Harrison Preparatory School Academic Honesty Policy 

The purpose of the Harrison Preparatory (HP) Academic Honesty Policy is to ensure that students have all of the tools necessary to properly engage in the modern world. Considering the speed at which ideas spread around the world, it is essential that every individual knows how to engage with new ideas, and give credit to the authors of those ideas. Principled IB candidates will always strive to recognize the intellectual efforts of others, because candidates know the world is an interconnected place and every person is engaging in an ongoing academic dialogue when developing new thoughts and ideas. At HP we work to make candidates more knowledgeable about the various ways in which candidates can give appropriate credit to influential sources.  

 

Academic dishonesty is defined as, but not limited to: 

1. Plagiarism: the representation of the ideas or work of another person as the student’s own1 

Examples include but are not limited to: 

• turning in someone else’s work as your own 

• copying words or ideas from someone else without giving credit 

• failing to put a quotation in quotation marks 

• giving incorrect information about the source of a quotation 

• changing words but copying the sentence structure of a source without giving credit 

• copying so many words or ideas from a source that it makes up the majority of your work, whether or not you give credit to that source 

 

2. Collusion: helping another student to cheat or in any way be academically dishonest. 

Examples include but are not limited to:  

• placing your individual course work in a way that allows a classmate to see your answers 

• sharing a digital or hard copy of an assessment with other students unless explicitly permitted by the teacher to do so for the purposes of peer editing or in order to complete an assessment explicitly designated by the teacher as a group assessment 

 

3. Duplication of work: the presentation of the same work for different assessment components and/or diploma requirements2 

Examples include but are not limited to: 

• turning in a whole assessment from the same class or a different class in attempt to receive credit again for that assessment 

• turning in an assessment that uses portions of one’s (or another person or student’s) work from a previous assessment  

 

4. Any other behavior that gains an unfair advantage for a student or that affects the results of another student 

Examples include but are not limited to: 

• possession of or use of unauthorized material(s) during an assessment 

• stating or signaling answers during any assessment  

• sharing or receiving assessment questions or answers between one who has already taken the exam with someone who has not yet taken the assessment 

• other misconduct during an assessment 

• falsifying any community service records, volunteer hours, etc. 

• Inappropriate use of technology (e.g. cell phone usage, smartwatches, taking a screenshot of an assessment, et al) 

Conventions for Acknowledging Sources 

• At HP students are directed to use the conventions of the Modern Language Association (MLA) when citing and/or referencing sources unless otherwise directed by the instructor. 

• Examples3 

• The three main types of in-text citation are as follows: 

• Author: In-text citation is done by an introductory and/or parenthetical citation providing: the last name of the author, and page number(s) from which the quotation or paraphrase is taken, if applicable, e.g. (Hawthorne 28). 

• Author–date: In-text citation is done by an introductory and/or parenthetical citation providing: the last name of the author, and the year of publication from which the quotation or paraphrase is taken, and the page number, if applicable, e.g. “On page 28 of Hawthorne's The Scarlet Letter . . .” 

• Numbered footnote: In-text citation is done by: superscript note numbers that come after the referenced passage, and after the final punctuation mark, if used, and corresponding footnotes placed at the bottom of their page of reference containing complete or paraphrased reference details from which the quotation or paraphrase is taken, for example, as used on this document. 

 

Responsibilities of the School Community 

Administrators shall: 

• Support teachers in their clear teaching of ways for students to avoid malpractice. 

• Work with the IB Coordinator and the teachers to update the Academic Honesty Policy on a regular basis. 

• Investigate cases of malpractice. 

• Know and understand the consequences of being found guilty of malpractice. 

 

Teachers shall: 

• Teach students how to use the words and ideas of others appropriately to support their own oral and written communication. Teach students how to use citations correctly. 

• Structure assignments and tests so as to minimize the opportunity for student dishonesty and malpractice.  Student work may be submitted to online plagiarism checking (such as www.Turn-it-in.com ). 

• Make it clear to students when and how they can collaborate with each other on assignments. 

• Be vigilant about preventing and identifying malpractice at all grade levels and in all subjects. 

• Make students aware of what constitutes academic dishonesty in their respective classes and how it undermines the learning process.     

• Make students aware of the consequences of academic dishonesty. 

 

Students shall: 

• Learn the correct methods of source citation, including for internet sources, and ask teachers for guidance.  All students are expected to be aware of the rules for citing others’ work. 

• Ensure that all of the work they submit is their own work. Not engage in any form of academic dishonesty at any time, including collusion, duplication of work, plagiarism, and all other forms of cheating. 

• Work collaboratively only in appropriate circumstances. Students are encouraged to form study groups, but they should always ask their teachers for clarification about what type of collaboration is appropriate before working with other students. 

• Inform a staff member when they are aware that another student or students have conducted academic dishonesty. 

• Be aware that 1) teachers will submit work to plagiarism checkers and 2) examiners are well aware of what is an appropriate use of citation. 

 

Investigation of malpractices  

Students are ultimately responsible for ensuring that their submitted work is authentic. Once submitted, the subject teacher will review the work. The following list outlines the possible procedure should a suspicion of malpractice occur. 

 

Procedure of Investigation Initiated by the School  

• The teacher will notify the IB Coordinator if malpractice is suspected and any suspicion of malpractice will be kept confidential.  

• The IB Coordinator will inform the Head of School(s) of the potential breach. 

• The Head of School, along with relevant and appropriate parties, will determine if malpractice has taken place based on information an investigation.  

• The Head of School and/or IB Coordinator will inform the parents of the process.  

• If evidence of malpractice is confirmed, the student and parents will be notified of the consequences (“Academic Honesty Policy” 2009). 

 

Procedures of Investigations Initiated by the IB Cardiff  

The four most common circumstances that initiate investigation by the IBO are:  

• A coordinator (upon being informed by a teacher) informs IB Cardiff that they suspect that a final work submitted for assessment may be affected by malpractice.  

• A coordinator informs IB Cardiff that malpractice may have taken place during an assessment.  

• An examiner suspects malpractice and provides evidence to justify his or her suspicion.  

• An IBO member of staff identifies examination material that may not be the authentic work of a candidate and provides evidence to justify his or her suspicion. (“Academic Honesty” 2009).  

 

Consequences for Academic Dishonesty 

In order to ensure that HP maintains a climate of Academic Honesty the following procedures will be followed by staff and students. 

1. All students will take an academic honesty tutorial at least once each school year, and will be required to pass an accompanying academic honesty quiz. 

2. All staff will ensure that student submitted works represent the authentic work of the submitting student. For summative tasks, staff will authenticate work through online plagiarism checking resources and/or by other methods. 

3. Students who commit any act of academic dishonesty will receive additional support, including an additional discussion with a teacher about how to avoid committing acts of academic dishonesty, and it is recommended that they retake the academic honesty quiz. 

4. All instances of academic dishonesty that occur on both formative and summative assessments, will be recorded in Skyward. 

5. All instances of academic dishonesty on formative assessments receive a “0” and additional consequences below are at the teacher’s discretion. 

6. Disciplinary consequences that may be applied for academic dishonesty on summative course assessments and district and/or state assessments are as follows 

 

For Students Grade 6 to 8 

1. 1st offense: teacher submits a referral through Skyward. Both an administrator and a parent/guardian are contacted. The student is given an alternative assessment. The student is assigned a score of “0” in the gradebook until the alternative response to the assessment is submitted and scored. 

2. 2nd offense: teacher submits a referral through Skyward. Both an administrator and a parent/guardian is contacted. The student is given an alternative assessment. The student is assigned a score of “0”  in the gradebook until the alternative response to the  assessment is submitted and scored. The student is only eligible for 60% credit on the resubmission. A teacher, however, may choose to alter the penalty for academic dishonesty, at their discretion, if they determine that a student, over the course of the grading period, has shown significant improvement towards the standards represented on the assessment on which academic dishonesty occurred. 

3. 3rd offense: teacher submits a referral through Skyward. Both an administrator and a parent/guardian is contacted. A score of “0” is assigned for the  assessment. The student is ineligible for any credit for that  assessment. For a third offense, consequences are progressive, at the discretion of an administrator, and may include suspension. A teacher, however, may choose to alter the penalty for academic dishonesty, at their discretion, if they determine that a student, over the course of the grading period, has shown significant improvement towards standards represented on the assessment on which academic dishonesty occurred. 

4. For further offenses, consequences are progressive, at the discretion of an administrator, and may include suspension. 

 

For Students Grade 9 and 10 

• 1st offense: teacher submits a referral through Skyward. Both an administrator and a parent/guardian is contacted. The student is given an alternative assessment. The student is only eligible for 60% of the  assessment’s total credit. A teacher, however, may choose to alter the penalty for academic dishonesty, at their discretion, if they determine that a student, over the course of the grading period, has shown significant improvement towards standards represented on the assessment on which academic dishonesty occurred. 

• 2nd offense: teacher submits a referral through Skyward. Both an administrator and a parent/guardian is contacted. A score of “0” is assigned for the  assessment. The student is ineligible for any credit for that  assessment. For a second offense, consequences are progressive, at the discretion of an administrator, and may include suspension. A teacher, however, may choose to alter the penalty for academic dishonesty, at their discretion, if they determine that a student, over the course of the grading period, has shown significant improvement towards standards represented on the assessment on which academic dishonesty occurred. 

• 3rd offense: teacher submits a referral through Skyward. Both an administrator and a parent/guardian is contacted. A score of “0” is assigned for the  assessment. The student is ineligible for any credit for that  assessment. For a third offense, consequences are progressive, at the discretion of an administrator, and may include suspension. 

• For further offenses, consequences are progressive, at the discretion of an administrator, and may include suspension. 

 

For Students Grade 11 and 12  

*For students in these grades, the offenses are cumulative across both grades. Any offense in grade 11, is still counted for a student in grade 12. 

 

• 1st offense: teacher submits a referral through Skyward. Both an administrator and a parent/guardian is contacted. A score of “0” is assigned for the  assessment. The student is ineligible for any credit for that  assessment. A teacher, however, may choose to alter the penalty for academic dishonesty, at their discretion, if they determine that a student, over the course of the grading period, has shown significant improvement towards standards represented on the assessment on which academic dishonesty occurred. 

• • If the IBO discovers an instance of academic dishonesty on an Internal (IA) or External (EA) Diploma Program assessment, consequences will be applied as described in the IB Diploma Programme: Academic honesty handbook 

 

• 2nd offense: teacher submits a referral through the Skyward student management system. Both an administrator and a parent/guardian is contacted. A score of “0” is assigned for the  assessment. The student is ineligible for any credit for that  assessment. The student is ineligible to sit for the D.P. exams for the course in which the academic dishonesty occurred and therefore ineligible for the DP Diploma. The student can still earn individual DP course certificates in the unaffected courses. Consequences are progressive and at the discretion of an administrator, and may include suspension. The student can still earn a high school diploma - the student’s course schedule will remain the same to fulfill graduation requirements 

• 3rd offense: teacher submits a referral through Skyward. Both an administrator and a parent/guardian is contacted. A score of “0” is assigned for the  assessment. The student is removed from the Diploma Program and is no longer eligible to receive the DP designation on their diploma. Consequences are progressive and at the discretion of an administrator, and may include suspension. 

• For further offenses, consequences are progressive, at the discretion of an administrator, and may include suspension. 

 

Policy Review and Communication 

This policy will be available to the Harrison Prep community on the school website in the IB section and individual requests for the policy can be sent to the IB Coordinator.  The Harrison Prep Academic Honesty Policy will be reviewed regularly by HP staff, leadership, and other relevant stakeholders in accordance with the MYP and DP Self-study process every five years. Once reviewed, the policy will be submitted to the HP Site Council for approval. It is the responsibility of the IB Coordinator to coordinate the policy review as outlined.