Academic Integrity & Plagiarism Prevention

Beginning with the Library Media Center’ collaborative ninth grade Library Information Skills and English curriculum, students at The John Carroll School are taught to give credit to others for use of their ideas, words, images, music or other intellectual property. Students are explicitly taught correct citation and documentation procedures, and are encouraged to think critically about their use of information. It is the student’s responsibility as outlined below in The John Carroll School Code of Conduct, Standards of Integrity, Computer/Internet Acceptable Use Policy, and the Honor Code, to approach their academic work honestly and with integrity.

When in doubt, students are encouraged to seek assistance, from the Library Media staff or the assigning teacher, for documenting the sources of information used to complete academic assignments. Students may also refer to the MLA style link on the Library Media homepage for specific examples.

Turnitin.com

The John Carroll School subscribes to Turnitin.com to assist in the prevention of plagiarism. Students gain access to Turnitin.com by using a unique class identification number provided by each teacher choosing to use the service. The service requires every user to have a valid Internet e-mail address to create an account. A student may be enrolled in several classes but should only maintain one account associated with one e-mail address. Students may contact their individual teacher(s) or the Library Media Center for assistance with Turnitin.com.

John Carroll School Code of Conduct

The Code of Conduct, as outlined in this section of the student handbook, applies to any student:

Who is on school property;
Who is in attendance at John Carroll School;
Who is at any school-sponsored activity;
Who is on a school bus; or
Whose conduct at any other time or place has an effect on maintaining school order and discipline, protecting the safety and welfare of others, or damaging the reputation of our school.

Citizenship Goals

Good discipline, administered objectively, is not an end in itself but ultimately serves to:

Develop character, responsibility, and positive citizenship;
Create and maintain an academic atmosphere conducive to learning;
Protect the welfare and reputation of the individual as well as the school community as a whole;
Engender, within every member of the John Carroll community, a sense of responsibility and acknowledge that what he/she does effects the entire community.

Standards of Integrity for John Carroll School

The mission of John Carroll School is “to graduate persons of integrity whose lives are based on religious and moral principles.” The purpose of this statement of standards of integrity is to preserve and promote the ideals of honesty, trust, and personal integrity. Academic honesty is the cornerstone of the school, and insures that a John Carroll diploma represents true learning and accomplishment.

Students are expected to conduct themselves with honesty and integrity. Integrity is a sense of personal wholeness derived from moral soundness and upright character. Every student is bound to refrain from lying, cheating, stealing, and plagiarism.

Lying is the making of false statements, the denial of fact, or the intentional creation of false impression with the intent to deceive.
Cheating is giving, receiving, or attempting to give or receive unauthorized help that could result in an unfair advantage in completing schoolwork.
Stealing is taking, obtaining, or withholding anything without the consent of the owner.
Plagiarism is the representation of words or ideas of another as one's own in any academic work. To avoid plagiarism, every direct quote must be identified by quotation marks or by appropriate indentation, and must be properly cited in the text or in a footnote. Acknowledgement is also required when material, stored in print, electronic or other medium, is paraphrased or summarized. Students with questions about what constitutes plagiarism should seek advice from their teacher.

Students attempting to determine whether or not an action is honorable, should ask these questions:

Does this action attempt to deceive anyone or allow anyone to be deceived?
Does this action create or result in an unfair advantage?
Will others be harmed by the result of this action?

Behavior that is unacceptable includes, but is not limited to:

copying another student's homework
working with others on projects that are meant to be done individually
looking at or copying another student's test or quiz answers
allowing another student to look at or copy answers from a test or quiz
stealing a test or quiz to use or give to others in order to gain advantage
copying passages or whole papers from other students, publications or the Internet.
allowing work to be used by other students, or aiding others in academic dishonesty.
using unauthorized programs or information on calculators, cell phones or lap top computers or other electronic devices.
giving incomplete information to a teacher.
providing false reasons for not having work in on time or faking sickness to gain extra preparation time for tests or assignments.

Violation of these standards will be disciplined on a case-by-case basis depending on the seriousness of the violation, prior violations, and other factors. Disciplinary measures include, but are not limited to, receiving a failing grade, detentions, demerits, suspension, or dismissal.

Computer/Internet Acceptable Use Policy

Telecommunications have opened the classroom to the world and its resources. The use of telecommunications, electronic information resources, and networking services promotes education through sharing, innovation, and communication. John Carroll School provides Internet access to students for the purpose of research and communication. The privilege, not the right, to use John Carroll School Internet access comes with responsibilities. Any attempt to circumvent security measures, bypass restrictive devices, damage computers, computer systems or the network is a disciplinary matter, even if there was no malicious intent. When using telecommunications, electronic information sources, and networking services, including the Internet, students represent John Carroll School and must conduct themselves accordingly. Electronic plagiarism is usually a three (3) demerit offense. Students may not:

Send or display messages or pictures that are deemed unsuitable by The John Carroll School
Type or send obscene language
Harass, insult, threaten, or attack others through the use of e-mail
Violate copyright laws
Use another individual's password or right to a directory, trespass on another’s work, files, folders or use stolen or “pirated” software
Alter the header of a mail message to conceal the true identity of the sender
Use software at local machine level not previously approved by a faculty member
Add other equipment/software to a computer without the expressed permission of a teacher
Participate in games or chat groups without the expressed permission of a teacher

Electronic Transmissions

Off campus use of instant messaging, emails, websites, weblogs and other electronic transmissions that harass individuals or have an otherwise negative effect on maintaining school order and discipline, protecting the safety and welfare of others, or damaging the reputation of our school community will result in disciplinary action.

Honor Code

In order to promote The John Carroll School standards of integrity, students will be asked to sign The John Carroll School Honor Code. Signing the Honor Code represents a personal commitment to abide by this code of conduct.

The John Carroll School Honor Code

“I commit to uphold and promote, by my actions and words, the values of honesty and respect for others in our John Carroll community. I will not lie, cheat, or steal, and I will work to discourage the behavior of those who do.”

In order to promote academic integrity, students will be asked by teachers to sign an Honor Pledge for specific academic work. The Pledge will be a frequent reminder of the importance of honest academic effort. Signing the Honor Pledge means that a student has not cheated or plagiarized on the specified assignment or test.

Honor Pledge for Specific Academic Work

“On my honor, I have neither given nor received unauthorized aid on this graded academic work.”

The John Carroll School