Academic Integrity

Academic Integrity/Plagiarism 

Academic Integrity is one of our core values and one of the most important areas of focus as a learning organization. Students with academic integrity make decisions based on ethics and values that will prepare them to be productive and ethical citizens. 

It is expected that all work submitted for the purpose of meeting online course requirements represents the original efforts of the individual student.  This includes, but is not limited to exams, homework, course assignments, and the original creation of essays, compositions, term papers and scientific research.  All work submitted by a student should be a true reflection of his or her own effort and ability.  If such is not the case, then the student has demonstrated unacceptable academic behavior and is subject to disciplinary action.  Administrators, faculty, advisors, students and families are all important contributors to the upholding of academic integrity in the online learning community.

Plagiarism is defined as copying/stealing and passing off as one’s own the ideas or words of another, using someone else’s created product without crediting the source, or committing literary theft. Examples include the following:

• Turning in a paper retrieved from an Internet source as one’s own

• Using another student’s work in whole or part and handing it in as one’s own

• Using information from an encyclopedia, book, textbook, web site, database, etc., without citing the source

• Using another person’s idea, opinion, or theory without citing the source

• Using any facts, statistics, graphs, drawings, pictures, sounds or other piece of information which you found from any source that is not common knowledge, without citing the source

• Using quotations of another person’s actual spoken or written word without citing the source

• Paraphrasing (putting into your own words) another person’s unique ideas, spoken or written, without citing the source 

As the Internet becomes increasingly more accessible and sophisticated, the incidents of plagiarism in submitted student papers and projects have increased.  Many institutions of higher (post-high school) education penalize plagiarism with student expulsion.  Therefore, in the interest of the student’s future education, as well as the school’s part in the personal development of students, West Shore School District will follow the policy on plagiarism as outlined below: 

Academic Integrity Matrix

First Incident

• The online instructor contacts the online learning advisor. 

• The student will receive a zero and be allowed to redo the assignment. 

• The online instructor will award an appropriate grade based on their grading policy.

Second Incident

• The online instructor contacts the online learning advisor and the parent/guardian. 

• The student receives a zero grade on the assignment and does not have an option for resubmission. 

Third Incident

• The online instructor contacts the online learning advisor and the parent/guardian. 

• The online learning advisor contacts the online learning principal. The incident will be logged on the student’s PowerSchool record. 

• NHS Advisor will be notified (if applicable)

• The student receives a zero grade on the assignment and does not have an option for resubmission. 

Fourth Incident

• The online instructor contacts the online learning advisor and the parent/guardian. 

• A meeting is held with administration and the online learning advisor to decide the outcome.

• NHS Advisor will be notified (if applicable)

*It is important for students and parents/guardians to recognize that due to the weight of some assignments, receiving a zero on an assignment could result in a grade of “F” for the marking period. 

If the student acknowledges that he/she has plagiarized, the administration will assign consequences as listed above.

If the situation remains unresolved, the Academic Integrity Board will meet with the student, at which time the student will present his/her account of the incident along with all source material. Parents/guardians are invited to attend the meeting.

After considering the evidence of the incident, the Academic Integrity Board will make a decision and inform the student, the parents/guardians, and the teacher in writing.