All Students
As a Catholic educational institution, we are committed to upholding the highest standards of honesty, integrity, and respect. Academic integrity is essential to personal growth, moral development, and the pursuit of truth, which are foundational to our mission. Students are expected to complete all assignments, assessments, and academic work with honesty and responsibility.
What Constitutes Academic Integrity?
A student demonstrates academic integrity when they:
- Submit original work and appropriately cite all sources.
- Complete assessments (tests, quizzes, essays, etc.) independently unless otherwise instructed.
- Respect the rules and guidelines established by teachers for all academic tasks.
- Seek help in ethical ways, such as tutoring, peer review, or teacher assistance.
Violations of Academic Integrity
Violations include, but are not limited to:
- Cheating: Using unauthorized materials, copying another student’s work, or allowing one’s work to be copied
- Plagiarism: Presenting another’s ideas, words, or work as one’s own without proper citation
- Fabrication: Falsifying data, information, or citations in any academic exercise
- Unauthorized Collaboration: Working with others when individual work is required
- Facilitating Dishonesty: Helping another student cheat or plagiarize
- Impersonation: Having someone else complete work or submitting work completed by another person
Consequences for Violations
Our school community views each student as capable of moral and academic growth. Therefore, discipline for academic dishonesty will be firm but formative. Please note that academic integrity violations are cumulative and do not reset during a student’s time at the school.
First Offense:
- A grade of zero on the assignment or assessment
- Notification of parent/guardian
- Conference with teacher and/or administrator
- Reflection assignment on integrity and values
Second Offense (in any class, at any point during high school):
- Automatic failure for the marking period in the class where the offense occurred.
- Grade of zero on the assignment or assessment
- Meeting with parent/guardian and administrator
- In-school detention or additional disciplinary consequences
- Possible loss of extracurricular eligibility for a period of time
- Note in student’s academic file
Third Offense or Severe Misconduct:
- Administrative review for further disciplinary action
- Possible suspension
- Permanent note on academic record
- For NHS members: review of membership status
- Loss of eligibility for academic honors or leadership positions
Our Catholic Perspective
We believe in forgiveness, growth, and redemption. While academic dishonesty is taken seriously, each situation is also a chance for moral development. Students will be encouraged to reflect, make amends, and recommit to living out the Monsignor Farrell commitment of honesty, justice, and personal responsibility.