All Students
Monsignor Farrell High School is committed to forming Vir Fidelis, the Faithful Man, who values honesty, accountability, and academic excellence.
The reputation of a Farrell graduate as a Vir Fidelis, a man of impeccable integrity, honesty, and a sense of responsibility who always does the right thing only because it is the right thing to do, must be guarded by every student.
To maintain a culture of integrity and responsibility, the following policy outlines the school’s expectations and consequences for violations of academic integrity:
1. Cheating
Using, attempting to use, or possessing unauthorized materials in any academic exercise, or having someone else do work for you.
Examples of cheating include, but are not limited to, looking at another student’s work during a quiz or test, obtaining or giving a copy of a test prior to the test date, submitting homework borrowed from another student, using technology inappropriately (see #5)
2. Facilitating Academic Dishonesty
Helping someone else commit an act of academic dishonesty.
This includes giving someone a paper or homework to copy from or allowing someone to cheat from your assessment.
3. Fabrication
Inventing or falsifying information.
Examples include inventing lab data for an experiment one did not do or did not do correctly, or making references to sources one did not use in a research paper.
4. Plagiarism
Using words or ideas of another writer without attribution, so that they seem as if they are one’s own.
Plagiarism ranges from copying someone else’s work word for word, to rewriting someone else’s work with only minor word changes, to summarizing without acknowledging a source.
5. Electronic Dishonesty
Any use of a computer, the Internet, Artificial Intelligence, or other technological means to falsely present work on any assignment, test, or quiz as one's own.
Examples include, but are not limited to, using network access in a way that affects a class or another student’s academic work, breaking into someone else’s files or computer account, or using information from any electronic source (e.g., ChatGPT, Grammarly) dishonestly.
Note that presenting work falsely as one’s own is always academic dishonesty, regardless of the electronic means employed.
Consequences for Violations:
Because academic honesty serves as a measure of personal integrity and provides a foundation for the academic strength of Monsignor Farrell, any violation of academic honesty is considered serious. In terms of personal integrity, it makes no difference if one violates it by copying a homework assignment, cheating on a midterm exam, or offering completed assignments to another student.
Therefore, in addition to a student receiving no credit for the assignment or assessment and the teacher contacting a parent, an academically dishonest student will face the following consequences:
1st Offense (Per Marking Period – Across All Subjects)
- A zero (0) on the assignment, quiz, test, or exam involved.
- The student will be placed on Academic Probation for the remainder of the marking period.
- An email notification will be sent to the parent(s)/guardian(s), and the incident will be formally documented by the Assistant Principal. Both the parent and student are required to acknowledge receipt of the notice by responding accordingly.
2nd Offense (Within the Same Marking Period – Across Any Subject)
- The student will receive an automatic grade of 60 for the marking period in the class where the second offence occurred, unless their current average in the subject is lower. In that case, the marking period grade will be recorded as a 50, regardless of the overall average.
- A parent/guardian meeting will be required.
- A formal disciplinary record will be updated and shared with guidance and administration.
- In-school detention or additional disciplinary consequences.
- Loss of extracurricular eligibility for a period of time.
- For NHS members: review of membership status.
- Loss of eligibility for academic honors or leadership positions.
Additional Notes:
- Offenses after the 2nd offense will result in a failure in those classes as well in the marking period.
- Offenses do not need to be in the same subject to escalate to the second-level consequence. Integrity is expected across the curriculum.
- The probation status is reset at the beginning of each new marking period, but chronic repeat offenses across quarters may result in additional disciplinary actions, including ineligibility for honor societies, academic awards, or leadership positions. Students do not get a “free pass” at the beginning of each marking period. Administration will have discretion.
- Any student found assisting another student in dishonest behavior will face the same consequences.
- This policy applies to all types of academic work, including but not limited to homework assignments, quizzes, exams, midterms, finals, Regents exams, papers, and projects.
- All assignments are taken seriously. There will be no negotiation by a student or parent regarding the significance of the assignment (e.g., claiming that a quiz is less important than a test).
- Any act of academic dishonesty will be addressed according to the established procedures above, regardless of the assignment’s weight.