also includes:

  • Submitting the same piece of work, or significant parts thereof for more than one course, without the knowledge and permission of the teachers involved;

  • Falsifying or altering an academic evaluation or report card;

  • Undertaking any other action in order to falsify an academic evaluation.

• Artificial Intelligence refers to the use of sophisticated artificial intelligence systems to produce original content, such as written work, visual art, or mathematical solutions, by learning from vast amounts of existing data. 

• A Catholic graduate is expected to integrate faith and Christian values into daily life, advocate for social justice, communicate information clearly and honestly, critically analyze media, technology, and information systems, make decisions guided by an informed moral conscience, respect the dignity of others, strive for excellence, originality, and integrity in their work, and act in accordance with moral, legal, and civic responsibilities as a Canadian citizen. These expectations foster ethical behavior across all aspects of life, including academic endeavors. Therefore, academic integrity is recognized as a crucial aspect of learning, with enduring value that extends beyond the classroom. 

Cheating is an act of deceit, distortion of truth, or improper use of another person’s effort.

• Intentional use of Artifical Intelligence outside of the parameters of the task; 

• Copying answers from another student on an assessment;

• Obtaining verbal, visual or written assistance from another student; 

• Using unauthorized material or aids (cheat sheets); 

• Using unauthorized mobile devices;

• Stealing and/or distributing an assessment;

• Claiming to have completed assigned tasks that were not completed;

• Submitting work completed by another (in whole or in part) as one’s own;

• Removing assessment materials from the testing environment;

• Collaborating with another student to cheat;

• Working with others when the assignment demanded individual work;

• Obtaining the questions and answers from someone who has previously completed the assessment;

• Using a false excuse for a missed attempt;

• Altering a graded test, task, or exam in order to get a better grade;

• Use of translation tools to circumvent language development and/or acquisition;

• Submitting work directly from a translation tool as their own, outside of the parameters of the assignment;  

• Creating false quotations or statistics;

• Submitting a downloaded essay (free or purchased) from a website.

• In academic integrity programs, connections are established between student behavior, the ethical and legal dimensions of intellectual property, and the ethical utilization of information in an educational context, including considerations for Artificial Intelligence.

• Individuals who create literary, dramatic, musical, and artistic works, as well as performers and producers of media and communications, deserve recognition and compensation for their contributions, a principle that extends to works generated by Artificial Intelligence. This recognition serves as the ethical foundation for laws that safeguard individuals and their intellectual property, including trademarks, patents, various forms of registration, and copyright. Without legal protection, writers, artists, researchers, sound technicians, and broadcasters would have little incentive to develop new work.

• Educators bear the responsibility of instilling the value of original thought and academic integrity, while also setting an example by adhering to copyright law and providing proper attribution for materials used in their schools and classrooms, including those generated by Artificial Intelligence.

• Many Ontario Curriculum subject-specific curriculum documents contain information-based expectations dealing with the research process, the communication and presentation of ideas and information technology, and the effective use of media.

• Plagiarism occurs when an individual takes the words, ideas, or theories of another and uses them in their work without acknowledging the originator or source through citation.  Plagiarism is not limited to written assignments and may occur in oral and media presentations and visual displays. To clarify this, each of the following examples is considered to be plagiarism, unless the source is acknowledged:

  • Copying and pasting text from online media;

  • Use of artificial intelligence platforms outside of the parameters of the task;

  • Failure to site/source Artificial Intelligence references;

  • Using text from print material such as books, encyclopedias, magazines, or newspapers, articles, research papers without proper citation;

  • Paraphrasing or rewording a passage (spoken or written words);

  • Citing sources improperly.