ACADEMIC INTEGRITY POLICY

American University Research Academy (AURA) places a strong emphasis on academic integrity to ensure that students develop a strong sense of ethical research and writing practices throughout their education.

Academic integrity is a fundamental value. It is a principle in education and a choice to act in a responsible way so others can trust us. It means conducting all aspects of your academic life in a responsible and ethical manner.

AURA expects students to produce genuine and authentic pieces of work that represent their own abilities. We want to support "content creators", not "content imitators". Students should give credit where credit is due—so be transparent and recognize how previous work is influencing/supporting their own work.

Academic Integrity is needed to:

• maintain fairness;
• maintain trust and accountability
• develop respect for others.

AURA requires original work, proper citation, and avoiding plagiarism. AURA encourages a proactive approach in which every member of AURA is responsible for promoting academic integrity as a working culture of the school. Every teacher is responsible for abiding by this policy, setting an example for the students, and teaching relevant academic integrity ethics and skills. The academic integrity policy writing committee will ensure teachers are equipped with training and resources to carry out this responsibility.

Definition of Terms

Original Work: Students are expected to complete their own work to the best of their abilities. This includes assessments, assignments, projects, and examinations. Group work should contain original work with clearly identified contributions of each group member.

Citation of Sources: When students incorporate the work, ideas, or words of others into their own work, they must provide proper attribution or citation to acknowledge the original source. This applies to any external sources, including books, articles, websites, musical and artistic works, and the work of peers. Source materials may include along with written texts, visual, audio, graphics, artistic, letters, lectures, interviews, broadcasts, maps. Forms of intellectual property include patents, trademarks, moral right, copyrights.

Plagiarism is the act of presenting someone else's ideas, words, work, or intellectual property as one's own without proper attribution or permission. It involves copying or closely imitating the content, ideas, or expressions of others and passing them off as original or not providing appropriate credit to the original source. To avoid plagiarism, it is crucial to properly cite and acknowledge all sources used and to follow the specific citation style guidelines required by AURA which is the APA Style 7th Edition.

Plagiarism can take various forms, including:

1. Direct Copying: Replicating someone else's text, images, code, or other creative work without proper citation.
2. Paraphrasing without Attribution: Rewriting someone else's work in your own words but failing to give credit to the original source.
3. Inadequate Citation: Including some citations but omitting others, or not adhering to the required citation style (APA).
4. Self-Plagiarism: Submitting your own previously submitted work, in part or in whole, without proper disclosure.
5. Contract Cheating: Paying someone else to complete your academic work (such as essays or assignments) and then submitting it as your own.
6. Artificial Intelligence: AI-generated text, image or graph included in a piece of work that has been copied from such software without due credit. The software must be credited in the body of the text and appropriately referenced in the bibliography.

“Turnitin” or a similar software program may be utilized at the discretion of the instructor to ensure the originality of a student’s work.

Citation Style

APA format is the preferred formatting and citation style for AURA. Workshops training in the use of APA are provided through the AUHS Library and workshops throughout the year.

Detailed information and guidance on the 7th edition APA style can be found here:

APA Formatting and Style Guide (7th Edition) - Purdue OWL® - Purdue University

Collaboration vs. Cheating

Collaborative work is required at AURA and in many IB programs. Collaboration is acceptable when properly acknowledged, with clear identification of work provided by each contributing member.

Cheating is strictly prohibited. Cheating involves engaging in dishonest or fraudulent behavior to gain an unfair advantage in academic assessments, exams, assignments, or other evaluations. Cheating is against academic and ethical standards and is subject to disciplinary actions, including academic penalties, loss of credit for assignments, or even expulsion, depending on the severity of the offense.

Consequences for Academic Dishonesty

AURA emphasizes an educational approach to academic integrity. Students are encouraged to learn from their mistakes and understand the value of academic integrity in their personal and academic growth. Academic integrity is not only about preventing dishonest behavior but also about fostering a culture of integrity and ethical scholarship within our educational community. AURA fosters an environment where students understand the value of honest academic work and are motivated to maintain high standards of integrity.

AURA has procedures for addressing academic dishonesty, including opportunities for students to appeal decisions or seek resolution. Any appeal may be placed in writing describing the specific factual reasons as to why the imposition of punitive measures would not be fair.  Encouraging a culture of academic integrity and ethical behavior is essential in educational settings to prevent instances of academic dishonesty and to ensure fair consequences when they do occur.

Consequences for academic dishonesty can vary depending on the severity of the offense. Academic penalties can include loss of credit for the assignment in question, reduced or failing grade for the assignment, or requirement to resubmit the assignment. Disciplinary actions may include formal warning or reprimand, suspension from AURA for a specified period or expulsion, which may result in a permanent record of academic dishonesty.

As a general rule the following are the procedural steps undertaken by AURA as regarding academic dishonesty:

First Offense:  Improper citation detected by the teacher results in the teacher coaching and instructing the student on proper citation.  The student is given the opportunity to resubmit the work.  

Second Offense:  Improper citation detected by the teacher is reported to the IB Coordinator. The student is invited to a meeting with the coordinator. A grade of 0 is awarded for the work submitted. Parents are notified by mail. A chance may be given for the resubmission of the work on a completely new topic, at the discretion of the coordinator.

Third Offense: An automatic failing grade, recorded as a zero (0) with respect to the work in question.  The work submitted is sent to the principal and a meeting is held with the students and parents. The paper in question is retained by the teacher and subsequently filed with the school principal.

Fourth Offense:  Suspension from the school with the possibility of expulsion, with a zero (0) grade being assigned for the work in question and the subject.

Artificial Intelligence

AURA embraces IB’s stance on Artificial Intelligence below:

“The IB will not ban the use of AI software. The simplest reason is that it is an ineffective way to deal with innovation. However, the use of AI tools should be in line with the IB's academic integrity policy.

The IB believes that artificial intelligence (AI) technology will become part of our everyday lives—like spell checkers, translation software and calculators. We, therefore, need to adapt and transform our educational programmes and assessment practices so that students can use these new AI tools ethically and effectively. The IB is not going to ban the use of such software but will work with schools to help them support their students on how to use these tools ethically in line with our principles of academic integrity.

Students should be aware that the IB does not regard any work produced—even only in part—by such tools, to be their own. Therefore, as with any quote or material from another source, it must be clear that AI-generated text, image or graph included in a piece of work, has been copied from such software. The software must be credited in the body of the text and appropriately referenced in the bibliography. As with current practice, an essay which is predominantly quotes will not get many, if any, marks with an IB mark scheme.” (Ibo website, 2023)

Signed Declaration

A signed acknowledgement is required as part of the enrollment package at AURA to ensure students and parents acknowledge they are aware of the high school’s position on academic integrity, by reading and understanding this policy.

Academic Integrity and Approaches to Learning (ATL) Skills

The following excerpt is from the IB document “MYP Principles to Practice 2014”.

“Academic integrity must be seen as a set of values and skills that promote personal integrity and good practice in teaching, learning and assessment. It is influenced and shaped by a variety of factors including peer pressure, culture, parental expectations, role-modelling and taught skills. Although it is probably easier to explain to students what constitutes academic dishonesty, with direct reference to plagiarism, collusion and cheating in examinations, whenever possible the topic must be treated in a positive way, stressing the benefits of properly conducted academic research and a respect for the integrity of all forms of student work.

All MYP students must understand the basic meaning and significance of concepts that relate to academic integrity, especially intellectual property and authenticity. However, a conceptual understanding alone is not sufficient; students must have the knowledge and practical skills to apply such concepts to their work.

The concept of intellectual property is potentially a difficult one for students to understand because there are many different forms of intellectual property rights, such as patents, registered designs, trademarks, moral rights and copyright. Students must at least be aware that forms of intellectual and creative expression (for example, works of literature, art or music) must be respected and are normally protected by law. By implementing measures to prevent plagiarism, schools are helping to combat illegal out-of-school activities (for example, illegal music downloads, peer-to-peer/P2P file sharing) for which students could face legal proceedings.

In both conceptual and practical terms, students may not understand the difference between collaboration and collusion, and therefore require guidance. Collaboration may be loosely defined as working together on a common aim with shared information, which is an open and cooperative behavior that does not result in allowing one’s work to be copied or submitted for assessment by another. Collusion occurs when a student uses fellow learners as an unattributed source.

An authentic piece of work is one that is based on the student’s individual and original ideas, with the ideas and work of others fully acknowledged. Therefore, all assignments for assessment, regardless of their format, must wholly and authentically use that student’s own language, expression and ideas. Where the ideas or work of another person are represented within a student’s work, whether in the form of direct quotation or paraphrase, the source(s) of those ideas or the work must be fully and appropriately acknowledged.”

Although the IB defines plagiarism as the representation of the ideas or work of another person as the student’s own, this definition alone does not provide students with sufficient information or guidance on what constitutes plagiarism and how it can be avoided. Students must receive guidance on when and how to include acknowledgments in their work. Similarly, the practice of paraphrasing is an ATL skill that must be taught so that students do not simply copy a passage, substitute a few words with their own and then regard this as their own authentic work. When using the words of another person, it must become habitual practice for a student to use quotation marks, indentation or some other accepted means of indicating that the wording is not their own. Furthermore, the source of the quotation (or paraphrased text) must be clearly identified, along with the quotation, and not reside in the bibliography alone. Using the words and ideas of another person to support one’s arguments is a fundamental part of any academic endeavor, and how to integrate these words and ideas with one’s own is an important skill that should be explicitly delivered as an ATL skill.”

Forms of Malpractice

 “The IBO defines malpractice as behavior that results in, or may result in, the candidate or any other candidate gaining an unfair advantage in one or more assessment components”.  

Students can incur in the following forms of malpractice:

• Plagiarism: Plagiarism: this is defined as the representation, intentionally or unwittingly, of the ideas, words or work of another person without proper, clear and explicit acknowledgment
• Collusion: this is defined as supporting malpractice by another candidate, as in allowing one’s work to be copied or submitted for assessment by another
• Duplication of work: this is defined as the presentation of the same work for different assessment components and/or diploma requirements »
• Paraphrasing: this is defined as the restatement of someone’s work in another form. In order for it to be allowed, the source needs to be acknowledged.
• Fabrication of data: this is defined as manufacturing data for an experiment and for mathematical exploration/project
• Disregarding the IB DP Examination Code of Conduct: this is defined as an infraction or disregard of guidelines as established by the IBO with respect to examination conduct
• Disclosing information to another candidate, or receiving information from another candidate, about the content of an examination paper within 24 hours after the examination
• Submitting someone else's work as your own
• Copying the work of another candidate
• Allowing a peer to copy your work
• Not acknowledging sources
• Asking another person to write your work
• Falsifying data used in an assignment
• Falsifying CAS (Creativity, Activity, Service) records and journals
• Stealing examination material and/or exam papers
• Bringing unauthorized material into the examining room. Examples: notes, unauthorized software on a graphic calculator, cell phones
• Disrupting behavior during exams
• Impersonating another candidate

Teacher’s Responsibilities:

It is an obligation of teachers to impart a range of academic integrity-related behaviors that represent the five pillars of honesty, trust, justice, respect, and responsibility.  Teachers are required to uphold consistency and fairness while creating a atmosphere that is safe.  In order to support student learning, recognize academic integrity, and raise parental awareness, AURA will offer professional development to teachers.  Students will receive instruction on how to appropriately cite other people's work to bolster their own.  In order to provide further guidance, support, and resources for the development of academic integrity, teachers will engage the librarian to provide additional training.
 
References

• ACADEMIC HONESTY POLICY -IB DIPLOMA PROGRAM Academic Honesty Policy -IB Diploma Program. (2016). https://www.asmilan.org/uploaded/IB/Academic_Honesty_Policy.pdf
• Artificial intelligence (AI) in learning, teaching, and assessment. (2023, September 18). International Baccalaureate®. https://www.ibo.org/programmes/artificial-intelligence-ai-in-learning-teaching-and-assessment/
• MYP: From principles into practice. (2014). International Baccalaureate