ACADEMIC HONESTY AND INTEGRITY

RD Board of Education policy on Cheating and Plagiarism:

Establishing and maintaining academic honesty is essential in school and in life. Lying, cheating, and stealing another’s work or ideas destroy careers and even lives in the real world. Unearned grades and achievements are worthless and meaningless. Furthermore, the thief’s brain lacks the knowledge and skills needed for the next level.

Think long-term.

In the workplace, the thief is fired and may end up in jail.

At the university level, cheating or plagiarism often results in dismissal with an official transcript permanently marked, “WITHDRAWN DUE TO ACADEMIC DISHONESTY.”

At River Dell (see RDHS Handbook, p11)

The first offense results in

  • a zero on that particular assignment or test
  • a teacher emailto parents to report the offense and its consequences
  • the student calledto the office for a disciplinary conference with Mr. Principe
  • an official letter sent home and placed in student discipline file
  • ineligibility for school Honor Societies, which demand the highest standard of character

The second offense, regardless of when or where, results in withdrawal from the course and a failure in that course.

GENERAL DEFINITIONS OF CHEATING, PLAGIARISM & COLLUSION

Adapted from Muhlenberg College's Academic Integrity Code

1.CHEATING(Includes but is not limited to examinations, quizzes, assignments, projects) -Any attempt to

(1) look at another student's work,

(2) communicate with another student verbally, by signal, or in any other manner any information concerning the content of the work,

(3) use any unauthorized materials, such as ELECTRONIC TRANSLATORS, notes, books, laptop computers, cellular phones, or other programmable electronic devices or sources, not specifically designated by the teacher of the course for student use during the examination period, or

(4) engage in any other activity for the purpose of seeking aid not authorized by the teacher.

2.PLAGIARISM– Intentional or unintentional copying from a book, article, notebook, or other paper or electronic source material whether published or unpublished, without giving proper credit through the standard use of quotation marks, footnotes, and other customary means of identifying sources, or passing off as one's own the ideas, words, writings, and experiments of another. Plagiarism shall also include submitting without the consent of the teacher an assignment already tendered for academic credit in another class or course.

3.COLLUSION– Working together in preparing separate assignments in ways not authorized by the teacher. Academic work produced through a cooperative effort of two or more students is permissible only upon the explicit consent of the teacher. The collaboration must also be acknowledged in stating the authorship of the report.

SO - ACADEMIC DISHONESTY IN A WORLD LANGUAGE CLASS INCLUDES:

  1. Using any kind of translator
  2. Looking at a cell phone during a test or quiz
  3. Having a parent, friend, tutor, or native speaker do all or part of a paper or project for you
  4. Copying part or all of someone else’s homework, project, quiz, or test
  5. Allowing someone else to copy part or all of your homework, project, quiz, or test
  6. Asking those who have already taken a test for specifics of a test that you have not yet taken
  7. Talking during a testor quiz
  8. Looking at someone else's paperduring a test or quiz
  9. Using notes or materials which are not allowedduring a test or quiz
  10. Plagiarizing material from any source

Throughout your school years, and in all of life, you make decisions from which you either reap the benefits, or suffer the consequences.The choice is yours.

You will receive and sign a hard copy of the following statement in class.

STATEMENT OF ACADEMIC INTEGRITY

I have thoroughly read all of the resources regarding academic integrity provided by my French teacher on her Schoolwires site.

I fully understand these concepts and also the serious consequences of cheating.

I accept my responsibility as a student to apply this knowledge to all of my coursework.

If I had any difficulty in understanding any of the above, I have already contacted my teacher for clarification.

I further understand that if I am found plagiarizing, cheating or colluding in any of my coursework, my teacher will follow the procedures on academic dishonesty set forth by the River Dell Handbook and Board policy.

______

Student’s signatureDate