Academic Integrity Policy

Academic Dishonesty is prohibited by the New York City Department of Education, is a violation of Citywide Behavioral Expectations and is punishable by penalties, including failing grades, and/or suspension.

It is important for students to understand that the faculty and staff at the Business Technology Early College High School (BTECH) value student honesty and integrity as outlined in this policy.

Examples of academic dishonesty include, but are not limited to, cheating, plagiarism, obtaining unfair advantage, and falsification of records and official documents.

• Copies from another student during an examination 
• Allows another to copy your work
• Provides assistance to acts of academic misconduct  
• Engages in unauthorized collaboration on a take-home assignment or examination  
• Uses notes during a closed book examination  
• Submits another’s work as your own  
• Engages in unauthorized use during an examination of any electronic device, such as cell phones, computers, or internet access to retrieve or send information  
• Allows others to research or write assigned papers for you or to complete your assigned projects
• Knowingly using, buying, selling, stealing, transporting, soliciting, in whole or in part, the contents of an unadministered assessment
• Posting answers to the assessment on the internet

• Copies another person’s actual words or images without the use of quotation marks and citations attributing the words to their source  
• Uses another student’s work and claims it as their own (even if you have their permission).
• Engages in plagiarism, via the Internet or other web-based or electronic sources, which includes (but is not limited to) downloading term papers or other assignments and then submitting that work as one’s own, or copying or extracting information and then pasting that information into an assignment without citing the source, or without providing proper attribution.
• Turns in work done for other classes, regardless how big or small the assignment may be, without the current instructor’s approval—this is considered “self-plagiarism.

A BTECH staff or faculty member who suspects that a student has committed a violation of the Academic Integrity Policy shall review with the student the facts and circumstances of the suspected violation whenever feasible. Thereafter, a faculty member who concludes that there has been an incident of academic dishonesty sufficient to affect the student’s final course grade shall report such incident with a Faculty Report of Student Academic Dishonesty Form via e-mail to Assistant Principal Mr. Bility and Dean Mr. Casil. AP Bility and Dean Casil shall facilitate a conference including but not limited to (1) the student, (2) the teacher, (3) a parent/guardian, update the Student Violation of the Academic Integrity Policy Form after a suspected incident has been resolved to reflect that resolution. Unless the resolution exonerates the student, the Student Violation of the Academic Integrity Policy Form will be placed in a confidential academic integrity file created for the purposes of identifying repeat violations, gathering data, and assessing and reviewing policies.

A student who is found to be dishonest in submission of his or her academic assignments or other work, or in carrying out his or her academic responsibilities may, at minimum, receive a failing grade for the assignment, may receive a failing grade for the course, or may be subject to suspension or further disciplinary actions. 

If CHEATING is suspected, the following action MUST be taken by the teacher:

1. Confiscate/Collect all unauthorized materials and/or devices utilized for cheating (if applicable) or contact a Dean to do so.
2. Allow the student to complete the assessment.
3. Wait until after the assessment to speak with the student. 
4. Once the assessment is graded:
• A grade of 45 is the maximum allowable grade for a first time offense.
• If the grade earned is below 45, the earned grade will stand.
• A grade of zero may not be given for a first time offense.  
5. Within 48 hours, the Parent/Guardian must be contacted verbally or in writing (email is strongly recommended).
6. Within 48 hours, AP Bility and Dean Casil  must be notified via E-mail and you must complete the Faculty Report of Student Academic Dishonesty Form.
7. Any subsequent offenses of cheating by a student in the same subject class will result in an automatic zero for the assessment. The teacher must record all cheating occurrences. 

If PLAGIARISM is suspected, the following action MUST be taken by the teacher:

1. The teacher is to document in writing, on the original student paper/work, his/her reasons for concluding the “work product” in question has been plagiarized.
2. A copy of the original student paper/work containing the teacher’s conclusions for plagiarism should be generated.
3. The teacher should speak to the student being accused of plagiarism in private.
4. At the time of the private Student-Teacher Conference, the student should be provided the COPY of his/her original paper/work that now reflects the teacher’s argument(s) and conclusion for claiming the document in question was plagiarized.
5. Once the assessment is graded:
1. A grade of 45 is the maximum allowable grade for a first time class offense.
2. If the grade earned is below 45, the earned grade will stand.
3. A grade of zero may not be given for a first time class offense.
6. Within 48 hours, the Parent/Guardian must be contacted verbally or in writing (email is strongly recommended).
7. Within 48 hours, AP Bility and Dean Casil  must be notified via E-mail and you must complete the Faculty Report of Student Academic Dishonesty Form.
8. Any subsequent offenses of cheating by a student in the same subject class will result in an automatic zero for the assessment. The teacher must record all plagiarism occurrences in IO Classroom - Anecdotals