The purpose of this policy is to describe Parami University’s regulations with regard to academic integrity.

Scope

This is an academic policy, affecting all academic staff, administrative staff and students of the University. 

Referenced Laws, Regulations, and/or Policies 

This is the University policy. 

Compliance/Policy Statement 

Academic Integrity's Definition

Parami University aims for collaboration between individual scholars as well as between faculty and students resulting in the exchange of ideas and the creation of new knowledge. This collaboration is based on mutual trust and it depends on the integrity of the members of the academic community at the University. Integrity is about being loyal to principles that lead to making choices that reflect integrity and responsible behavior. Principles to guide academically responsible behaviors are built around honesty, trust, fairness, respect, and responsibility. Examples of breaching these principles are cheating, plagiarizing, fabricating results, claiming other people’s work or words as one’s own.

Academic integrity is important for everyone who is a part of the community involved with research, education, and scholarship. The principles of academic integrity apply to everyone whether their role in academia is that of a student, research assistant, or professor. Upholding the principles of academic integrity is a way of protecting the integrity of the University and the academic community as a whole. However, it is also about one’s own learning and development process as a student or a professional academic.

The abilities to analyze evidence, practice critical judgement, and write clearly and persuasively are skills that lead to better academic performance. These skills will serve as a foundation for any career, whether in academia or beyond. In that sense, the principles that guide academically responsible behaviors are principles that guide responsible conduct in any field or area of life. Learning how to live by these principles during one’s years at university can be one of the greatest gifts a university has to offer to its students.

Any breach of academic integrity will result in grade sanctions and disciplinary sanctions.

Plagiarism

Plagiarism is a breach of academic integrity that is strictly forbidden at the University. Plagiarism is any case of presenting someone else’s words, ideas, assertions, data, or figures as one’s own by incorporating it into one’s own work without full acknowledgement. The obligation to acknowledge others’ work applies to published and unpublished text and data. Published text and data usually stems from books and journals, in printed or electronic form. Unpublished text and data can come from lectures, theses, or student essays. Other media such as graphs, illustrations, computer codes et cetera also require acknowledgement.

Plagiarism can happen unintentionally because one is not fully aware of appropriate conventions for referencing. Even though there might not have been a deliberate intention to cheat, it is still plagiarism. One of the principles of academically responsible behaviors is to take the responsibility to find out what the rules for referencing within the discipline are, to take adequate notes, and to actively avoid dishonesty.

Intentional or reckless and unintentional plagiarism all jeopardize the integrity of the University and the community, and it directly undermines the goal of the learning process itself. At the University students are expected to become independent thinkers and leaders with critical thinking skills who developed their own views and found their own voice during their studies at the University. Plagiarism hurts the community just as it damages one’s own learning path or professional development.

Forms of plagiarism

The basic rule is to always acknowledge sources by citing them. Specific examples of not adhering to this rule, intentionally or unintentionally, are:

1. Cloning and Mashup: Copying material verbatim (word for word) without clear acknowledgement. Literal use of words of others must have quotation marks around it and the source must be cited so that it is evident which parts are independent work and where the author has drawn on someone else’s work. Mashup is copying and pasting materials from multiple sources without clear acknowledgement. The difference with cloning is that multiple sources are combined. All sources should be quoted and referenced appropriately.

2. Paraphrasing and Remix: Work of others is used by changing a few words and/or the order of words. While putting things in one’s own words is encouraged, when paraphrasing, the source should be properly cited. Remix is paraphrasing in one’s own word from multiple sources without appropriate referencing. The key is to let the principle of honesty guide the writing: at all times it should be avoided to create the impression the paraphrased words or ideas are one’s own.

3. Inaccurate Citation: All citations must be correct, according to the conventions of the discipline. This applies to in-text references and reference list/bibliography. If sources are not actually consulted, they should not be cited. In principle, primary texts should be studied and cited; however, if a secondary text is consulted, this should become clear and the citation should follow the conventions of the discipline.

4. Self-plagiarism: This is recycling or reusing one's own words from work that has been submitted previously as course assignments or assessments. If the earlier work is published it should be cited as a normal reference. If not published but used previously, the student needs to check specific policies for using past work and seek the professor’s permission.

5. Group Work and Collaboration: In line with the principles of honesty, trust, fairness, respect, and responsibility, responsible academic behavior with group work means to engage in authorized collaboration only, to credit assistance if received, and to follow exact regulations of the group project. Responsibility also refers to the obligation to ensure which part of the group work should be one’s own. Adapting and submitting work from other students as one’s own is plagiarism.

Since currently learning at the University takes place online, students may think that it will be easier to plagiarize and avoid detection. However, the faculty will have education technological tools at their disposal to ensure that academic honesty is honored throughout the University.

Avoiding plagiarism

Avoiding plagiarism does NOT mean one should not use and build on the work of others. On the contrary, intellectual productivity depends on collaboration and the exchange of ideas to create new knowledge. The use and discussion of work of others is expected and needed to accumulate knowledge; however, credit needs to be given to the authors of the work that is cited. With acknowledgement and proper referencing, their work should be clearly distinguishable from the author’s work and there should not be any issues.

All academic texts are filled with references to other sources, so that the reader can tell apart the different “voices” in the text. Facts that are not generally known and ideas that are interpretations of facts should be cited, however it is not necessary to give references for facts that are common knowledge. In case it is not clear if something is common knowledge, it is safer to cite it and seek clarification.

To enforce the policy of plagiarism, the University will employ several strategies and activities. The University

1. Delivers a mandatory orientation on how to succeed in college, with an overview on this Academic Integrity policy;

2. Provides a mandatory tutors-facilitated course in the Canvas learning management system (LMS) on research skills and academic integrity for all students;

3. Integrates Copyleaks plagiarism software into the Canvas LMS so that faculty can check students’ submissions; and

4. Ensures tutors provide personalized support to students so that students do not violate academic integrity.

Categories of misconduct and penalties 

Cases of academic misconduct will be assigned by the instructor to one of three categories, Category 1, 2, or 3. Each case of misconduct will be evaluated individually, considering the seriousness of the misconduct and the student’s history of misconduct. For example, a case that involves a few sentences that are not central to the assignment, will be treated differently than a case where the central part or most of the work is plagiarized. Also, a subsequent case of academic misconduct will be treated as more serious because it suggests a pattern of misconduct.

There are no restrictions on what kinds of penalties may be given except that, as a general rule, the penalty should fit the misconduct. The penalty for any particular case will be left to the judgment of the instructor, though the Chair and Dean may be involved if the student has had a previous misconduct case.

Category 1 misconduct. A Category 1 misconduct would represent the least serious level of misconduct. Cases falling into this category might be the result of inexperience, lack of understanding, or inattention. They are often characterized by the lack of evidence of intent to deceive.

Category 1 penalties. Some examples of penalties would be requiring the student to complete a more difficult make-up assignment or test, a loss of marks, failure for the assessment, or some combination of these.

Category 2 misconduct. A Category 2 misconduct would represent a serious level of misconduct. Cases falling into this category would involve a significant amount of cheating or plagiarism, and/or evidence of intent to cheat or deceive. A second case of misconduct will usually be considered as falling into this category.

Category 2 penalties. Some examples of penalties would be failure for the assessment or the class.

Category 3 misconduct. A Category 3 misconduct would represent the most serious level of misconduct. Cases falling into this category would include those that are a third instance of misconduct, involve planning and coordination, or seriously undermine the operation or integrity of the University.

Category 3 penalties. Some examples of penalties would be failure for the class or expulsion from the University.

Processing Misconduct Cases

Category 1 & 2 cases – If an instructor discovers a case of academic misconduct, they will complete the relevant part of the Academic Misconduct Report form, assigning both a Category of misconduct and a penalty, and send the report to both the student and the Dean’s Office. If the academic misconduct does not occur in a class, the Dean will assign a faculty member to investigate and make a decision within five (5) working days, on whether to submit an Academic Misconduct Report form. The student has the right to appeal. If the student chooses to appeal, they have five (5) working days* to notify the Dean’s Office. Upon receiving the appeal from the student, the Dean’s Office will arrange a meeting within ten (10) working days*, that will include the Dean or their designee, student, instructor or faculty member, two members from the Academic Standing and Student Rights Committee (ASSR Committee) and a representative from the Dean’s Office to keep minutes. The student’s advisor and others could be invited depending on the circumstances. Only the Dean or their designee, and the members of the Academic Standing and Student Rights Committee will have a vote. The members of the committee will have the options of dismissing the case, reducing the Category of misconduct and/or penalty, confirming the Category of misconduct and penalty, or increasing the Category of misconduct and/or penalty. The decision of this committee is final. The disposition of the appeal will be communicated to the student, instructor or faculty member, and advisor, and recorded on the Academic Misconduct Report form, by the Dean’s Office. The Dean’s Office will maintain a record of all misconduct cases and appeals.

Category 3 cases - If a case of academic misconduct is reported and could be considered a Category 3 misconduct, the Dean will assign a faculty member to investigate and submit a report within five (5) working days*, on whether the misconduct rises to the level of Category 3. If a Category 3 misconduct is reported to the Dean’s Office, the Dean’s Office will arrange a meeting, within ten (10) working days*, that will include the Dean or their designee, the student, the instructor or faculty member, two members from the Academic Standing and Student Rights Committee (ASSR Committee), and a representative from the Dean’s Office to keep minutes. The student’s advisor and others could be invited depending on the circumstances. Only the Dean or their designee, and the members of the Academic Standing and Student Rights Committee will have a vote. The members of the committee will have the options of dismissing the case, reducing the Category of misconduct and/or penalty, confirming the Category of misconduct and/or penalty, or increasing the penalty. The decision of the committee will take the form of a recommendation that will be sent to the President of the University. The President will have five (5) working days* to make a decision based on this recommendation and communicate this decision to the Dean’s Office. The decision of the President is final and cannot be appealed. The disposition of the case will be communicated to the student, instructor or faculty member, relevant members of the ASSR Committee, and advisor, and recorded on the Academic Misconduct Report form, by the Dean’s Office. If the decision is expulsion, then the Dean’s Office will notify the Registrar’s Office to take the necessary actions. The Dean’s Office will maintain a record of all misconduct cases and appeals.

*The timing of meetings may be adjusted in response to circumstances.

Review

The Academic Department is responsible for ensuring compliance with this policy in various offices of the University. 

Date