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Issues in School on Plagiarism Carol Carter Georgia Southern University

Academic honesty: Documentation, information ethics, and plagiarism: A useful guide to getting things done the right way. (2005). Retrieved May 25, 2011, from http://cpcs.k12.ny.us/wpm/cpcs/2007/08/30/student-handbook/ Policy 1 Colton-Pierrepont Central School is located in New York, and their policy on academic honesty focuses on documentation, information ethics, and plagiarism. The schools expectation is to create and maintain an atmosphere of honest behavior. The school recognizes the responsibility of the educator to teach students about ethical responsibility, and it clearly defines plagiarism with various examples and states that plagiarism is unethical and will not be accepted or tolerated in any form. The schools policy addresses the school communitys role in making the expectations regarding academic honesty a success, and the policy gives students who violate the schools academic honesty policy an opportunity to relearn the correct and legal way of doing an assignment with notification given to the principal and a parent. The student also receives a late grade from the teacher for their work when an infraction occurs. The policy addresses misuse of Internet sources and further states that direct copying from an Internet source will be considered plagiarism. Consequences are clearly laid out by grade levels with greater consequences going to 11th and 12th grade students who are not allowed to redo the work. The policy provides a clear procedure for teachers to follow if plagiarism is suspected. Teaching and re-teaching the correct and legal way of doing assignments is a strength of the policy. I also agree that an assignment should be graded as late for a student consequence when an infraction occurs. I agree that the principal and the parents being notified of the incident. The inclusion of all the stakeholders is another strength for this particular policy, and I like the idea that there is an Academic Honesty Committee used to make a final decision about the incident and the consequences. The committee only includes adults, and I find this as a weakness. Students should be included on the committee, as well, to affectively give ownership to them. Students should also have a part in helping to create and maintain an atmosphere and/or culture of academic honesty. I think allowing the students to have a clean slate each school year is a weakness. Some type of documentation should be used to keep up with infractions from year to year. The policy does not address technology usage as much as it should for the present time period, since it was approved in 2005.

Anaheim union high school district handbook. (2006). Retrieved May 25, 2011, from http://www.auhsd.k12.ca.us/pdf/academichonesty.pdf?rn=1332125 Policy 2 Anaheim Union High School District in California expects their students to conduct themselves in a responsible way in their social and academic environments. The policy promotes an individuals right to have personal and academic integrity, and the policy is backed by the total school community which includes students, teachers, administers, and parents in order to create a healthy environment for academic honesty. Each stakeholders responsibilities are well noted. The policy which is seven pages long includes clear definitions of academic dishonesty such as: Cheating, Plagiarism, Fabrication, and Tampering. Consequences for violations are listed in order of offenses up to the third offense; then, multiple violations during a students entire enrollment are subject to more severe consequences such as suspension. This policy includes consequences for students who have been selected as Student Aides by their teachers. Student Aides are held to a higher degree of trust and responsibility by the district. After the second offense, students are removed from leadership roles in all academic organizations, and they do not receive recognition in academic award ceremonies. The policy addresses academic dishonesty on state, national, and international assessments on and off campus. The policy addresses misuse of internet sources as an infraction of plagiarism. Students who are commit academic dishonesty receive an Unsatisfactory (U) for their citizenship grade for the grading period. Lastly, the policy gives an appeal process for the student to access, if they feel they have been falsely accused. Having all stakeholders involved in creating a culture and acceptance of academic honesty in their school is certainly a strength for the Anaheim Union High School District. The district further impresses academic honesty as an ongoing responsibility by including consequences for violating academic honesty off campus upon the students as well as on campus. Leadership roles of students in the school can be taken away from a student as a consequence if they violate the policy which further promotes the schools integrity. I agree with this policy in that students who have committed violations should be removed from leadership roles and not be allowed to participate in academic awards ceremonies. I like that the school includes citizenship as part of their grading system and the way it is tied in with academic dishonesty infractions. The biggest weakness in the policy to me is giving a high school student more than two offenses before serious consequences take place. High school students need to know the importance of trust and integrity as soon as possible whether they are going on to college or entering the business world. These students are already on the path to adulthood and need to know that good character is a necessary requirement for success. The policy needs to address Internet violations more thoroughly.

Arkansas distance learning consortium student handbook. (2011). Retrieved May 25, 2011, from http://ardl.k12.ar.us/Docs/Resources%20for%20School%20Administrators%20and %20Techs/Student%20Handbook.pdf Policy 3 Arkansas District Learning Consortium includes high school students and early college high school students, and it is a learning center that implements virtual options to learning for high school students. The 2011-2012 policy addresses examples of academic dishonesty which includes: plagiarism, stealing academic property and cheating. A student can lose credit for submitting any work which violates the schools policy and the instructor will conference with the student and facilitator. Persistence in committing these violations will result in a report to the principal. There are forms attached to the handbook policy which students and parents must fill out in order to fulfill acceptance into the program. This particular district promotes technology as a tool to offer curricular opportunities to meet the individual needs of their students. In the 21st Century, it is essential that students have the technology skills to help them to be successful in a global economy. This type of technologybased learning is becoming more and more prevalent in our society, and it definitely meets the needs of certain groups of students by helping them to meet their full potentials. Students need to have intrinsic motivation to succeed in this program because they are working more on their own. This will help build independence and responsibility. The weakness in this districts policy on academic honesty is that it gives the students technology outlets that they may be tempting to use which violate the schools academic honesty policy. The internet can provide useful as well as harmful sites for students to access without proper supervision. Students may not get a sufficient amount of social interaction with their peers in this program which is vital for success in the work force. The policy is not as detailed as it should be on academic honesty and dishonesty as it relates to the usage of the Internet. The wording is very short in the school and student handbooks. The examples of academic dishonesty are limited without clear definitions of the examples.

Columbia high school student handbook. (2007). Retrieved May 25, 2011, from http://schools.gorge.net/whitesalmon/chs/hndbk.htm
Policy 4

Columbia High School in White Salmon, Washington produces a handbook to give to their students which addresses various issues including academic dishonesty. They consider plagiarism and cheating as academic dishonesty, and the handbook defines both in a way that the students are clear on what constitutes each. They clearly state that academic honesty is essential for the success of the schools mission and the successful completion of a students educational process. Students are made aware of the consequences in violating the schools academic honesty policy. The first offense results in a students loss of credit for the assignment, and the second offense results in loss of course credit. The schools policy on academic honesty is clearly stated as well as defined for the students to be aware of any alleged offenses that can be made by the school. The district takes a strong stance on their academic honesty policy by having two consequences for any violations. The student can lose credit for the assignment for the first offense and a second offense will result in the loss of credit for the course which adversely affects a high school students progress in graduating on time. The policy is not as detailed as it should be at the high school level. The policy is very short and only addresses published works without any emphasis to help the reader determine if it includes Internet sources or not. The policy seems a little out of date for the times, since it does not mention technology offenses at all. The policy is weak on its promotion of academic honesty with only seven sentences dedicated to focusing on academic honesty. Students must know their school environment and culture strongly supports honesty for it to be successful and affective.

Polk School Districts Policy City, State 32025 Policy Internet Acceptable Use/Academic Honesty

Polk School District believes that all stakeholders are responsible for creating and maintaining a school climate and culture that promotes exemplary standards and expectations in our mission to develop responsible, productive 21st Century learners and citizens who can compete successfully in a global economy. Students and parents will be required to sign an Internet Acceptable Use Policy before a student will be allowed to access the Internet. Any user who does not follow the rules and regulations established by the Polk School District will have their Internet access suspended or revoked. Student violations may result in discipline up to and including suspension or expulsion. Stakeholder Responsibilities Student All student work is expected to be submitted free from any form of academic dishonesty of any kind including Internet resources, both in and out of school. Academic dishonesty of any kind will not be tolerated in our schools. Parent/Guardian The parent/guardian is expected to work as a partner with the school district to support the Academic Honesty Policy. These stakeholders will review the academic honesty policy and the Acceptable Internet Usage Policy with their child/children and express their full support in the practice of honesty in all situations. Teacher The teacher is expected to promote honesty and express to their students that any form of academic dishonesty will not be condoned. Teachers will educate their students in the proper and acceptable formats to use in order to prevent any academic misconduct from occurring. Administrators The administrative team is expected to support and implement the school districts academic honesty policy of all stakeholders. Administrators, along with each stakeholder, will develop a

committee to help in ensuring that all violations of the schools academic honesty policy will be followed and that consequences will be developed and adhered to by all stakeholders. The committee will allow for any student to appeal any decision made by the committee to the Polk School Districts Board of Education. The board will make the final decision on the matter.

PSDNET Rules and Regulations PSDNET is to be used in a responsible, efficient, ethical, and legal manner where educational objectives and student behavior guidelines are consistent with Polk School District. Unacceptable use includes:

Violating copyright laws Reposting personal communications without the authors prior consent Using threatening or obscene material Utilizing PSDNET for commercial purposes

The use of PSDNET is a privilege, not a right. Inappropriate use will result in limitation or cancellation of user privileges. Vandalism is an attempt to harm or destroy equipment and/or data of anyone connected to the Internet, and it also includes uploading, creating, or transmitting computer viruses. Vandalism will result in cancellation of the users privileges. Any illegal activities may be reported to the appropriate authorities.

Definitions Academic Honesty means performing all academic work without plagiarism, cheating, lying, tampering, stealing, receiving unauthorized or illegitimate assistance from any other person, or using any source of information that is not common knowledge. Academic dishonesty means knowingly performing, attempting to perform, or assisting any other person in performing any academic work that does not meet the standard of academic honesty. Assistance by another, when authorized by a teacher, will not be considered academically dishonest, nor will the information that is fairly attributed to the source. Examples of Academic Dishonesty Plagiarism means submitting for academic advancement the words, ideas, opinions or theories of another that are not common knowledge, without fair attribution to that other person. A direct

quotation of all or part of another persons words are considered unfairly attributed if they are not identified by appropriate marks or specifically noted within the body of the work. Unauthorized assistance means giving or receiving assistance in connection with any examination or other academic work that has not been authorized by a teacher. Any assistance during academic activities is unauthorized without specific authorization by the teacher.

Consequences for Academic Dishonesty: 1st Offense-Student will be given an opportunity to redo work after attending an after school session to relearn the correct and legal format for their work. The student will receive a late grade for resubmitted work and parents and administration will be notified of the infraction. 2nd Offense-Student will receive an F for the assignment and a referral to In School Suspension (ISS) for three days. 3rd Offense-Student will receive an F for the assignment and be referred for Out of School Suspension (OSS) with the number of days being assigned at the administrations discretion. A student shall be removed from any leadership role in the school and will not be permitted to participate in any academic award ceremonies.