Academic Integrity Policy
At Hillcrest High School, we understand that an effective academic integrity policy should be a school-wide endeavor. As such, we continue to work on and improve our academic integrity policy to include not only the Hillcrest IB program but the entire school.
Read more about the IB Academic Integrity policy.
This policy applies to and should be read by:
• All IB World School leadership teams, administrators and the wider community responsible for creating and implementing the academic integrity policy
• All IB World School members of staff responsible for the teaching and preparation of work submitted to the IB for assessment
• All IB World School members of staff responsible for the delivery of IB examinations
• All students going through assessment and submitting work to the IB
• Parents and legal guardians of IB students going through assessment
• All IB members of staff responsible for the design of curriculum content, and the creation and delivery of IB examinations
• All IB members of staff responsible for all support tasks within IB World Schools (page 2, IB Academic Integrity Policy)
The committee in charge of designing and revising the Hillcrest High School Academic Integrity Policy for the 2025-2026 school year, is a multidisciplinary team and Hillcrest staff. This committee and policy will be updated every two years and will be based on the principles of the IB Academic Integrity Policy.
Principal – Brenda Mccann
Assistant Principal – Melissa Baker
Diploma Programme Coordinator – John Olsen
English Department Teacher – Emily Kunz
History/TOK Teacher – David Veenstra
Counselor – Eric Murdock
Collective responsibilities
It is the collective responsibility of all Hillcrest teachers and IB program staff to ensure that students understand academic integrity, practice it consistently, and uphold 5 fundamental principles of academic integrity.
1. Honesty
2. Trust
3. Fairness
4. Respect
5. Responsibility
These fundamental principles should be explicitly taught, modeled and reinforced through the following systems and resources. These tools will help students build a strong sense of academic responsibility and personal integrity preparing them to be principled learners and citizens.
Student responsibilities
Produce original work and correctly acknowledge the contributions of others through proper citation and referencing. This includes using correct formatting for in-text citations and works cited/bibliography pages. Please see the IB’s “Effective and citing and referencing” Guide for additional help.
Understand the difference between common knowledge and information that requires citation.
Take responsibility for any incidents of academic misconduct and actively work to learn from the experience.
Use technology ethically, avoiding inappropriate use of AI tools or plagiarism detection software in ways that undermine accountability. Please see the IB’s publication for “Artificial intelligence (AI) in learning, teaching and assessment.”
Students should strive to never miss the day of an exam in one of their classes. If they need to miss, they should notify the teacher before class. They should not discuss details of the exam with their peers, nor should their peers who took the exam discuss exam questions. A student should notify the teacher if they feel unprepared or not ready to take the exam, not just miss class because they aren’t ready. Most teachers will be sympathetic to an honest discussion rather than missing an exam and then asking what was on it.
Speak to the IB Coordinator or administration to report any cheating they may have observed.
Teacher responsibilities
Regularly review and reflect on the academic integrity policy to ensure it remains effective and relevant in their classroom
Communicate clear expectations around academic honesty/integrity to students across all subjects and grade levels.
Provide explicit guidance on assignment criteria, acceptable collaboration, and proper use of resources.
Explicitly teach research skills, citation, proper AI use and other applicable academic integrity topics in their classes.
Provide clear expectations regarding the consequences of not attending class on the day of an exam.
Parent/guardian responsibilities
Support their child’s academic efforts with integrity and encouragement.
Be familiar with the Hillcrest IB academic integrity policy.
Encourage independent work while providing appropriate academic support.
Maintain open communication with teachers and the IB coordinator about concerns related to student work.
Administrator/IB Coordinator responsibilities
Promote a culture of integrity by modeling and celebrating honest academic behavior.
Ensure staff receive training and resources to support student academic integrity.
Oversee consistent policy implementation with fairness and transparency.
Ensure the academic integrity policy is accessible on the school website and student handbook.
Academic misconduct: investigation and consequences
Most incidents are addressed directly by the teacher.
Teachers may use tools (i.e. Google Docs originality reports, Turnitin.com, Canvas plagiarism detection tools, etc.) to detect potential academic misconduct on smaller assignments.
All incidents should be documented on Canyons District Data Dashboard, marked as either a minor or major infraction depending on the severity.
If a documented incident of academic misconduct occurs, the teacher will refer the student to the IB Coordinator or administration who will follow the below steps.
First offense: IB coordinator or administrator meets with the student, calls parent to inform.
Second offense: Formal letter of warning/probation goes in file and parent conference. (with no further incidences of academic misconduct, letter will be removed from file.)
Third offense: Recommendation for dismissal from the IB program.
IB-specific assessments: investigation and consequences
Internal Assessments, Extended Essay, TOK Essay, Reflective Project, CAS
Incidences of academic misconduct/dishonesty must be investigated by the teacher and IB coordinator. Parents are notified, and decisions will be made collaboratively among school staff. If a student is guilty of misconduct on IB-specific moderated assessments …
- A record will be kept in the student’s IB file.
- The student may redo the assignment for submission to IB if time allows. However, the classroom grade for the assignment will remain a zero unless the teacher offers an alternative assignment, but they are under no obligation to do so.
- If resubmission is not possible due to timing, the student will not receive the IB Diploma or CP Certificate due to non-submission of an IB core component.
- If dishonest work is submitted and detected by the IB, the school will follow IB guidelines and documentation to determine final decision on IB Diploma or course completion.
Let’s work together to uphold the values of honesty and responsibility in our Hillcrest learning community.
All students, parents, teachers and stakeholders need to strive to maintain the integrity of our Hillcrest IB academic program. This is crucial for students’ future success and to uphold the value of their education. To ensure a fair and equitable assessment environment, we need all students to attend scheduled exams. Missing an exam not only impacts individual performance but also disrupts the integrity of the entire assessment process.