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Academic Dishonesty

Academic Integrity Policy
Vista del Lago High School is committed to maintaining a culture of honesty, responsibility, and academic integrity. Students are expected to complete their own work and demonstrate their learning authentically. Any behavior that undermines these expectations is considered a violation of this policy.


The definitions of behaviors that are considered to be violations of the school’s Academic Integrity Policy include, but are not limited to, the following:

  • Use of Artificial Intelligence
  • Any attempt to generate, facilitate, or receive assistance from AI technologies to complete academic work without proper authorization is considered academic dishonesty.
  • Cheating on Tests or Assignments
  • Any selling, digital imaging, photocopying, sharing, or using unauthorized assistance while taking a test, quiz, or other individually graded assignment without the express permission from the teacher is considered cheating. This includes looking at another student’s paper, sharing answers, copying another student’s assignment/paper, allowing someone to copy your paper, or using unauthorized notes.

Mobile Device Possession
Any possession of a mobile device on a test or assignment, without the permission of the teacher, is considered cheating. A mobile device includes the following: cell phone, smartwatch, earbuds, glasses, or any device deemed inappropriate.

Fabrication
Any falsification and/or invention of data, citation, or another authority in an academic exercise, such as laboratory data.

Unauthorized Collaboration
Copying work or collaborating on assignments that was assigned to be done independently. Unauthorized collaboration includes any intentional attempt to copy or share an assignment, paper, and/or test information with another person or the act of giving information, materials, answers, or an unfair advantage to another person.

Plagiarism
Any representation of another’s ideas, words, or work as one’s own. Plagiarism includes the misuse of published material, electronic material, and/or the work of other students. The original writer who shares his/her paper for another to copy, without the permission of the teacher, is engaged in plagiarism. Recycling or reusing papers, projects, and/or assignments without authorization in multiple classes is also considered plagiarism.

Alteration or Theft of Material
Any unauthorized alteration or theft of student, teacher, library, school data/information and/or electronic materials.

Collusion
Collusion occurs when any student knowingly or intentionally helps another student perform an act of academic dishonesty. Collusion is an act of academic dishonesty and will be disciplined in the same manner as the act itself.

Cheating and plagiarism are forms of academic misconduct and are both dishonest choices that students can avoid. Ignorance about what constitutes cheating is not a defense. If you are uncertain if something you are doing is considered academically dishonest, you should ask your teacher.

VISTA DEL LAGO ACADEMIC INTEGRITY CONTRACT
When you cheat, you deprive yourself of the opportunity to grow and learn. Knowing how to think critically and becoming responsible for your own learning is essential in your preparation for both college and career. Cheating is also destructive— not just to the individual, but to the entire school community. It damages relationships between you and your teachers, and between you and your classmates. Students who do not cheat suffer by the inflated grades that result from your academic dishonesty.

 

If you choose to cheat rather than earning your grades honestly through dedication and hard work, you should be aware of the life-changing consequences you may face:


● Ongoing monitoring for academic misconduct throughout your time at Vista del Lago
● Documentation in your discipline record
● A lowered citizenship grade, which may impact eligibility for activities, athletics, and clubs
● Reduced access to Honors and AP courses
● Ineligibility for organizations such as National Honor Society and California Scholarship Federation
● Limited or denied letters of recommendation
● Possible negative impact on college applications, as many institutions require disclosure of academic misconduct

Read the back side of this contract carefully so you are fully aware of what constitutes academic dishonesty. Understand that the discipline procedures for academic dishonesty are as follows:

First Offense:
● Parent contacted by the teacher.
● Discipline conference with Administrator.
● Incident documented in discipline record.
● Student will be monitored for academic misconduct throughout their years at Vista del Lago.
● Saturday School will be assigned.
● Provided the student satisfactorily completes the above assignment, they may be allowed to redo the original or an equivalent assignment for full/partial credit, depending on the team policy. Any make-up work will be considered late and subject to the same penalties as any other late work.

Second/Continuing Offense: A panel of teacher(s), counselor(s) and administrator(s) will determine appropriate disciplinary action. Consequences listed in the first offense, and one or more of the following:
● The student will receive a “0” on the assignment with no opportunity for grade recovery.
● The student will be given an “F” for the six week grading period in which the incident occurred.
● The student will be dropped from the class with a grade of “F.”