BRUNSWICK HISTORY DEPARTMENT
 ACADEMIC INTEGRITY GUIDELINES

The community which makes up Brunswick School demands that all “young men grow in an atmosphere of trust, care, and mutual respect.”  All members of the department endeavor to instill the values of honesty and integrity in each and every student.  It is with these lofty goals in mind (and in conjunction with and ancillary to the Brunswick School Handbook.) that the History/Social Studies Department presents the following specific policies regarding academic integrity:

Cheating

The giving or receiving of any unfair advantage on any academic exercise not deemed group work by the instructor.  This includes tests and quizzes, essays, homework, projects and reading notes.  Be aware that conversations about any graded assessment between those who already have completed the task for the day and those who have not can constitute cheating—do not ask nor tell your friends about tests questions, in-class essay topics, etc.

Plagiarism

The submission of work as one’s own any part of which is:
             -written or created by another.  (This includes term paper "mill" sites)
             -copied or paraphrased from any source without proper citation (i.e. cutting
              and pasting of web materials)
             -based upon an idea unique to another source without proper
              acknowledgement.

When in doubt, check with your particular instructor for clarification.

Dishonesty

The willful perversion of the truth with intent to deceive.  In particular, students tend to be dishonest with regards to homework, be it either written or read.  Unless a teacher specifically says a student can work with another student, written homework should not be shared or copied. And if you have not read for the day, the department feels it is better just to be up front with your teacher instead of trying to "fake" your way through a Q&A session or a class discussion.  Worse yet, begging a classmate for the details of the prior night’s reading is deceitful as well--remember your character and reputation are at stake!

 Test Taking

It is in the best interest of the student to take tests on the day they are scheduled.  Minor “sicknesses” and the postponement of tests only set students back in the long run.  However, if a student is truly sick, a makeup test will be offered.  Students must seek out their instructor first thing in the morning to schedule a time for the makeup.  All make-ups must be taken as soon as possible, preferably on the first day back unless there are extenuating circumstances which would not allow the student to take the make-up in the required 24-hour extension period.

Finally, all students should not discuss tests after a test has been taken.  Post-test discussion, even with students who have taken the exam, can lead to cheating.  Student often do not realize that “private” hallway conversations are often heard by others who have not yet taken the test on that day.  Play it safe—do not risk being accused of cheating.

The Internet (and the pilfering thereof)

The Internet is a wonderful resource that greatly lends itself to the study of history.  Still, there are some pitfalls that must be avoided at all cost.  First, the “surfing” of improper sites and/or sites not approved by your instructor during class time is a violation of school rules.  Second, avoid surfing to sites that offer term papers (often called paper "mill" sites) for downloading and sale—this is plagiarism. It is surprisingly easy for teachers to find these Web sites as well.  Third, there has been a great rise in the incidence of "cutting and pasting" of paragraphs from web sites into papers without proper citation—this also is an act of plagiarism.

Fourth, the use of the web site Wikipeda is strongly discouraged and is not an acceptable citation source for essays and/or term papers.  The department strongly believes this popular source of information is often inaccurate and not trustworthy for proper research.  Finally, e-mail is a great way to communicate with your classmates but sometimes leads to the cutting and pasting of other’s written homework assignments, in complete violation of the Brunswick Handbook.  Use the Internet to accentuate your work--not to compromise your efforts.

In order to "help" students not stray from the proper path, the department uses technology developed by Turnitin.com to check all major written assignments.  Students are usually required to turn in both a digital and hard copy of all papers.  With the digital copy teachers can take the text and run a scan of the words via Turnitin.com's software.  This software searches over 12 billion web sites including those called "paper mill" sites which allow students to buy papers. 

Any details not specifically covered in these guidelines can be found in the Brunswick School Handbook.

                                                                                               

                                                                                                            (Updated 9/2007)