Plagiarism Policy

When ideas are taken from other sources without giving credit, this is known as plagiarism. Plagiarism is the unacknowledged use of somebody else’s words or ideas.

We expect our students to act with academic integrity, and to use their own knowledge to demonstrate authentic learning. We expect our students to be honest and ethical in their schoolwork and in how they deal with others. Our teachers support students' authentic and ethical learning through teaching when and how to cite resources, and when and how to use online tools like plagiarism and artificial intelligence detectors.

When To Give Credit in Your Work

Need To Give Credit​

  • When you are using or referring to somebody else's words or ideas from a magazine, book, newspaper, song, TV program, movie, web page, computer program, letter, advertisement, or any other source, including AI generated material.
  • ​When you use information gained through interviewing another person.
  • When you copy the exact words from any source.
  • When you reprint any diagrams, illustrations, charts, and pictures.

Don't Need to Give Credit 

  • ​When you are writing your own experiences, your own observations, your own insights, your own thoughts, your own conclusions about a subject.
  • When you are using common knowledge, common sense observations, or shared information.
  • When you are using generally accepted facts.
  • When you are writing up your own experimental results.

Academic Expectations

Students are expected to behave according to the CBE Student Code of Conduct. Students who knowingly misrepresent the work of others as their own, or allow their work to be copied, act outside of the parameters of academic integrity. If this happens, we use Progressive Student Discipline so that teachers, parents, and school leaders can help students take responsibility for their learning to achieve their academic goals. ​

Academic Integrity

Students are obligated to act in ways consistent with the principles of academic integrity. 

In academic endeavours, it is expected that students will act in ways consistent with the principles of academic integrity and not take credit for the works and / or ideas generated by others, including artificial intelligence. Students who knowingly misrepresent the work of others as their own will be deemed to have committed a theft of intellectual property. Similarity students who allow their work to be copied are also guilty of misrepresenting the work of others. Sir Winston Churchill has acquired plagiarism and AI text detectors, which help students and teachers chart the authenticity of written works.

Students who are found to misrepresent the work of others will be subject to disciplinary action. The consequences for such behaviour range from a withdrawal of credit for the work presented to suspension from school.

“To pass off contributions and ideas of another as one’s own work is to deprive oneself of the opportunity and challenge to learn.” (p. 71, University of Calgary Calendar) 

In test and quiz situations, the following are examples of intellectual dishonesty:

  • copying and submitting answers from someone else’s paper
  • memorizing any part of someone else’s essay and/or an AI generated response and reproducing it during a test
  • using notes or other materials when they are not permitted
  • using notes, quotes or information from programmable electronic devices when not allowed to do so.
  • allowing another person to copy your work or answers
  • failing to protect your work from being copied (ie. leaving your multiple choice answer sheet on the side of your desk within easy sight of others)
  • altering the mark or answers on assignments, tests, or quizzes marked in class

Class Assignments: plagiarism may involve  

  • the submission of another student’s work as one’s own
  • the submission of work created in part or completely by an outside resource (such as a tutor, or an AI generator) as one’s own
  • the submission of quoted information or other materials from books, electronic resources, the Internet, etc.,  as one’s own without crediting the sources through proper annotation or footnoting
  • allowing another person to copy, in part or in whole, your work and submit it as his/her own

Consequences

Depending on the severity of the violation, the offending student may suffer any or all of these consequences for engaging in Intellectual Dishonesty at the teacher's and/or administrator's discretion:

  • documentation of the failure to exhibit academic integrity
  • a grade of zero for the work in question
  • replacement of evaluation with an alternate of the teacher's preference
  • referral to the administrator
  • loss of computer access, withdrawal from a course, or suspension from school
  • expulsion from the school and permanent student record