Academic Integrity: Student Guide.

Contents

1. What is Academic Integrity?

2. Why do we need Academic Integrity?
3. Expectations and Responsibilities of Students.
4. What is Academic Misconduct?
5. Types of Academic Misconduct.
6. Investigation of suspected Academic Misconduct.
7. Consequences of Academic Misconduct.
8. How to avoid committing Academic Misconduct.
9. How to Avoid Plagiarism.

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1. What is Academic Integrity?

Academic Integrity is a guiding principle in education linked to the IB Learner Profile attribute of
“principled”. The International Baccalaureate insist that all students must act in a responsible way,
producing legitimate, authentic, and honest work.

All students must:

a) Be responsible for producing authentic and genuine individual and group work.
b) Acknowledge the ideas of others through correct citing and referencing.
c) Use information technology and social media correctly.
d) Show ethical and honest practice in examinations.

If students do not show academic integrity through the International Baccalaureate’s rules and
regulations, they are in danger of showing Academic Misconduct, which means trying to get an
unfair advantage before, during or after an assessment. This is punishable by both the International
Baccalaureate and #.

Summary of Key Terms:

 Academic Integrity: Acting in a responsible way. Producing legitimate, authentic, and honest
work.
 Academic Misconduct: Deliberate or inadvertent behaviour to get an unfair advantage in an
assessment.

2. Why do we need Academic Integrity?

The International Baccalaureate insists on academic integrity for three main reasons.

a) The maintain fairness: Assessment results are only fair if all students have the same
opportunities to get the same results. If a student shows misconduct they are creating a
disadvantage for those who have followed the rules.
b) To maintain trust and credibility: It is vital for the International Baccalaureate, students,
future schools and employment that all qualifications are valid and can be trusted. This can
only happen if each assessment is a fair reflection of each student’s personal level of
achievement.
c) To develop respect for others: While it is OK to use the ideas, words, and work of others,
they must be appropriately acknowledged to uphold respect for the original source.

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3. Expectations and Responsibilities of Students.

a) Expectations.
The International Baccalaureate expects that students:
 Act in a Principled way and distinguish right from wrong.
 Are honest, responsible, and ethical at all times.
 Follow the guidelines, rules, and regulations for each subject they study.
 Acknowledge the sources of information they have used and help they have received from
third parties.
 Show balanced behaviour in group work.
 Know who to go to if they have doubts concerning academic integrity: At #, students should
report it to the teacher who will inform the Programme Coordinator.
 Are responsible for the work they hand in.

b) Responsibilities.
 Understand and accept the principle of academic integrity.
 Read this guidebook to understand #’s and the International Baccalaureate’s policy on
academic integrity.
 Read the rules for each assessment and ask the teacher if they are unsure of anything.
 Report suspicions of other students’ academic misconduct to their teacher and / or
Programme Coordinator.
 Create content and complete assessments in an honest manner that are authentic, genuine
and reflect their personal level of achievement.
 Give credit to all the sources that have been used to create all written and oral assessments.
 Show responsible use of the internet and social media.
 Abstain from gaining non-permitted assistance in the completion or editing of work such as
from friends, relatives, other students, private tutors, essay writing or copy-editing services,
pre-written essay banks or file sharing websites.
 Abstain from giving undue assistance to peers in the completion of their work: Teachers will
tell what is allowed and what isn’t allowed in group work.

4. What is Academic Misconduct?

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 Academic misconduct is:

 Deliberate or inadvertent behaviour that has the potential to result in the student or anyone
else gaining an unfair advantage in one or more components of assessment.
 Behaviour that may disadvantage another student.
 An act that threatens the integrity of IB examinations and assessments that happen before,
during or after them.

5. Types of Academic Misconduct.

Written or oral coursework and examinations.

Infringement Notes
Plagiarism. Copying external sources.

Peer plagiarism. Copying work from another student

Lending work to another student.

Collusion. Working with another student when not allowed.

Submitting work commissioned Including, but not restricted to:

edited by or obtained from a  Friends, family members or other students in the same or
third party. different school, college or university.
 Private tutors.
 Essay writing or copy-editing services.
 Pre-written essay banks.
 File-sharing sites.

Inclusion of inappropriate, Including, but not restricted to discriminatory language or images

offensive, or obscene material. related to harassment, violence, pornography, racial slurs, gender
disability or animal cruelty.

Duplication of work. Using the same work for more than one assessment.

Falsification of data. Using made up, or edited data for an assessment.

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 During an examination.

Infringement Notes
Possessing unauthorised material in the Including, but not restricted to:
examination room.  Mobile or cellular phones.
 Notes.
 Study guides.
 Student’s own rough paper.
 Non-permitted dictionaried.
 Electric devices such as smartwatches or
smartglasses.
Showing misconduct or disruptive behaviour Failing to follow instructions.
during an examination. Communication when not permitted.
Attempting to remove examination materials.
Leaving the examination room without permission.
Exchanging, passing, obtaining or receiving Including attempting to do so.
verbal or written information from other
students.
Removal of secure materials from the exam Examples include examination papers and question
room. and answer booklets.
Impersonating an IB candidate. Both the impersonator and the person allowing the
impersonation.
Failing to report an incidence of academic
misconduct.

Threatening the integrity of International Baccalaureate examinations.

(These rules also apply for internal # examinations and assessments.)

Gaining access to examination papers. Notes

Sharing examination paper content before,
during or less than 24 hours after. the
examinations scheduled time
Assisting other students(s) in committing an act Including, but not restricted to facilitating
of academic misconduct information to other candidates.
Disturbing live examination content before
during or after the examination time.
Failing to report and act of academic misconduct

6. Investigation of suspected Academic Misconduct.

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a) If Academic Misconduct is suspected, the teacher will notify the respective Programme
Coordinator with supporting documentation.
b) The Programme Coordinator will hold an investigation to determine whether misconduct has
taken place. The investigation will include looking at the evidence provided and interviewing the
student, including allowing him / her to provide explanation.
c) If evidence of misconduct is confirmed, the Programme Coordinator will notify the student and
parents in writing and inform them of the consequences.
d) Students and parents or guardians have the right to an appeal which must be submitted within 7
school days of the date of the letter from the Programme Coordinator.
e) The Director for the IB Division will consider the appeal.
f) The Director for the IB Division’s decision will be final and will be communicated to the student
and parents or guardians in writing.

7. Consequences of Academic Misconduct.

a) MYP: # Internal Assessments.

 First offence: redo a different, yet similar, assessment task. The subject teacher must report
the incident to the MYP Coordinator. The incident will be documented and reported to
parents.
 Second offence: be awarded an achievement level of zero for all criteria the task is assessed
against. All parties involved in any acts of collusion will also receive an achievement level of
zero. A note justifying any thus awarded “0” will be included in the student’s report
comments. Parents, homeroom teachers, and school administration will be notified.
 Students will be referred to the Head of Student Affairs.

b) MYP Personal Project:

 If misconduct is identified prior to the formal submission date to the school but prior to
submission to the IB, then the work will be required to be revised and resubmitted in
time to meet the formal assessment due date. If the student fails to resubmit by the
formal date, an N will be recorded.
 If misconduct is detected, once the assessment has been formally submitted on the due
date and confirmed following investigation, an N will be recorded on the appropriate
mark sheet and no grade will be awarded.
 If teachers detect misconduct after work has been formally submitted and accepted for
assessment to the IB, the IB must be informed. The IB will hold an investigation. If the
final award committee decides that a case of misconduct has been established, they will
come to a decision which in the vast majority of cases will lead to an N grade for the
subject concerned.

c) DP: # Internal Assessments.

 The student will receive a grade of zero for all of the criteria the task is assessed against.

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  A note justifying any thus awarded “0” will be included in the student’s report comments.
Parents, homeroom teachers, and school administration will be notified.
 Students will be referred to the Head of Student Affairs.

d) DP External Assessments.

If any part or whole of the student’s work is suspected misconduct, that work must not be
submitted to the IBO as authentic work. The following courses of action may be followed:

 If misconduct is identified prior to the formal submission date to the school but prior to
submission to the IB, then the work will be required to be revised and resubmitted in time
to meet the formal assessment due date. If the student fails to resubmit by the formal date,
an N will be recorded.
 If misconduct is detected, once the assessment has been formally submitted on the due
date and confirmed following investigation, an N will be recorded on the appropriate mark
sheet and no grade will be awarded for the subject concerned. This may seriously impact on
the student’s eligibility for the Diploma under IB rules.
 If teachers detect misconduct after work has been formally submitted and accepted for
assessment to the IB, the IB must be informed. The IB will hold an investigation. If the final
award committee decides that a case of misconduct has been established, they will come to
a decision which in the vast majority of cases will lead to an N grade for the subject
concerned.

The International Baccalaureate has a range of consequences for Academic Misconduct, with the
most severe being:

 No grade will be awarded in the subject concerned.

 No diploma will be awarded to the candidate.
 A Diploma Programme course results will be awarded for other subjects where no
misconduct has occurred.
 Permanently disqualifying the student, including refusing to let students do retakes.

e) # Punishment for Academic Misconduct.

 Once Academic Misconduct has been established the student will have to do the
following.
First offence: Meeting with the Head of Student Affairs.
Second offence: Meeting with The Director of the IB Division.
 If a student receives a Head of Student Affairs or Director for the IB Division caution in
Grades 7-9 he / she will not receive a letter of recommendation for high school that
requires the principal’s signature.
 If a student receives a Head of Student Affairs or Director for the IB Division caution in
Grades 10-12 he / she will not receive a letter of recommendation for college that
requires the principal’s signature.

8. How to avoid committing Academic Misconduct.

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 a) Read this Student Guide very carefully. Play close attention to the types of academic
misconduct in part 6. If you are unsure of anything, ask your teacher or Programme
Coordinator straight away.
b) Read each assessment’s instructions very carefully and make sure you follow them. If you
are unsure of what to do, ask your teacher straight away.
c) When you are given a group assessment, read the guidelines on what it means very
carefully. Do not work with others beyond what is allowed in the assessment.
d) Fully acknowledge the ideas and work of others that you have used in your assessment. This
is done through citing and referencing. Read “How to Avoid Plagiarism” in part 9 of this
Student Guide below, and the “How to Cite and Reference Guide” very carefully. Ask your
teacher if you are unsure of how to cite or reference your sources.
e) Design time schedules or action plans to help you manage tasks sensibly.
f) Keep organised notes and the sources you have used during the production of your work.
This will help you provide a trail of the work you have done.
g) Fill in the Student Academic Integrity Form for every assessment. Read the checklist on the
form to make sure you have followed academic integrity throughout your assessment. You
must sign the form and submit with each assessment.

9. How to Avoid Plagiarism.

The International Baccalaureate defines plagiarism as “The representation, intentionally or

unintentionally of the ideas, words or work of another person without proper, clear or explicit
acknowledgement”.

In summary, you must say where you got other people’s ideas, words, or work from. This can be
done through citing and referencing.

Citing: Acknowledging the ideas, words, and work of other people. This can be done through
quotations or paraphrasing.

Referencing: Giving the full details of the materials that have been cited in the assessment. All
material must be put in the “Works Cited” section at the end of the assessment.

You must make sure that the information is acknowledge in the body of the text (citing) and fully
listed in the Works Cited page at the end of the assessment (referencing).

a) Why do we cite?
 To show respect for the work of other people.
 To distinguish between our work and the work of others.
 To give the reader the check how we are using other people’s work.
 To give the reader the chance to follow up on our references out of interest.
 To show, and get credit for, our research process.
 To show that we can use reliable sources.
 To show that we can crucially assess sources.

b) What should we cite?

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 We should cite all of the ideas, words, and work of other people, including:

 Text.
 Visual material.
 Audio.
 Graphics.
 Art.
 Lectures.
 Interviews.
 Conversations.
 Letters.
 Broadcasts.
 Maps.

c) How do we cite?
Please look at your “How to Cite and Reference Guide” and ask your teacher if there is anything
you do not understand.

Bibliography

Academic Integrity. International Baccalaureate Organization, 2019.

Effective Citing and Referencing. International Baccalaureate Organization, 2014.