An academic integrity breach occurs when a student attempts to get academic credit in a way that is dishonest, disrespectful, irresponsible, untrustworthy or unfair. 

Langara's Academic Integrity Policy categorizes breaches under seven different types. Click through each of the dropdown boxes below to learn about each type and examples of these breaches.

Cheating on Tests and Exams

Tests and examinations are intended to assess a student’s learning and understanding of the course material. Cheating on tests and examinations includes, but is not limited to:

  1. Communicating with or trying to communicate with any individual other than the instructor or invigilator during an examination.
  2. Copying all or part of another student’s examination or allowing another student to copy all or part of a student’s examination.
  3. Failing to take steps to prevent the use of one’s answers by other students in current or future examinations.
  4. Possessing information or materials without authorization that may be used during an examination, including concealing materials/information on the body, in clothing, washrooms, furniture, devices, objects, or any other places in or around the examination room.
  5. The obtaining, possessing, and/or sharing of examinations, examination materials, or information related to an examination without the instructor’s and/or publisher’s authorization.
  6. The unauthorized sharing or use of material such as notes, textbooks, or computer screens during an “open book” examination.
  7. The unauthorized use or possession of devices, such as mobile phones, smart watches, or any other transmission devices during an examination.
  8. Using textbooks, materials, websites, “tutor” services, “homework help” sites, or any other technologies or content generators during an examination that are not expressly allowed by the instructor. 
Unauthorized Collaboration

Students must complete all academic work independently unless otherwise stated by an instructor. Working with or getting help from someone else without the instructor’s explicit permission is called unauthorized collaboration. Unauthorized collaboration includes, but is not limited to: 

  1. Asking a student or former student who took the course in a previous semester for their assignments or for help on assignments.
  2. Asking another student for their answers or coursework.
  3. Cooperating, collaborating, or otherwise giving or receiving unauthorized help from someone when completing academic work.
  4. Loaning, selling, showing, or sharing academic work to another student, including showing another student your answers or coursework.
  5. Sharing computer code, mathematical equations, or lab results with another student.
  6. Submitting work prepared collaboratively without explicit permission from the instructor.
  7. Using a file sharing website to access completed assessments or share completed assignments you or others have authored.
  8. Working with other students or someone else to complete an assignment intended to be done independently. 
Outsourcing and Contract Cheating

Academic outsourcing and contract cheating occur when a student arranges for someone else to complete their academic work and then submits the work for assessment/credit. The following are some examples: 

  1. Submitting a paper from any so-called “tutoring” service, “essay mill”, paper writing “services”, or content generator as your own work.
  2. Offering all or part of graded assignments to other students, including offering them for free, for sale, or by electronically sharing them with individuals or file sharing sites.
  3. Preparing work, in whole or in part, for another student that is submitted by the student to meet course requirements.
  4. Producing work for a student to submit as their own, whether for free or in exchange for money or something else.
  5. Having another individual replace a registered student during any examination, class, lab, academic meeting, or in connection with any other type of assignment or placement associated with a course or academic program.
  6. Submitting academic work that someone else prepared for you (for example, a friend, a family member, a classmate, or a tutor) as your own, no matter if you paid for it or not).
  7. Unauthorized or undisclosed use of an unauthorized editor, whether paid or unpaid. An editor is an individual or service, who manipulates, revises, corrects, or alters a student’s written or non-written work. 
Falsification, Fabrication and Misrepresentation

Falsification is changing or distorting someone’s work or ideas. Fabrication is making up information without supporting data. Misrepresentation is giving misleading information about someone or something. 

  1. Dishonest reporting of investigative results, either through fabrication or falsification.
  2. Making up information used in academic work.
  3. Misrepresenting one’s contributions to group projects.
  4. Submitting any academic work containing a reference to a source that has been fabricated.
  5. Taking or using the research results of others without permission or due acknowledgement. 
Other Cheating
  1. Altering work that was given a mark and requesting the work be re-marked without prior agreement from an instructor.
  2. Enabling, aiding, conspiring with, or allowing another student to commit an academic integrity violation, or attempt to commit an academic integrity violation.
  3. Submitting, in whole or in part, an essay, presentation, or assignment more than once, whether the earlier submission was at this or another institution, without prior approval from the instructor(s).
  4. Violating any procedures set by the instructor to protect the integrity of an assignment or other evaluation. 
Plagiarism

The presentation of words, codes, images, and/or ideas from another person or source as if they were one’s own. Plagiarism ranges from an entire assignment to portions of an assignment taken from a source without acknowledgment. Plagiarism includes, but is not limited to: 

  1. Any use of the work of others, whether published, unpublished, or posted electronically, attributed, or anonymous, without proper acknowledgement.
  2. Borrowing all or part of another student’s paper or using someone else’s outline to write one’s own paper.
  3. Copying all or part of an essay or other assignment from an author or other person, including a tutor or student mentor, and presenting the material as the student’s original work.
  4. Directly quoting the words of others, without using quotation marks or indented format to identify them or otherwise indicating that words are directly quoted.
  5. Paraphrasing materials or ideas of others without identifying the sources.
  6. Presenting as one’s own computer code, creative or other work developed by another person.
  7. Submitting or presenting the work of another person, including artistic  imagery, as that of the student without full and appropriate accreditation.
  8. Submitting work that another individual, including a tutor, has prepared, edited or partially written, without prior permission from the instructor.
  9. The use of paraphrasing software or content generators to conceal the use of the works of others without proper attribution.
  10. Using paragraphs, phrases, sentences, or ideas taken from another source without referring to or citing the author. 
Violating Intellectual Property Rights

Intellectual Property is work resulting from intellectual or artistic activity that can be protected by rights such as patent, copyright, and trademark. Violating intellectual property rights can include the following:

  1. Using, modifying, altering, or misrepresenting the intellectual property of a creator in a way that is contrary to the terms of copyright or license.
  2. Using intellectual property without accurate attribution.

Students can be found responsible for more than one type of breach for one academic integrity incident. This does not necessarily mean that students will face more serious consequences but it will be noted on their file with the Office of Student Support, Rights and Responsibilities.


Academic Integrity Decision-Making Process

When an Instructor detects what may be a potential Academic Integrity beach, they will follow a specific process for investigating this alleged breach. It is important that students are aware of the role they play in this process.

The below flow chart will help students understand the Academic Integrity Procedures and what they can expect if they are under investigation for an alleged Academic Integrity Breach, as well as what role they play in the investigation.

 


What are the possible outcomes of an Academic Integrity Investigation?

Instructors and Division Chairs (if the student has previous breaches on file) are responsible for Academic Integrity decision-making at Langara College. They will determine what is called a Sanction or College response, which is the consequence or corrective action that will be imposed as a result of an Academic Integrity Breach.

outcomes