Statement
Vancouver Island University (VIU) supports and encourages integrity and ethical conduct in all areas of academic work, research, and scholarship. VIU upholds the International Center for Academic Integrity definition of academic integrity as “a commitment to the fundamental values of honesty, trust, fairness, respect, and responsibility.” VIU believes that these values are foundational to the academy and that they will encourage ethical action even in the face of adversity.
VIU trusts that its students and employees intrinsically embody these values, and that they view academic integrity as something we should all strive to exemplify in the interest of good academic practice. The guiding principle informing this policy is commitment to supporting student learning and success.
Standards of academic integrity
Students and employees are expected to uphold these fundamental values and adhere to the standards of academic integrity. Standards of academic integrity include, but are not limited to:
- independently producing work submitted under one’s own name;
- properly and appropriately referencing all work;
- identifying all collaborators in work;
- completing examinations without offering or receiving assistance, excepting those students requiring assistance due to a documented disability;
- respecting the integrity of examination materials and/or the examination process; and
- respecting the integrity of technological systems, software copyrights, and file privacy of others.
Poor academic practice
It is recognized that minor contraventions of these standards of academic integrity arising from a genuine and reasonable lack of understanding may be considered “poor academic practice,” and may be addressed informally at the departmental or instructional level.
Academic misconduct
Violations of these standards, beyond poor academic practice, constitute academic misconduct.
Academic misconduct includes, but is not limited to, the following acts:
- Plagiarism
Plagiarism is the intentional unacknowledged use of someone else’s words, ideas, images, data, or other created works. - Fabrication
Fabrication is the intentional use of false information or the falsification of research or other findings with the intent to deceive. - Cheating
Cheating involves fraud, deceit, dishonesty, or the unauthorized use of information, materials, devices, sources, or practices, in the context of the academic assignment in question. - Facilitation of Academic Misconduct
Facilitation of Academic Misconduct is helping or attempting to help another to commit act(s) of academic misconduct as outlined above.
Corrective action and discipline
- Corrective action or discipline are designed to address academic misconduct that goes beyond poor academic practice.
- Acts of academic misconduct are subject to a range of disciplinary action – including failure for a course assignment or a course, or possible suspension by the President.
- A student is not permitted to withdraw from a course or the university to avoid incurring a penalty for academic misconduct.
- Please refer to the Academic Integrity Procedure for handling contraventions of this policy.Every reasonable effort should be made to deal with student conduct concerns at the instructional and departmental level. Formal discipline is designed for serious intentional academic misconduct.
Please refer to the Student Academic Integrity Procedure (96.01.001) for information on handling breaches of this policy.
Student Conduct Code (policy 32.05)
Please refer to the Student Conduct Code policy, available on VIU Policies and Procedures, for information on handling breaches of this policy.