Issue
Understanding academic integrity is an important part of any course and Pamoja upholds rigorous standards where this is concerned. Students need to understand the potential ramifications of any incident of academic misconduct.
Rationale
We align with the IB’s educational goal “to award reliable, fair and recognized outcomes to our students through valid assessments...Results cannot be fair if some students have had an unreasonable advantage over others.” (Academic Integrity, IB, 2019).
All Pamoja students complete basic training on academic integrity during their student orientation and are required to sign a statement of understanding in the first week of the course.
Teachers play a key role in the misconduct procedure and provide guidance relating to subject-specific expectations.
IB students should understand:
- their responsibility for producing authentic and genuine individual or group work
- how to correctly attribute sources, acknowledging the work and ideas of others
- the responsible use of information technology, artificial intelligence and social media
- how to observe and adhere to ethical and honest practice during examinations.
In line with the IB Learner profile, principled students act with integrity and honesty, with a strong sense of fairness and justice, and with respect for the dignity and rights of people everywhere. Students take responsibility for their actions and the consequences.
All students should read the Academic Integrity Procedure document attached to this article.
Action
Early Academic Misconduct
We recognise that students come to the online school with different backgrounds and experiences of referencing work and, consequently, the teacher may show some discretion in the way they deal with individual cases in the early part of Year 1. For example, failure to include appropriate references or incorrect use of language translators may not result in a formal case of academic misconduct. However, the teacher will discuss the issue with the student so that they do not repeat their mistake.
Students will receive No Grade in their grade book, be given the opportunity to complete their assignment again and receive feedback on that submission. The content of this submission will still be considered towards the student’s overall academic progress and term grade.
Formal Documentation of Academic Misconduct
In cases of suspected academic misconduct, a formal Academic Integrity Report will be filed and shared with Pamoja School Services Team and the school’s Site Based Coordinator (SBC).
Where academic misconduct is found, the following sanctions apply:
First Instance:
Any work produced through misconduct will receive a zero in the Teacher’s Gradebook. The teacher will provide notification in an Academic Integrity report of the violation to the School Services team at PJE. The student will be expected to meet with their SBC. The SBC will enforce their school Academic Integrity regulations.
Summary statements from the student, SBC and PJE Academic Team will be recorded within the report. This report will be kept on the student’s file until graduation. The student will work with their teacher and SBC to resubmit the work under controlled conditions. Feedback will be provided but no grade will be issued.
Second Instance:
Any work produced through misconduct will be penalized and will receive a mark of zero in the Teacher’s Gradebook for the work as a whole. The teacher will provide notification in an Academic Integrity report form of the violation to the Academic team at PJE.
The student will be expected to meet with the IB Diploma Coordinator or Principal of their school and be subject to the appropriate school Academic Integrity policy for a second instance.
Summary statements from the student, SBC and PJE Academic Team will be recorded within the report. This report will be kept on the student’s file until graduation. The student will work with their teacher and SBC to resubmit the work under controlled conditions. Feedback will be provided but no grade will be issued.
Any PJE course teacher writing references for colleges or universities, to which the student is applying, will note the misconduct in their reference.
Third Instance:
Any work produced through misconduct will be penalized and will receive a mark of zero in the Teacher’s Gradebook for the work as a whole. The teacher will provide notification in an Academic Integrity report form of the violation to the Academic team at PJE.
The student will be expected to meet with the IB Diploma Coordinator or Principal of their school and be subject to the appropriate school Academic Integrity policy for a third instance.
The Pamoja Academic Team will request a meeting with the SBC and other suitable administrators to discuss the student’s academic process and suitability to continue their Pamoja course.
The result of which could be withdrawal from the online course with the associated consequences. A record of the incident and conditions of withdrawal will be kept on file.