Academic Honesty

All students at Northern Secondary School are expected to submit their own work for evaluation. To ensure a full understanding of academic honesty students are expected to:

Ÿ seek clarification from teachers about actions that constitute plagiarism;

Ÿ seek assistance when their research skills need improvement;

Ÿ understand the penalties for academic dishonesty and plagiarism; and

Ÿ ensure that all their work is original and that they cite sources accurately and consistently.

Students are expected to demonstrate academic honesty on all assignments, presentations, tests and examinations.

ACADEMIC DISHONESTY – PLAGIARISM

Plagiarism is copying, reproducing or paraphrasing significant portions of someone else’s published or unpublished material, and representing them as one's own thinking by not acknowledging the appropriate source or by failing to use appropriate quotation marks even if the source has been cited.

Plagiarism also includes copying and using information from the internet or other electronic sites without citing the source.

The concept of plagiarism applies to all assignments including lab reports, diagrams, essays, and computer projects. Different forms of writing require different types of acknowledgment/documentation.

ACADEMIC DISHONESTY – CHEATING

Cheating in the general context involves practising deceit or breaking the rules. In the context of evaluation, cheating is deviation from the behaviour expected in an evaluation situation.

Examples of cheating on an evaluation include but are not limited to: copying from another student’s work; using another student’s work on an evaluation; unauthorized use of electronic media to obtain answers during an evaluation or bringing unauthorized notes or notations into an evaluation.

Academic dishonesty will be dealt with on a case-by-case basis. When academic dishonesty is suspected, it will be investigated by the subject teacher. If academic dishonesty is confirmed by the teacher, the teacher will inform the administration. The student and the parent/guardian will be informed of the specific details regarding the academic dishonesty and the resulting consequences.

Students involved in academic dishonesty—including assisting another student to plagiarize or cheat—can expect serious academic consequences. All students involved in a case of academic dishonesty may receive a mark of “0” for the assignment/exam in question, no matter what their role.

This policy will apply regardless of when academic dishonesty is discovered, whether before, during or after an evaluation occurs.