Academic Integrity

Academic Integrity means conducting all academic work in an honest and ethical way by:

a) submitting work that demonstrates one’s own words, ideas, voice, writing or creative style;

b) documenting contributions of others, all collaborators, any resources, and aids used;

c) using aids only as authorized by the instructor; and

d) respecting the integrity of examination materials and/or the examination process by adhering to exam rules and instructions.

As a student, it is your responsibility to review and uphold the expected standards of academic integrity, as outlined in CapU's Academic Integrity (pdf) and Academic Integrity Procedures(pdf).

These standards include:

• Independently producing work submitted under your own name;
• Properly documenting all work;
• Identifying all collaborators in work;
• Completing examinations without giving or receiving assistance unless assistance is required due to documented accommodation; and
• Respecting the integrity of examination materials and/or the examination process.

Academic misconduct has serious consequences at CapU (see the next FAQ below). Make sure you recognize and proactive take steps to avoid the following types of academic misconduct during your time as a student:

• Cheating - Using or providing unauthorized aids, assistance or materials while preparing or completing assessments, or when completing practical work (in clinical, practicum, or lab settings), including but not limited to the following: a) copying or attempting to copy the work of another during an assessment/examination; b) communicating with another Student during an assessment/examination; c) using unauthorized aids, notes, or electronic devices or means during an assessment/examination; d) unauthorized possession of an assessment or answer key; and/or, e) two or more Students submitting a substantially similar assessment, except in the case where the Instructor specifically authorizes such submission.
  
  
• Fraud - Creation or submission of falsified documents.
  
  
• Misuse or Misrepresentation of Sources - Presenting source material in such a way as to distort its original purpose or implication(s); misattributing words, ideas, etc. to someone other than the original source; misrepresenting or manipulating research findings or data; and/or suppressing aspects of findings or data in order to present conclusions in a light other than the research, taken as a whole, would support.
  
  
• Plagiarism - Presenting or submitting, as one’s own work, the research, words, ideas, artistic imagery, arguments, calculations, illustrations, or diagrams of another person or persons without citation or credit.
  
  
• Self-Plagiarism - Submitting one’s own work for credit in more than one course without the permission of the Instructors, or re-submitting work, in whole or in part, for which credit has already been granted without permission of the Instructors.
  
  
• Prohibited Academic Conduct - The following are examples of other conduct that is specifically prohibited: a) taking unauthorized possession of the work of another Student (for example, intercepting and removing such work from a photocopier or printer, or collecting the graded work of another Student from a stack of papers); b) obstruction of the academic activities of another; c) falsifying one’s own and/or other Student’s attendance in a course; d) failing to comply with exam rules/regulations that may be exam-specific or Instructor-specific; e) impersonating or allowing the impersonation of an individual; f) using a technology tool when not authorized to do so; or g) assisting or attempting to assist another person to commit any breach of Academic Integrity, including allowing others to copy one’s own work.

There are three levels/tiers of academic misconduct based on the severity of the incident, the level of impact, and the intent of the student:

Tier 1 – refers to mistakes a student makes in the process of learning academic conventions. For an incident to be categorized as “Tier 1”, the instructor would need to see some attempt and intent from the student to submit work with academic integrity (i.e. some attempt at citing, referencing, paraphrasing etc.) but needs further practice. Eg. Some formatting errors, poor paraphrasing, missing sources in an assignment where citations are present, misattribution of a source, etc.

Tier 2 – refers to any act that breaches Academic Integrity in a more significant way than Tier One where there are serious questions about the integrity of the assignment in question. Extensive or repeated cases of plagiarism or self-plagiarism where the student’s work shows no attempt at citing and referencing sources, and cases of cheating, fraud, and other prohibited conduct are considered Tier Two.

Some examples of Tier Two include but are not limited to: a) unauthorized use of aids to complete an assignment, b) copying another Student’s paper during an exam, c) two or more Students submitting the same work, d) submitting another Students’ work as one’s own, e) intentionally plagiarizing, etc.

Tier 3 – refers to any repeated academic misconduct or first time academic misconduct that is serious enough that its impact extends beyond the assignment in which the infraction occurred and jeopardizes  the integrity of the whole course, program, or the reputation of the University.

Examples of Tier Three include but are not limited to:

a) organizing group cheating, uploading course/assessment content on an online website,

b) an Instructor finding a series of infractions in the same course by the same Student that were previously unnoticed/unreported,

c) publishing misrepresented/false data that impacts research,

d) compromising institutional reputation or commitment to ethical scholarship,

e) compromising the integrity of the field of study, or academic standards, etc.

The consequence of an Academic Misconduct depends on the level of severity of the academic misconduct as determined by the course instructor.

The consequences of a Tier-1 level academic misconduct is remedial. The course instructor may assign one of the following:

• A written warning
• An educational activity (i.e. reflection essay, referral to a workshop or e-learn module etc.)
• Rewrite or retake the assignment

The consequences of a Tier-2 level academic misconduct may be remedial and/or punitive. The course instructor may assign one of the following:

• A written warning
• An educational activity (i.e. reflection essay, referral to a workshop or e-learn module etc.)
• Redo the assignment
• Reduced grade up to zero grade on the assignment in question

The consequences of a Tier-3 level academic misconduct may be remedial and/or punitive. The outcome of a Tier-3 incident is determined by the Dean:

• A written warning
• An educational activity (i.e. reflection essay, referral to a workshop or e-learn module etc.)
• Redo the assignment
• Reduction in grade on the assessment or assignment
• Letter of reprimand
• Involuntary withdrawal from a course/program:
• Temporary or permanent suspension (can be assigned by the President)
• Other outcomes

There are several steps you can take.

1. Educate yourself about academic integrity and the consequences of cheating and plagiarism.
   • Complete the Academic Integrity eLearn module to learn about the values of integrity in more detail, gain knowledge real-life scenarios of academic integrity in action at university and better understand the consequences of academic misconduct.
   • This module will take approximately two hours to complete. Upon successful completion, you'll receive an Academic Integrity badge which clearly indicates you understand academic integrity to the university community.
2. Join an academic integrity or academic writing workshop offered each term by the Writing Centre or English Language Support (ELS) for international students. Or contact these learning support services for 1-to-1 writing support from instructors and peers.
3. Use citation guides while completing your academic paper.
   • The CapU Library's Cite It! guides provide you with step-by-step instructions for referencing and citation for the most common academic writing styles such as APA or MLA.
4. Make sure you know your instructor's expectations for assignments and exams. Your instructor's expectations will be explained in your course syllabus, otherwise known as a course outline.
   • For example, some course instructors permit students to use study notes or reference course materials during exams (also known as: an open-book exam), while other instructors prefer closed-book exams (i.e., no notes or referencing to online materials allowed during the exam).
   • As a student, it is your responsibility to understand your instructors’ course expectations on assignments and exams. If you aren't sure, always check with your instructor during their office hours or by email. Consequences for academic misconduct are outlined in CapU's Academic Integrity Procedures (pdf) (See Sections 2 and 7).

All instructor-level academic misconduct reports are sent to the Office of Student Affairs for tracking. The Office of Student Affairs maintains a centralized database of misconduct reports.

Serious or multiple incidences of academic integrity are reported by the Office of Student Affairs to the appropriate Dean for assessment, investigation and possible sanctions.

If you have been reported for academic misconduct such as cheating or plagiarism, and are seeking more information, please contact the Student Rights and Responsibilities Advisor at academicintegrity@capilanou.ca or refer to the Academic Integrity (pdf) and Academic Integrity Procedures (pdf).

If you are the respondent in an academic integrity investigation, we recommend visiting Information For Respondents.

Please refer to the Academic Integrity Process Flowchart (pdf) to gain a comprehensive understanding of the process.