Pedagogical statements are a proven way for faculty to be proactive, positive, and supportive with academic integrity. The statements are meant to be flexible in terms of how they are implemented, with faculty being able to choose the statement(s) most meaningful in their course context. They should be added to:
Assiniboine's academic integrity policy, Policy A25, aims to reflect a culture of academic integrity and honesty upon which the reputation of the college is formed and its accreditation is maintained. This policy helps guide not only faculty and administration in their decisions involving academic integrity, but students as well.
As a student it is your responsibility to familiarize yourself with Policy A25: Student Honesty and Integrity. The policy describes:
While Policy A25 guides issues of academic integrity at Assiniboine, students are able and encouraged to discuss any questions or concerns with:
Students can also learn more about academic integrity in Assiniboine's Academic Integrity for Students Library Guide.
Assiniboine Community College expects all academic work submitted by students to be authentic and wholly the product of an identified individual or instructor-approved group of individuals (Policy A25: Student Honesty and Integrity). If you are unsure about the assignment requirements for individual and group work, consult with your instructor.
In this course, you will work collaboratively with your peers on [identify which assignments or activities]. According to Assiniboine's Policy A25, in general, collaboration means working together when allowed, supposed, or directed to do so. [Insert example from your course – e.g. group members completing projects together that are assigned by their instructors or students forming study groups to prepare for tests or exams]. This is not an infringement of Policy A25 because submitting work completed as group is permitted [or required] for this assignment.
In this course, the following assignments must be completed independently: [list assignments that do not allow collaborative work]. Working together for this assignment is collusion. Collusion refers to students working with other students when not directed or allowed to do so by their instructor, in order to complete an assessment in whole or in part. Examples of collusion include, but are not limited to:
Students are required to submit a signed copy of the Academic Integrity and Citing Checklist with [each assignment or identify which ones]. This checklist guides students through verifying their adherence to academic integrity in an assignment. Students can learn more about the checklist and how to demonstrate integrity in Assiniboine's Academic Integrity for Students Library Guide.
Assiniboine's Policy A25 includes the following in its definition of cheating: “Contract cheating is a deliberate act of academic misconduct in which students outsource their work to third parties (Lancaster & Clarke, 2016). These third parties can be commercial contract cheating sources such as paper mills and websites, or non-commercial sources such as classmates, friends, or family members of students. Examples of contract cheating include, but are not limited to:
Contract cheating sites are businesses whose concern is profit, despite marketing themselves to students as “study guides” and “homework help.” They're not concerned about students:
Students using these sites risk:
Becoming involved with contract cheating sites is a risk which students don't need to take. Assiniboine offers many academic supports to students. Learning more by visiting Assiniboine's Academic Integrity for Students Library Guide.
In Assiniboine's Policy A25, plagiarism is defined as "using another's words, ideas, theories or images without crediting the source" (Assiniboine Community College, 2023). Sources are credited through the citations and references of American Psychological Association [APA] style [unless otherwise stated by your program, in which case specific which style]. You can learn more about citing in APA style by visiting Assiniboine's Citing Help Library Guide.
[Instructor include specific instructions regarding expectations for images, formulas, coding, and other non-textual information].
In all cases, talk to your instructor regarding their expectations about citing and plagiarism.
References
Assiniboine Community College. (2023). Policy A25. https://assiniboine.net/sites/default/files/documents/2019-08/a25.pdf