The YEAH Academy Policy Statement on Cheating and Plagiarism

Background: In this age of technology, it has become increasingly easy to use tools to research information for schoolwork. In fact, it is quite simple to buy ready-made essays and research papers.  It is effortless for students to cut and paste information from an internet site onto a word processor and attempt to pass that work off as their own. When students use technology to illegally and unethically download music, movies and games, it is not much of a leap to “download” ideas, formats, phrases, sentences and whole papers. Through ignorance or laziness, students often copy so many words/ideas/information from a resource that it becomes merely a string of other people’s work.   It is unfortunate that policies regarding cheating have to be outlined.

Four of the Ten Commandments can be used as an ethical basis of correct behavior when it comes to turning in homework and writing papers.

1.  Thou shall not covet (another person’s ideas or works)

2.  Thou shall not steal (another person’s ideas or works)

3.  Thou shall not bear false witness (by presenting someone else’s work as your own)

4.  Honor thy mother and father (They pay for your classes. Honor their investment in you by doing your

     best.) 

Cheating and Plagiarism includes, but is not limited to:

• Buying, borrowing or using another’s person’s work as your own, even with their permission.

• Copying off another person’s homework, quiz or test

• Having another person (including your parents, siblings or friends) do your work for you

• Using one paper for more than one class (in or outside of the Academy), without the express permission from both tutors/instructors

• Copying or paraphrasing another person’s facts, information, statistics, words, format, research, photos, music, ideas, graphs, etc. without telling the reader where you got your information by using proper citations

• Cutting and pasting information to your paper without using quotations and citations.

• Giving incorrect information about where information came from.

If a student is found to have cheated or plagiarized, the teacher needs to bring it to the attention of the student and the parent.  Depending on the extent of the cheating, the parents may be asked to meet with the Academy Administrator or the Academy Board. 

It is the intention of The Academy tutors to help students understand the severity of cheating and plagiarism in a firm, but compassionate manner. Possible consequences include:

• Having to redo the homework or paper

• Receiving a failing grade on the homework or paper

• Recommending a failing grade in the course.

        If the offense is repeated or a student refuses to comply, further disciplinary action may be taken including expulsion from the class and/or from The Academy itself

Developed by the YEAH Board of Directors, 2009; copyright 2012.  

-- See YEAH Appearance & Behavior Code for overall YEAH Code of Conduct --