Academic Honesty

Academic integrity is of the utmost importance at Deerfield Academy and must be one of the guiding principles in the life of every student. At the core of academic integrity is a bond of trust between teacher and student. By affixing your name to a piece of work, you are pledging that, unless properly cited, the work is entirely your own.

Academic dishonesty in all its various forms is a broad and complex set of issues, and no policy on academic integrity can list and describe every possible transgression. The Academy expects that each student will work to understand the complexity and to adhere to the highest standard of honesty. If there is doubt about the guidelines for academic integrity, you should discuss your questions with a teacher.

Plagiarism

Plagiarism (Latin: plagiarius, kidnapper of a child) is the use of another person’s ideas or work without proper acknowledgment. If ever you are in doubt, document your source. If you need information about documentation, consult the MLA Handbook, Warriner’s English Grammar and Composition or A Manual for Writers by Kate Turabian.

Plagiarism usually occurs in two forms, the first of which may consist of the following:

• Copying or gaining any other advantage from another’s test during a test or examination situation
• Exact copying of an author’s text without the use of quotation marks
• Using an author’s passages with occasional omissions or changes in wording without proper acknowledgment
• Rearranging the words or sentences of one or more authors
• Using an author’s argument or points from an argument and representing them as one’s own
• The source of the plagiarized material may, for instance, be another student’s paper, an encyclopedia, a scholarly text, or an Internet site; the source does not change the degree or seriousness of the plagiarism.

The second form of plagiarism occurs when students receive unacknowledged help in preparing an assignment. Such outside help includes proofreading, editing and assistance from, but not limited to, parents, proctors, tutors, or classmates. While students are encouraged to discuss assignments with faculty and other students, the writing should be a student’s own. Again, if you are in doubt, acknowledge any help you receive.

A student will receive a failing grade for any assignment in which plagiarism occurs. In order to ensure adherence to this policy and to resolve questions of authorship, the Academy reserves the right to electronically screen papers and other submitted work for authenticity.

Library Use

In fairness to other users and in respect to the institution, library materials must be recognized as common and vital property of an academic community. Hence, all rules concerning the checking out of circulating materials and limitations on journals, magazines, newspapers, and reference materials must be observed. Any action that unfairly limits access to library resources or any willful defacement or destruction of library materials will be considered a serious breach of academic integrity.

Resubmission of Work

When a student submits work to a teacher in a course, the teacher expects that the work has been completed and submitted for credit only in that course. If a student attempts to submit the same work or substantially the same work in two different courses, this dual submission violates the teacher’s trust. Using the same assignment for credit twice is a shortcut that gives an unfair advantage to that student. Just as a writer cannot submit the same piece for publication in two separate magazines, a student cannot receive twice the credit for a single assignment. A student is credited for completing a course only when he or she has met in good faith all the requirements of and for that course specifically.

In cases, however, where overlap between assignments in two different courses might lead the student to perform fruitful, interdisciplinary work, the student may submit the same assignment for credit provided that the student obtain advance approval from both teachers. In this situation, the teachers might reasonably attach additional expectations considering the assignment is fulfilling requirements for two courses. Likewise, when assignments in two courses seem redundant, both instructors might agree in advance to accept the same work for credit, but again, the teachers may decide to increase expectations on the length and scope of the assignment.

Misuse of Computers

Misuse of computers, the school’s network, or other information resources including, but not limited to, inappropriate use of MySpace or Facebook, in addition to possibly violating other school rules such as harassment or vandalism, can constitute a serious breach of academic integrity. Examples of misuse of technology, which may constitute academic dishonesty, include but are not restricted to the following:

• Gaining unauthorized access to any computer or computer system
• Tampering with any files or data stored on an individual computer or on the network, especially when this impedes the academic work of others
• Vandalism of computer hardware including theft, damage or disfigurement, and manipulation of computer software, especially when this impedes the academic work of others