ACADEMIC INTEGRITY

Lake Mills Area School District is committed to academic and character excellence. Academic integrity is the cornerstone to each of these values and is essential to continued success in any future academic setting. The staff sets high standards for academic integrity and instructs our students in understanding academic integrity in a complicated, ever-changing, digital world.

The following activities will not be tolerated:

Cheating: Cheating is defined as a dishonest violation of rules or giving or receiving unauthorized information in academic, extracurricular, or other schoolwork, so as to give or gain an unfair advantage. Examples of cheating may include but are not limited to:

1. Copying or allowing others to copy information from someone else’s work, test paper, homework, digital storage device, etc.

2. Unauthorized use of study aids, world language translators, notes, books, websites, information stored in electronic devices, etc.

3. Unauthorized prior knowledge of tests or activities.

Fraud: Fraud is defined as a deception deliberately practiced in order to secure unfair or unlawful gain. Examples of fraud may include but are not limited to:

1. Attempting to pass off someone else’s work, imagery, or technology as your own, purchasing or selling an assignment from another person or technological resource.

2. Falsifying scientific or other data such as scholarship application information for academic credit or award.

3. Forgery of signatures or tampering with official records.

Plagiarism: Plagiarism is defined as to stealing and passing off (the ideas or works of another) as one’s own; use (of another’s production) without crediting the source. Examples of plagiarism may include but are not limited to:

1. The copying of language, structure, ideas, pattern of thought, sequence of ideas, and/or digital creations of another without proper acknowledgement.

Student Responsibilities:

1. To maintain and support academic integrity by completing all work, activities, and tests as assigned without engaging in cheating, fraud, or plagiarism. This includes ensuring that others do not make inappropriate use of their work.

2. To understand the academic integrity policy and individual staff member’s expectations on any given assignment. It is the responsibility of the student to seek clarification if ambiguity arises.

Teacher Responsibilities:

1. To maintain/support the academic integrity of the school community.

2. To clearly present and uphold the expectations of academic integrity in the course syllabus, as well as in all individual and group assignments, homework, and testing. This includes explaining the use of permissible study aids, i.e., calculators, search engines, notes, translators, etc.

3. To check student work for plagiarism through a variety of means.

4. To report all violations to the building principal.

Building Principal Responsibilities:

1. To maintain/support the academic integrity of the school community.

2. To make available to all students, staff, and parents/guardians a copy of the Academic Integrity Policy.

3. To administer fair consequences for violations and maintain appropriate records.

4. To notify parents, teachers, and appropriate advisors of the violation and consequence.

Parent/Guardian Responsibilities:

1. To support the academic integrity in the school community.

2. To become aware of the Academic Integrity Policy and individual staff member’s guidelines and expectations.

3. To advise the student of the their expectations that the student will uphold the Academic Integrity Policy.

4. To support the consequences for violations as applied by the LMASD staff.

Consequences:

First Offense:

1. Teacher discretion of grading up to and including zero points or F grade equivalent on a portion or all of the assignment.

2. Discipline referral to the Building Principal.

3. Notification to all advisors of co-curriculars as appropriate and to parents/guardians.

Second Offense:

1. Meeting with the parents/guardians.

2. Additional consequences including but not limited to detention, in school suspension, and/or community service.

-Created with the written permission of W.T. Woodson High School, 9525 Main St, Fairfax, VA 22031 (2006)