St. Bernardine of Siena School
Academic Integrity Policy
Having academic integrity means valuing and demonstrating positive regard for:
You are acting with academic integrity to the extent that you demonstrate these values, and in particular:
Take full credit for your own work, and give full credit to others who have helped you or influenced you, or whose work you have incorporated into your own.
Represent your own work honestly and accurately.
Collaborate with other students only as specifically directed and authorized.
Report breaches of academic integrity to a teacher.
What is cheating?
Cheating is defined as seeking to obtain (or aiding another to obtain) credit or improved scores through the use of any unauthorized or deceptive means.
Some examples of what cheating looks like:
Presenting information collected, organized, or envisioned by someone else as your own (with or without the author's permission) or allowing someone else to present your work as his or her own.
Taking shortcuts (such as unauthorized use of study aids) that allow you to bypass steps of an assignment.
Using forbidden material to "help" during an exam, such as cheat sheets, graphing calculators, or cell phones.
Asking about or sharing questions and/or answers to quizzes and exams.
Altering corrections or scores with the intent of changing your grade.
Misrepresenting yourself in any way to your teachers in regard to the work you have done, such as saying you've turned in an assignment when you did not, or that you've worked hours longer than you actually did to complete an assignment.
Fabricating information to try to earn more time, more credit, or grading leniency on an assignment, project, or exam.
Missing class in order to avoid turning in an assignment or taking a test.
Doing more or less than your share of a group project without permission from your teacher.
Students’ Responsibilities
Read and know the school’s Academic Integrity Policy.
Report to the teacher if cheating is taking place and how it is being done.
Do not copy homework or let someone else copy your homework.
Do not use study aids (such as Sparknotes) as an alternative to completing an assignment.
Only work with others when the teacher has specifically given permission.
Seek only appropriate help from parents, tutors, or other students; check with the teacher prior to receiving the help to know what help and assistance is appropriate.
If collaboration has not been specified as permissible, the assignment must be your individual honest effort.
Take responsibility for doing your fair share on a collaborative assignment.
On papers, do not summarize, paraphrase or quote without proper documentation.
During tests and quizzes, keep your paper covered and your eyes on your own paper.
When in doubt, clarify with the teacher what aids may be used on the test (calculator, notes, etc.).
Do not talk during a test except to the teacher.
Do not discuss any aspect of the test until the teacher has returned it or given permission to discuss it.
Consequences for a first-time violation may include (but are not limited to):
Communication with parents
Point deduction on a quiz, test, paper, project, or homework assignment, or zero points assigned as the grade.
Detention
NI in Work Habits on report card.
Consequences for subsequent violations may include (but are not limited to) any of those above as well as the following:
Conference called by Administrator with student, teacher, and parent.
Grade lowered for the trimester.
Adapted from Piedmont High School: https://www.piedmont.k12.ca.us/phs/academic-integrity/
By signing this Pledge, I pledge that I will exhibit Academic Integrity in all I do.
