Need ideas on how to stop CHEATING & start an effective HONOR CODE!

jlauer95
Mon, 27 Mar 2006 11:51:14 +0000

A mom (thanks) in another thread posted the link that led to this website:

New Trier Township High School District 203 is committed to providing an atmosphere in which the values of truth, integrity, personal accountability, and respect for the rights of others are modeled. To this end, the Board of Education prohibits academic dishonesty. Academic dishonesty occurs when students obtain or assist others in obtaining credit for work which is not their own. More particularized definitions of academic dishonesty and various disciplinary consequences shall be set forth in the New Trier High School “Academic Integrity Procedures” as established by the administration from time to time and ratified by the Board of Education. All students shall be subject to those procedures. The Board directs the Superintendent to notify students, appropriate staff members, and parents/guardians of New Trier students of the District’s policy and procedures on academic integrity. (Reference: Board Policy 7.240)

The New Trier High School professional staff believes strongly in the partnership between school and home. To this

end, the staff will model the values of truth, integrity, personal accountability and respect for the rights of others.

To help students achieve their maximum academic potential, the staff will promote an environment which fosters integrity and honorable conduct. Administrators, faculty, students and parents share the responsibility for maintaining an atmosphere in which personal accountability is valued. The constant theme must be that honest evaluation of student progress demands honest work by each learner. To achieve the goal of academic integrity, expectations must be clearly articulated. The purpose of all academic integrity procedures is to cultivate an academically honest environment. Administrators will be fair and consistent when dealing with academic dishonesty. Students accused of academic dishonesty shall be entitled to a hearing, and parents shall be notified of the charge and the hearing.
Procedures

During the first week of classes, teachers will clearly define honest and dishonest academic work in their classes by discussing expectations and the importance of honest effort. Teachers will inform students of procedures and practices relating to examinations, homework and class work. Teachers will advocate the importance of honesty by employing teaching and testing strategies that reduce the opportunities for dishonest behavior.

Academic dishonesty occurs when students obtain or assist others in obtaining credit for work which is not their own.

Students must conduct themselves according to the highest standards of personal integrity. Students shall follow rules prohibiting dishonest academic behavior and must resist peer pressure to violate New Trier standards. Students will not use dishonest methods to fulfill academic expectations and responsibilities. Whenever students have a question about

this procedure or any procedure they should ask their teachers and/or advisers. Study or homework collaboration is not considered academic dishonesty unless prohibited or limited by procedures/expectations established by the teacher. Teachers shall guide students in understanding when collaborative efforts are not appropriate.

Examples of academic dishonesty may include, but not be limited to, the following:


communicating with another student during an examination or quiz;
copying material during an examination or quiz;
allowing a student to copy from one’s examination or quiz;
using unauthorized notes or devices;
submitting falsified information for grading purposes;
obtaining a copy of and/or information about an examination or quiz without the knowledge and consent of the teacher;
submitting a paper or project which is not the student’s work;
copying another person’s assignments;
allowing another student to copy one’s assignment;
removing examinations or parts of examinations without the knowledge and consent of the teacher;
impersonating a student to assist the student academically;
having another student impersonate the student to assist academically;
stealing or accepting stolen copies of tests or answer keys;
changing answers and seeking credit on an assignment or examination after the work has been graded and returned;
altering a teacher’s grade book;
falsifying information for applications (e.g., college scholarships);
using computers and programmable calculators in violation of guidelines established by the teacher;
using professional help such as an author, expert, or purchased service in violation of guidelines established by the teacher;
unlawfully copying computer software or data created by others;
misusing school computer systems which are used for student, staff or administrative purposes; and
any other violation intended to obtain credit for work which is not one’s own.


Plagiarism is the act of taking and using as one’s own work another’s published or unpublished thoughts, ideas and/or writings. This definition includes computer programs, drawings, artwork and all other types of work, which are not one’s own. Types of plagiarism include word-for-word, mosaic (rearrangement or rewording without documentation) and indirect (paraphrasing of a passage without documentation). Material taken from another source without adequate documentation may include, but not be limited to, the following:


failing to cite with quotation marks the written words or symbols of another author;
failing to footnote the author and sources of materials used in a composition;
failing to cite research materials in a bibliography;
failing to name a person quoted in an oral report;
failing to cite an author whose works are paraphrased or summarized; and
presenting another person’s creative work or ideas as one’s own in essays, poems, music, art, computer programs or other projects;
copying or paraphrasing ideas from literary criticism or study aids without documentation.


The following consequences for academic dishonesty and/or plagiarism are to be implemented by all teachers.


The teacher shall report any incident of academic dishonesty to the student’s adviser, adviser chair and the appropriate department chair. The adviser chair will confer with the Dean of Students.
The teacher shall assign the student no credit for the academic work or examination involved or the equivalent of a zero grade on an activity which is not an assignment, examination or a quiz.


Students who are charged with academic dishonesty and/or plagiarism shall be referred for additional discipline in conformance with the District’s student discipline policy. The following general procedures shall be applied:

First offense

In general, consequences for a first offense may include, but not be limited to, the following:


meeting with the parent(s) followed by written notification to the parent of the academic integrity policy;
suspension for one to three days.


Additional or more serious offenses

Additional or more serious incidents of academic dishonesty or plagiarism shall be dealt with more severely. Consequences for any offense beyond the first or a more serious initial offense shall include:


meeting with the parent(s); and
an increased number of days of suspension.


In addition, one or more of the following consequences may occur:


notification to the student’s post-high school counselor and any faculty members writing a college/university letter of recommendation;
no public recognition of the student at any senior honors function;
no distinguished scholar recognition (if applicable);
no scholarship money granted to the student by the New Trier Scholarship Committee; or
a withdrawn failing grade from the class in which the additional offense occurred and placement in a restricted study hall after withdrawal from the course.


Furthermore, faculty members will have full access to any disciplinary records documenting academic dishonesty for the purpose of writing letters of recommendation.

Recommendation for expulsion

Students who are found guilty by school authorities of one or more of the following offenses may be recommended for expulsion:


theft, sales or distribution of any materials including, but not limited to, examinations and/or quizzes;
breaking into and/or examining a teacher’s personal possessions (e.g., desk, files, cabinet, etc.) to obtain or view evaluation instruments;
changing and/or falsifying a grade in a teacher’s gradebook, on the computer or through other school devices used to record student grades; or
unauthorized possession of a stolen evaluation instrument.


A student who is found guilty of an expellable offense, as noted above, may receive an “X” grade for the course as reported on the permanent record, whether or not the student is expelled from school. The “X” designation shall denote no course credit and shall be the equivalent of a failing grade (“F”) for purposes of calculating the student’s cumulative grade point average.