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ACADEMIC INTEGRITY: ACADEMIC INTEGRITY

What is Academic Integrity

According to The Center for Academic Integrity, academic integrity is "a commitment, even in the face of adversity, to five fundamental values: honesty, trust, fairness, respect, and responsibility. From these values flow principles of behavior that enable academic communities to translate ideals into action"

Academic integrity is a guiding principle in education and a choice to act in a responsible way whereby others can have trust in us as individuals. It is the foundation for ethical decision-making and behaviour in the production of legitimate, authentic and honest scholarly work.


Academic integrity goes beyond a definition and a well-structured school policy; it should also be part of an “ethical culture” of any educational institution, be that a primary school or a university. It is an obligation which must be embraced and fostered by the entire school community, so students continue their future life, whether in higher education or in the workplace, in strict adherence to this principle.

Source:-IBDP document on Academic Integrity

ACADEMIC INTEGRITY

Why is academic integrity important?

The key educational reasons to take such a strong line on academic integrity are:


To maintain fairness. IB assessments can only be fair if all students are provided with an equal opportunity; and to be valid, they need to provide an accurate reflection of a student’s achievement. Any act that undermines this fairness by students engaging in academic misconduct or schools committing maladministration will create a disadvantage for those who have complied with the rules. For more information see Assessment principles and practices—Quality assessments in a digital age.


To maintain trust and credibility. Trust in academic qualifications is fundamental. When a student or a school contravene the principle of academic integrity, that trust pact is 
 broke with the IB as an awarding body accountable for the validity of the assessment process.

 

To develop respect for others. Students that understand how knowledge is built will understand that it is acceptable to use the ideas, words or work of others. However, following good academic practice it is expected that information is appropriately acknowledged. 

 

SOURCE: IBDP DOCUMENT ON ACADEMIC INTEGRITY

 

RESPONSIBILITIES

Focusing on processes for managing academic integrity incidents, IB students must support their school, programme coordinators and teachers and are expected to:

  • have a full understanding of their school’s and the IB’s policies 

  • respond to acts of student academic misconduct and report them to their teachers and/or programme coordinators

  • respond to acts of school maladministration and report them to their teachers and/or programme coordinators

  • complete all assignments, tasks, examinations and quizzes in an honest manner and to the best of their abilities

  • give credit to used sources in all work submitted to the IB for assessment in written and oral materials and/or artistic products

  • abstain from receiving non-permitted assistance in the completion or editing of work, such as from friends, relatives, other students, private tutors, essay writing or copy-editing services, pre-written essay banks or file sharing websites

  • abstain from giving undue assistance to peers in the completion of their work

  • show a responsible use of the internet and associated social media platforms.

 

SOURCE: IBO ACADEMIC INTEGRITY WEBSITE

Teachers should have an extensive understanding of the requirements for teaching IB subjects regardless of the programme and should receive the necessary support from the school to attend IB-designed professional development workshops.

With a detailed knowledge of the regulations, policies and subject guides teachers will be able to offer adequate and fair support to their students, while they develop a conscientious and responsible attitude to their learning process, allowing them to understand the ethical implications of all scholarly work.

Students need time and support to gradually develop, for example, the technical skills to correctly reference a piece of work, how to produce genuine and authentic work or how to conduct research in a responsible and ethical manner. By creating a supportive environment, teachers can ensure that their students are properly prepared to complete their education and meet the assessment requirements of the IB.

Focusing on processes for managing academic integrity incidents, IB teachers must support their school and programme coordinators and are also responsible for:

  • ensuring that students have a full understanding of the expectations and guidelines of all subjects

  • ensuring that students understand what constitutes academic misconduct and its possible consequences

  • planning a manageable workload so students can allocate time effectively to produce work according to IB’s expectations

  • giving feedback and ensuring students are not provided with multiple rounds of editing, which would be contrary to instructions described in the relevant subject guides 

  • ensuring that all student work is appropriately labelled and saved to avoid any error when submitting assessment to the IB 

  • developing a plan to cross-reference work across multiple groups of students when they are preparing to submit final pieces of work for assessment in order to prevent collusion

  • responding to student academic misconduct and supporting the school’s and IB’s investigations

  • responding to school maladministration and supporting the school’s and IB’s investigations.

 

SOURCE: IBO ACADEMIC INTEGRITY WEBSITE

Although they are not directly involved in daily tasks at school, parents and legal guardians are able to collaborate with the administrative and teaching team in the activities carried out by the school to promote academic integrity while encouraging their children to observe the rules and complete all work according to the expectations.

Focusing on processes for managing academic integrity incidents, parents and legal guardians of IB students are expected to:

  • understand IB policies, procedures and subject guidelines in the completion of coursework or examination papers by their children

  • support their children’s understanding of IB policies, procedures and subject guidelines

  • understand school internal policies and procedures that safeguard the authenticity of their children’s work

  • support their children in planning a manageable workload so they can allocate time effectively

  • understand what constitutes student academic misconduct and its consequences

  • understand what constitutes school maladministration and its consequences

  • report any potential cases of student misconduct or school maladministration to the school’s directorate and/or the IB

  • submit only genuine and/or authentic evidence to support a request for inclusive access arrangements or adverse circumstances considerations for their children

  • abstain from giving or obtaining assistance in the completion of work to their children.

SOURCE: IBO ACADEMIC INTEGRITY WEBSITE

KEY TERMS

Academic integrity 

Academic integrity is a guiding principle in education and a choice to act in a responsible way whereby others can have trust in us as individuals. It is the foundation for ethical decision-making and behaviour in the production of legitimate, authentic and honest scholarly work.

School maladministration

The IB defines school maladministration as an action by an IB World School or an individual associated with an IB World School that infringes IB rules and regulations, and potentially threatens the integrity of IB examinations and assessments. It can happen before, during or after the completion of an assessment component or completion of an examination.

Student academic misconduct

The IB defines student academic misconduct as deliberate or inadvertent behaviour that has the potential to result in the student, or anyone else, gaining an unfair advantage in one or more components of assessment.

Behaviour that may disadvantage another student is also regarded as academic misconduct. It also includes any act that potentially threatens the integrity of IB examinations and assessments that happens before, during or after the completion of the assessment or examination, paper-based or on-screen.

Unprecedented or extraordinary incidents

Student academic misconduct or school maladministration incidents that are outside the IB’s usual procedures and/or experience. 

Balance of probabilities approach

“Balance of probability” means that the decision maker(s) with appropriate subject matter expertise is satisfied an event or account is more likely than not to have occurred. It is used when deciding on a penalty for an alleged case of student academic misconduct or school maladministration where evidence beyond reasonable doubt is not available. 

Conflict of interest 

This occurs where an individual’s ability to exercise judgement or act in one role is, or could be, impaired or otherwise influenced by his or her involvement in another role or relationship. The individual does not need to exploit his or her position or obtain an actual benefit, financial or otherwise, a potential for competing interests and/or a perception of impaired judgement or undue influence can also be a conflict of interest.

 

SOURCE:- IBO ACADEMIC INTEGRITY WEBSITE

 

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Mila Chakrabarty
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