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ACADEMIC
HONESTY POLICY

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LAST UPDATED SEPTEMBER 2019
 Table of Contents

NO CONTENT PAGE

1 Rationale and Philosophy 2

2 What constitutes academic dishonesty? 2-3

3 What constitutes school responsibility 3

4 What constitutes teacher responsibility 4

5 What constitutes student responsibility 5

6 What constitutes parent responsibility 5

7 Procedures of Reporting, Recording & Monitoring 5

8 What are the consequences for breach of policy? 7

9 Bibliography 9

10 Version History and Notes 9

11 Declaration 10

12 Appendices 11

1
Rationale and Philosophy

The Academic Honesty Policy at Fairview International School (FIS), in effect from February
2009, stems from one of the principal themes of education at the school, which is integrity,
responsibility for one’s actions and accountability for one’s own learning. The other main
objective of the academic programme at FIS is to maintain the expectations of high standards
of performance from the students, but not without realising that in attaining these goals,
students must not lose sight of the fact that their actions and behaviour have an impact on
their own lives, the lives of others and of the entire school community. As an IB student, being
principled with the capacity in making wise decisions to learn and perform with honesty and
integrity and a strong sense of justice are a requirement for the students and a goal of
learning at the school.
The faculty work to create such an intellectual climate at the school which sanctions and
procedures that are consequences for academic dishonesty, become superfluous. This is
perfectly in sync with the IB philosophy of facilitating students to internalise intellectual
honesty as a foundation for properly meeting the challenges of college study and in one’s
life. Actions that are contrary to this IB standard are considered academic malpractice even
if in varying degrees, and they will all elicit some actions. Beginning at the Primary Years
levels through the Middle Years levels to the Diploma Programme, academic dishonesty is
strongly discouraged with training to maintain academic integrity consistently. This is
reinforced and practised at all three levels of academic programmes in the school.

What constitutes academic dishonesty?

Academic dishonesty or malpractice is used in the FIS context as a blanket term to allude to
all student actions that result in or may result in gaining an unfair advantage academically
over the others in the same or different instructional group. This practise is carefully
elaborated for the Middle Years and Diploma Programme, as follows:

Academic Misconduct in the Middle Year Programme

Plagiarism
Plagiarism is defined as the representation, intentionally or unintentionally, of the ideas,
words or work of another person without proper, clear and explicit acknowledgment

Collusion
Collusion is defined as supporting academic misconduct by another student, for example
allowing one’s work to be copied or submitted for assessment by another. Where
collaboration between candidates is permitted, the difference between collaboration and
collusion must be made clear. In a collaborative or group work situation, candidates must
present work in their own words and acknowledge the work of others.

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Other forms of academic misconduct
Academic misconduct most commonly involves collusion or plagiarism. However, there are
other ways in which a candidate may be in breach of regulations. These may include: ●
fabricating data for an assignment
● duplicating work to meet the requirements of more than one assessment component
● taking unauthorized material into an examination room
● disrupting an examination, for example, by distracting another candidate or creating a
disturbance
● exchanging, supporting or attempting to support the passing on of information that is,
or could be, related to the examination
● failing to comply with the instructions of the invigilator or other member of the school’s
 staff responsible for the conduct of the examination
● impersonation of another candidate
● disclosing or discussing the content of an examination paper with a person outside the
immediate school community within 24 hours after the examination.

Academic Misconduct in the Diploma Programme

Academic misconduct is a behaviour that results in, or may result in, the student or any other
student gaining an unfair advantage (or a behaviour that disadvantages other students) in
one or more assessment components. Academic misconduct includes the following:
● Plagiarism is defined as the representation, intentionally or unwittingly, of the ideas,
words or work of another person without proper, clear and explicit acknowledgment.
The use of translated materials, unless indicated and acknowledged, is also
considered plagiarism.
● Collusion is defined as supporting academic misconduct by another student, for
example allowing one’s work to be copied or submitted for assessment by another. ●
Misconduct during an IB examination includes taking unauthorized material into an
examination room, disruptive behaviour and communicating with others during the
examination.
● Communication about the content of an examination 24 hours before or after the
examination with others outside their school community is also considered a breach
to IB regulations.
● Duplication of work is defined as the presentation of the same work for different
assessment components and/or Diploma Programme requirements.

What constitutes school responsibility?

In assuring the implementation and common understanding of the expectation, the school is
responsible in providing professional development for teachers, This is either done in a whole
school setting during preparation week or during programme-specific professional
development.
The school maintains fairness and consistency when approaching any potential malpractice
or misconduct. This is done through providing a safe environment for students to make
mistakes and learn from them. School is also responsible in promoting awareness to parents,
especially in the younger years. Ultimately, creating a framework that embed academic
honesty throughout student learning experience.

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What constitutes teacher responsibility?

FIS teachers are expected to encourage good practice among students. There is constant
and consistent awareness to situations of dishonesty and immediate intervention in the form
of counselling, support for difficulties faced by the student, lessons in approaches to learning
skills that will preempt and prevent further malpractice and if necessary, sanctions on the
student (s) in question.

All teachers should:

 ● Explain and model integrity and practise academic honesty (Refer Appendix 1: PYP
Academic Honesty Guidance)
● Provide advice to students when necessary so that students have a clear idea of what
constitutes academic honesty in the various subjects
● Ensure that the words, ideas, works from sources are acknowledged appropriately;
adopt a school style that is standardised and bring staff, students and parents on
board with knowing it and using it uniformly, naturally.
● Be vigilant to spot inexplicable changes in the style and quality of student work ●
Distinguish between collaboration and collusion to prevent allegations of collusion
against students
● Be familiar with the IB publication “Academic honesty: in an IB educational context”
● Cooperate in the investigation of suspected cases of malpractice
● Use of the Approaches to Learning (self-management skills, social skills,
communication skills, thinking skills and research skills) across the curriculum to
further develop the tools necessary to maintain academic honesty.

PYP-Specific Responsibilities
● Create essential agreement with students with regards to academic honesty ● Create
essential agreement related to the responsible use of information technology and media
resources
● Emphasize, monitor and implement academic honesty and integrity during the PYP
exhibition

MYP-DP Specific Responsibilities

● Question students on written work, especially the personal project/extended essay, in
order to determine whether the work is really that of the student
● Use a search engine, such as turnitin.com, whenever possible to detect plagiarised
work
● Authenticate student work whenever required - the IB expects “each teacher to confirm
that, to the best of his or her knowledge, all candidates’ work accepted or submitted
for assessment is the authentic work of each candidate”
● Write a statement for any report on malpractice to be submitted to the IB. The IBO
provides guidelines on what should be included in this statement.
● Ensure that the students are attended to at all times during examination ● Not
disclose/discuss the contents of an examination paper within 24 hours after the
examination has been conducted
● Not permit a candidate additional time in completing an assessment unless formal

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authorisation has been granted
● Not start an examination before the scheduled time
● Not provide undue assistance to a candidate in components that contribute to the
assessment requirements of the IB programmes. Guidelines on this are often
provided in the various subject guides and teacher support material published by the
IB.

What constitutes student responsibility?

Ultimately, it is the student’s responsibility to ensure the integrity of all work and to
understand what constitutes an offence against academic honesty. Students are strongly
advised to abide by the following guidelines:

● Acknowledge all sources (books, journals, internet sites, CDs, magazines,

photographs, etc.) using the universally accepted, school endorsed standard citing
and referencing style when writing assignments (in this case, the MLA format, refer
to Effective Citing and Referencing)
● Use footnotes and endnotes to acknowledge the source of an idea that emerged from
a discussion with another person
● Paraphrased ideas of another person should also be acknowledged ● Review all work
before submission to check that all sources have been acknowledged ● As far as
possible, work independently with the support of the subject teacher ● When
collaboration with other students is required or encouraged by teachers, ensure that the
final work is produced independently
● Do not attempt to submit a similar piece of work for different assessment components
of your IB programme (internal assessment and extended essay, for instance) ● Listen to
and follow all instructions given before an examination
● Students are required to sign the authentication form for MYP (Appendix 3) and
candidate consent form for DP (Appendix 3) for the submission of final assessment.

Everyone within the school community has a role to play and a responsibility to shoulder in
creating a positive and favourable intellectual climate of clean learning for the joys of learning
through explanation, discussion, debate and collaborative agreement and understanding of
this crucial IB standard in practice. All students, staff and parents must be fully aware of the
school’s stance on academic dishonesty and cooperate to uphold the IB learner profile
attribute of being principled, maintain a consistent high level of individual integrity and
school’s credibility at all times.

What constitutes parents responsibility?

● Assist in establishing a school culture that actively encourages academic honesty. ●
Read and discuss the academic honesty policy with their child(ren) and agree to it by
signing the appropriate document/s.
● Have an awareness of academic honesty and malpractice and its ethical
underpinnings so that they can support their child(ren).

Procedures of recording, reporting, and monitoring

Academic malpractice/misconduct is addressed as disciplinary issue which is under the

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responsibility of Deputy Principal with the counselling team in collaboration with the
coordinators and relevant teachers. The school keeps a central record of any disciplinary
misconduct in the students profile. Some incidents may be treated on a case-by-case basis
by the teachers themselves, or escalated to the deputy principal which in turn will decide the
consequences.

Reporting alleged academic misconduct during an examination

 The following information should be included to facilitate the investigation
● A full account of the incident
● A statement from the candidate(s) involved
● A statement from the invigilator(s)
● A seating plan of the examination room

If appropriate, the original of any unauthorized material, such as written notes, should
be included with the report. Note that a candidate will be in breach of regulations if
unauthorized material is taken into an examination room, regardless of whether an
attempt is made to use that material

Although this is a preventive measure rather than a punitive one, FIS does have a code of
academic conduct that will be followed at the first instance of academic dishonesty and
continue to apply and increase in terms of severity of consequences in the event that a
student is repeatedly apprehended for such dishonesty.

Consequences for Plagiarism

● 1st Offense - plagiarized assignment should receive a grade of zero, recognizing that
the student has violated a basic principle of academic discourse.
● 2nd Offense - a failing grade for the class - a notation in the report card.
● 3rd Offense - suspension or expulsion.

Consequences for Fabricating or falsifying research data:

● Requiring the student to redo the assignment for a reduced grade.

● Assigning the student a failing grade for the assignment.
● Assigning the student a failing grade for the class.

Consequences for Cheating in an examination:

● Student receives “N” for the examination in which the offense is committed.
● Student meets with the teacher, parent and assistant principal.
● Warning Letter issued on 1st Offence; subsequent offense will be a suspension or
expulsion at the discretion of the Principal of the school.
● Student is suspended from school activities.

6
Consequences of Academic Dishonesty at the Primary Level

In the PYP, academic dishonesty is treated as a learning opportunity. Instances of verbatim

copying or lack of citation are considered first draft material, and students are taught or
retaught the skills needed to rework the material in their own words and cite quotations. Self-
evaluation and teacher explanations of rubrics provide methods for reflection on a student’s
ability to do academically honest work, and goals will be set by the student or together with
the student and teacher to improve skills and attitudes leading to academic honesty.
Malpractice is considered generally to be the result of a lack of language and or research
skills, and is addressed accordingly. In the event that a student with proficient language skills
wilfully and deliberately continues malpractice, a meeting may be called between the teacher,
parents and student, and ultimately between the Coordinator and parents. Notes of continued
malpractice may be recorded in the student’s file.

Consequences for Academic Dishonesty in general:

1st Offense:
● Immediate counseling to students
● Parent informed and Warning Letter issued on the said offense.
● No grade for work suspected for dishonesty.
● Dealt with entirely within the section or programme.

2nd Offense :
● Student receives no credit on the assignment and will not receive an opportunity to
make up the work for a grade.
● Student meets with teacher, parent and Deputy Principal.
● In-School Suspension for 5 days.

3rd Offense:
● Counseling to student -to arrange to talk privately with the student immediately.
● Parent called and Warning Letter issued on the said offense.
● No grade for work suspected for dishonesty.
● Dealt with entirely within the section or programme.
● It is recommended that the student withdraw from the programme or be expelled.

4th Offense:
● It is recommended that the student withdraw from the programme or be expelled.

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Bibliography & Notes
Academic Honesty in the IB Educational Context (Updated 2016)
International Baccalaureate Organisation; Making the PYP Happen, 2009 International
Baccalaureate Organisation; MYP: From Principles into Practice May 2014. International
Baccalaureate Organisation; Diploma Programme Academic Honesty. February 2009.
International Baccalaureate Organisation; Diploma Programme Assessment: Principles and
Practice. October 2011.
International Baccalaureate Organisation: Academic Honesty: Guidance for Schools. 2009
International Baccalaureate Organisation: Handbook of Procedures for the Middle Years
Programme: Assessment 2017

Version history and notes

Reviewed in February 2009 by Asha Hariharan (MYPC), Michael Chian, Chan (PYPC) and
Marline Fame (DPC)
Updated in October 2011 by Vincent Chian (DPC, FISKL), KAvitha Sakthi (DPC, FISP), Mr
Rama, Mrs Sim (Senior Assistant, FISP), and Prof. Gopinathan (Principal, FISP). Reviewed
in October 2014 – PYP/MYP/DP coordinators and teachers

Reviewed in December 20, 2017 by Ms Anne Hooi, Deputy Principal FISKL

Version history and notes

Review in September 2019 by:

CIA Committee
Ms Andi Elisa (DP Coordinator), Ms Evan Hui See Chin (MYP Coordinator), Ms Jane Buniel
(PYP Coordinator)
EdTech Support, Librarian and Teachers

Review Cycle: December 2021

Declaration
I confirm that I have read, understand and agree to abide by Fairview International School
Academic Honesty Policy.

Student’s name: …………………………………… Programme : …………………………

Signature : …………………………………………. Date : ………………………………….

Appendix 1: PYP Academic Honesty Guidance

For Primary Years 1-4

The academically honest students:
DOES Does NOT

● Acknowledge help from ● Present parent or other persons’

parents, older students and work as his or her own.
friends. ● Copy whole sentences from a book
● Look at and read books and or print material onto his or her
print material to learn new own paper.
information ● Copy classwork from another
● Outline/summarize key student.
understandings from audio-visual
material.
● Communicate new knowledge
in their own words.
● Begin to assimilate knowledge
from several sources into
independent
ideas and understandings.
● Understand copying as cheating. ●
With teacher guidance, begin to use
key words/vocabulary to take notes
from written or visual materials.
● Begin to work collaboratively
in groups to share information
gathering and presentation with
contributions from all group
members.

For Primary Years 5 and 6

The academically honest students:
DOES Does NOT
 ● Acknowledge help from ● Present other persons’ work as his
parents, older students and or her own. (The seriousness of
friends, and plagiarism is explained)
group members ● Copy phrases or sentences from
● Read from several sources, any source into their own work.
including print and digital sources, ● Copy classwork from another
in order to gather information. student without permission (as in
● Take notes in their words, using during group or pair work).
keywords and paraphrasing ● Pass off another student’s work as
skills. his or her own when working in
● Begin to use first person groups.
sources and interviews in ● Copy another student’s homework
information or allow another student to copy
gathering. his/her homework without
● Summarize understanding from permission.
audio-visual material in their ● Copy from notes or others on tests
own ● Present material that is not true, or
words. fictitious, as fact.
● Write reports and summaries
of information in their own
words.
● Acknowledge sources through
referencing using the easybib app.

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● Is able to assimilate knowledge
from several sources into
independent
ideas and understandings.
● Understand plagiarism as
cheating. ● Understand that
downloading or copying from
electronic sources
without permission is cheating.
● Work collaboratively in groups and
contributes by sharing
information
and presenting understandings.

The Exhibition

As evidence of the culmination of the PYP, exhibition work should reflect the criteria for
academic honesty presented in the Primary years, and criteria stated in the Exhibition
Journal. In addition, exhibition work should show that students are able to independently
work in an academically honest manner.

During the exhibition, an academically honest student:

DOES Does NOT
 ● Acknowledge help from ● Present use mentor sources as
his/her mentor his/her own without citation
● Plan his/her own independent ● Misrepresent or misquote first
inquiry to contribute into the group person sources
research ● Rely extensively on mentors,
● Create a central idea and lines parents or other group members
of inquiry to guide his or her to gather information or create
inquiry presentations. Present material
● Use a variety of information sources that is not true, or fictitious as fact.
(books, articles, journals, ● Visual materials/posters without
magazines, online reliable referencing/citation
websites, blogs, pages) and data ● Copy ideas without giving credit to
collection the person
techniques (interviews, surveys,
excursions, artefacts, working
models)
● Use citations and write references
using the MLA format of referencing ●
Talk to the teachers, other students,
parents and mentors on how to go
through the inquiry
● Sign and acknowledge the Individual
Declaration of Academic Honesty,
Exhibition Contract and Code of
Conduct detailing the
expectations and adherence to
the IB Learner
Profile Attributes
● Work collaboratively with his or
her team to share and contribute
information
● Present understandings in a variety

11
of provoking audio/visual and
creative formats
● Assimilate understanding leading
to an action plan.

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Appendix 2
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Appendix 3
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