Academic Integrity Policy

Rationale

At HCOS, we believe students are reflective and adaptable thinkers who act with honesty, integrity, and transparency, walking in the wholeness that comes from an authentic relationship with Jesus Christ. Our expectation is that students will submit work that genuinely demonstrates their learning.

Academic integrity is the quality of being honest, truthful and responsible in a school setting. It includes submitting work that reflects the original thoughts of the student along with the proper citing of sources when used to enhance a student’s work.

Academic integrity includes, but is not limited to:

Honest and ethical use and citation of all print, digital, and other resources
Honest and ethical use of artificial intelligence (AI) and other technology
Honest and ethical interaction and reception of support from teachers, guardians, EAs, tutors, or other students

As the internet and technology advance, we know that resources and tools are readily available to provide shortcuts on that journey. Our goal with this policy is to provide guardians and students guidelines for how teachers will address the use of these tools and ensure students are developing the skills necessary to succeed. It is our intention to walk together through a restorative process with students and guardians, ensuring that students are able to explain their choices and participate in determining the next steps.

Guiding Principles

These principles will be applied across all academic areas:

By submitting an assignment, students are attesting that they have completed the assigned work in accordance with this academic integrity policy.
Students may not submit work that anyone or anything else has created and call it their own without proper use of quotation marks and citations.
All sources should be cited according to the instructions given in the course that the student is completing. For example, more complex citation requirements will be present in a Grad level course than a Grade 5 course.
Teachers, guardians, EAs, and tutors may provide support for a student in various ways according to the student’s needs, but the level of support provided should be indicated on the assignment itself so that the teacher can accurately assess the student’s understanding and achievement.

Definitions

“plagiarism” - to steal and pass off (the ideas or words of another) as one's own; to use (another's production) without crediting the source Merriam-Webster Dictionary (2022)
“artificial intelligence” - computer systems that utilize techniques like machine learning, neural networks, and transformers to perform tasks such as problem-solving, decision-making, pattern recognition, and generate content such as language and images

Plagiarism

Credit, in the form of a citation, must be given for any content in an assignment that is not original. It is important for students to develop healthy habits of academic integrity when researching, creating, and sharing their work. As we study and learn in an increasingly digital world, it is important to give credit for both written and visual sources (e.g., images). See more on plagiarism here and please refer to this page for more information on citing digital images.

Artificial Intelligence

The introduction of large language models and generative artificial intelligence (AI), like ChatGPT, have created a unique opportunity and challenge for schools and students. As the technology grows, we anticipate increased and diverse uses of artificial intelligence to emerge. As a school with a mission to provide innovative educational opportunities, we want to ensure that students develop healthy habits around the use of AI, enhancing their critical thinking and research skills, not replacing them. To that end:

Teachers have the discretion to restrict the use of AI content generators for particular units, assignments, activities or for an entire course.
Students will be informed of the general policies toward AI content generators in the course or assignment they are completing.
In the event that a teacher requires or allows the use of AI content generators in a particular course, unit, assignment, or activity, the student must cite the content generator as a source and clearly indicate the extent to which AI was used. Students should be prepared to share the prompts and, if possible, a link to view the conversation that was used to generate the content.
Teachers may use AI detectors if they believe a student has submitted work that does not reflect their usual style, voice, or level of work.
Any use of AI content generators that is outside of the parameters allowed by the teacher or which does not properly cite its use will be considered a breach of academic integrity.

Academic Integrity Process

Where a teacher suspects that a student has submitted work that does not represent an accurate representation of the student’s usual level of understanding or output, they will:

Engage the student directly in conversation, with the intent to hear from the student how they created the submitted work, their sources, why citations are missing, etc.
Engage with the guardian(s) and student if they do not believe the student is being honest about the process.
Include school leadership if they believe there continues to be an issue.

Throughout the process, our priority is the growth and development of the student. Where there is evidence of plagiarism or inappropriate use of artificial intelligence, we want to understand and work with the student to arrive at a solution that supports their educational journey, while ensuring academic integrity remains at the forefront. After discussion with all parties, the following levels will be used to determine an appropriate response.

Plagiarism Level	Description	Action
Level 1	Most of the student's work is original but there may be phrases and/or a few lines that have not been cited correctly. This is considered unintentional plagiarism. The student may have copied someone else’s work without understanding how to properly cite their sources or knowing they need to properly cite their sources.	Teachers will approach students and have conversations around citing sources and academic integrity.
Level 2	Significant portions of the assignment are not the student's own work. Someone else's ideas or content generated by AI have been used in multiple paragraphs without proper acknowledgement. This includes repeated paraphrasing of someone else's work.	Teachers will approach students and have conversations around citing sources and academic integrity. Discussions about how to proceed with the assignment will ensue. This may be the opportunity to redo in parts or in entirety, a new assignment, a penalty on the current assignment or a proctored solution with teacher supervision.
Level 3	This is the second time the student has plagiarized at Level 2.	Teachers will approach students and/or guardians to convey the concerns in behavior and have conversations around citing sources and academic integrity. Teachers will inform school leadership of a Level 3 infraction. Discussions about how to proceed with the assignment and future assignments will ensue. This may be the opportunity to redo in parts or in entirety, a new assignment, a penalty on the current assignment or a proctored solution with teacher supervision.
Level 4	The student refuses to comply with the corrective measures outlined by their teacher.	Repeated Level 3 infractions will result in the failure of the course. Re-enrollment options in future years or courses may be removed. This is determined at the discretion of leadership.

In all cases, teachers are required to document student behavior so that other course teachers are aware of the discussions occurring. Teachers regularly communicate with one another and are knowledgeable about issues in other courses. Infractions to the Academic Integrity Policy are cumulative across all of a student’s courses.