Academic Honesty

The Academic Honesty Policy and Honor Code will be introduced to the students at an Upper School assembly in the first week of school. The Honor code will be sent home with the Friday folders to be signed by the parents and students and returned to school.

Honor Code

All students at the International School of Ouagadougou (ISO) are expected to conduct themselves with the highest standards of honor.

Homework and projects

All assignments are to be completed individually by the student unless explicitly stated otherwise by his/her teacher.

Quizzes, Tests, and In Class Writing Assignments

No help of any kind may be given or received during completion of a quiz, test, or writing assignment. Students may not discuss any details regarding quizzes, tests, or writing assignments taken previously with classmates who have yet to complete the assignment. Students are not allowed to pass tests/assignments from previous years to future students of the same course.

Plagiarism

No idea, which either misrepresents the author’s opinions or is not fully cited, may be borrowed. This prohibition includes the entire spectrum of potential abuses from directly copying another’s work to using a particular phrase without crediting the author from whom it is borrowed. Ultimately, the power of this code lies solely in the willingness of each member of ISO to monitor his/her own behavior and demand the highest possible ethical standards from himself/herself, his/her fellow classmates, and his/her teachers. Any conscious bending of these standards weakens the community of trust and respect that we value so highly. Usually questions of ethics are the outward signs that an individual’s conscience believe the action to be undertaken is improper. If a student has any questions regarding the ethical purity of behavior he/she may be contemplating, he/she should ask a teacher for an assessment of the behavior BEFORE engaging in it.

Consequences

First Offense: Class Level

• Receive a zero or redo the assignment for a lower grade.
• Appropriate administrator and guidance counselor are notified.
• A letter is sent home to parents that must be signed and returned the following school day.
• Make up the work during snack time. The teacher will decide if there is any credit to be given.

Second Offense: Counselor Level

• Receive a zero or redo the assignment for a lower grade.
• A letter is sent home to parents that must be signed and returned the following school day.
• Parents are asked to come to the school to speak with the teacher and the counselor.

Third Offense: Administrator Level

• Student meets with his/her teacher, the appropriate administrator, and the guidance counselor.
• Student may be suspended from school by the Director.
• Student will be placed on social probation.

A student who plagiarizes his/her Senior Seminar paper will not receive the Senior Seminar credit necessary for graduation.