• ACADEMIC INTEGRITY AT SCHOOL OF THE ARTS

     Students attending School of the Arts are expected to maintain the highest standards of academic integrity. Honor means each SOTA student stakes his/her good name on their truthfulness and reliability.

    Academic honesty, integrity and upstanding behavior are essential to the existence and growth of any academic community. Without maintaining high standards of honesty and conduct, both the reputation of the school and the school programs are comprised.

     Parents, administrators, teachers and students are opposed to cheating for several reasons:

    • Cheating allows a student to receive the same or better grade than students who have put in the time and effort to learn the material. Dishonest/higher grades ultimately and unfairly raise the cheater’s Grade Point Average and class rank. This simultaneously lowers the rank of students who study and earn their grades honestly.
    • Cheating misrepresents a student’s mastery or achievement of a subject to parents, colleges and other students. It also distorts the teacher’s perception of curriculum effectiveness and class progress. Cheating makes it very difficult for teachers to evaluate their effort so that necessary changes can be made to help students better understand and learn the subject material. 
    • The threat of cheating forces teachers to “patrol” activities. This impacts course development and improvement by reducing the amount of actual productive, teaching time.
    • Students, who are mature enough to select a difficult and valuable program, must also be mature enough to face a low grade when they have earned it.
    • All students have the right to pursue an education free from the problems caused by any form of educational dishonesty.

    Academic Integrity

    Students attending School of the Arts are expected to maintain the highest standards of academic integrity. Academic honesty, integrity and upstanding behavior are essential to the existence and growth of any successful academic community. Without maintaining high standards of honesty and conduct, both the reputation of the school and the school programs are compromised. 

    Plagiarism

    SOTA Defines Plagiarism As:  

    • Copying someone else’s work and using it as your own (including class work/ homework)
    • Taking credit for (stealing) someone else’s words or ideas
    • Not using sources and citing sources 
    • Copying assignments from others
    • Using papers published/sold on the Internet or other such services without citation
    • Paraphrasing words and ideas from a source without giving credit
    • Submitting work that was completed by a family member, friend, classmate or teacher
    • Reproducing all or part of a work of art (visual arts, instrumental and vocal music, dance, creative writing, drama, theatre technology) of another artist and claiming it as one’s original work. 

    The purpose of this policy is to help students learn the appropriate way of researching and accessing information, as well as  using resources and learning the value of creating their own work based on their own merit. 

    Consequences of Plagiarism at the Foundation Level (grades 7-9)

    • Address Student
    • Contact Parent/Guardian
    • Contact Administrator
    • Give opportunity to redo the assignment for partial credit (this does not include tests)

    *Repeat offenders will have to meet with the principal

    Consequences of Plagiarism at the Commencement Level (grades 10-12)

    • Address Student
    • Contact Parent/Guardian
    • Contact Administrator
    • Receive a score of 0 on the assignment

    *Repeat offenders will have to meet with the principal