Professors have a responsibility to investigate academic misconduct. Professors are responsible for maintaining academic integrity in their class. This is important. Without integrity, Conestoga's credentials have less value, and the reputation of the college suffers. When something suspicious happens, your professor has to open an investigation.

You have a right to be heard. When there is a concern that academic misconduct occurred, professors must contact students within three business days. This is part of the student's right to be informed of and to be able to respond to allegations of misconduct. You can read about these rights in the Student Rights and Responsibilities policy.

Students have three business days to respond to their faculty. If you're not sure why your professor is concerned, ask! They can provide additional information as needed. Keep in mind that you may have committed misconduct by mistake. Just because you didn't know it was wrong, doesn't mean it's not an AIV.

If you did engage in academic misconduct:

Be truthful with your professor. They will appreciate and value your courage and honesty.

Use this as an opportunity to learn from the experience and to develop your skills. Ask yourself:

• Did I give myself enough time to work on my assessment before submission?
• Did I ask my professor for help understanding the assessment?
• Have I learned enough about the types of academic misconduct, and common mistakes to avoid?
• Could I get support from college services, like Writing Services or Library Services?

If you did not engage in academic misconduct:

Gather relevant evidence and prepare the argument you want to make:

• Were the instructions unclear?
• Is your professor's concern covered in the marking rubric?
• Is there an innocent explanation for the evidence your professor observed?
• Can you provide evidence of original work? For example, can you show your version history, or a draft of the assignment?

Do not argue that you are a "good person," that you're having a difficult time, or that you just want another chance. Focus on concrete facts and relevant evidence, not emotional pleas.

Not sure what to say? Use our student email templates to help you write your response.

After you have responded to your professor, they will make a decision based on the available evidence. You only have three business days to respond. If your professor does not hear from you by then, they will have to make a decision without your evidence.

Your professor will consider all the evidence, and determine what is most likely to have occurred. This is known as the "balance of probabilities." There are two possible outcomes:

• Based on the available evidence, the professor decides that no academic misconduct occurred. No further actions will be taken and no penalty will be applied.
• Based on the available evidence, the professor decides that academic misconduct likely occurred. The Academic Integrity Violation will then be added to your academic integrity record. You may have grades deducted in-rubric, and you may receive an academic penalty.

The first time you commit academic misconduct, your professor might choose to file a warning. Warnings don't have any extra academic penalties applied, but you might still lose grades for unoriginal work. For example, if you plagiarized 40% of your paper, your professor might take 40% off your paper grade. If you didn't write it yourself, your professor can't give you any marks for it.

Some types of academic misconduct are considered too severe for a warning. These incidents must always be filed as offences, even if it is your first Academic Integrity Violation. These include misrepresentation & fraud, as well as contract cheating.

You can only receive a maximum of one warning, and only for your first Academic Integrity Violation. All other Academic Integrity Violations must be filed as offences.

If you get an offence, your professor will deduct grades for unoriginal work, and apply an additional academic penalty. Penalties typically start low and get more severe with time. But if the incident was really bad, your professor might start with a higher penalty.

There is no "three strikes" policy at Conestoga College. All penalties are decided on a case-by-case basis. A student could get discontinued from the College after one or two very severe incidents. Or a student could have seven or eight minor incidents before getting discontinued. Professors and Chairs look to see evidence of learning when considering discontinuance. Be sure to complete any modules you are assigned, and attend any meetings you are invited to.

Category 1 Academic Penalties

• Rework and resubmit the assessment. The new submission is graded and an appropriate late penalty is applied.
• Rework and resubmit the assessment up to a passing mark (if not submitted by faculty assigned date, mark = 0).
• Partial marks on the assessment with no opportunity to resubmit.
• Loss of an alpha grade on the assessment.
• Zero when the assessment value is less than 10%.

Category 2 Academic Penalties

• Fail on a pass/fail assessment.
• Loss of an alpha grade in the course.
• Zero when the assessment value is between 10-19%.

Category 3 Academic Penalties

• Zero when the assessment value is 20% or greater.
• Zero in the Course.
• Other.

Category 4 Academic Penalties

• Suspension from Conestoga College.
• Discontinuance from Conestoga College.

Copying from Others (Plagiarism)

Using someone else’s work or ideas and claiming them as your own or not saying where you got the information from.

Examples of Copying from Others, Copying from Ourselves

• Copying work or ideas from another student on an assignment.
• Copying answers from another student for a test, quiz, or exam.
• Failing to acknowledge serval sources.

Questions for Ethical Reflection

When is it appropriate to copy someone else's finished work? How should a student present the copied work?

How do you feel when someone copies or imitates your original work?

College life is demanding. Sometimes it's tempting to take shortcuts. But cheating doesn't help you learn the concepts required to be professionally successful. Students who cheat are likely to continue to behave dishonestly in the workplace (Abasi & Graves, 2008; Harding, Carpenter, Finelli, & Passow, 2004; Sims, 1993). This often leads to getting fired.

Avoid the pressure to cheat by improving your academic integrity skills, including study skills and good time management.

Subtypes of Cheating

Contract Cheating

Having someone else do your schoolwork for you or getting help that changes your work so much that it’s no longer your ideas or words. Contract cheating occurs with or without payment, trade or favours.

Examples of Contract Cheating

• Having another person take your quiz, test, or exam.
• Having another person write (in part or in whole) your assignment.
• Using the suggestions of an editing service to the point that your assignment no longer represents your abilities.

Unauthorized Aids and Assistance

Using tools, websites, or past work that you weren't allowed to use for tests and assignments. This includes using AI in ways the professor did not approve. 

Examples of Unauthorized Aids and Assistance

• Using AI tools that were not allowed by your professor to help or complete an assignment, quiz, test or exam.
• Using materials and aids, like a cheat sheet or a textbook, to help with an assignment, quiz, test, or exam.
• Gaining access to a test questions without permission.
• Using your old work even when your professor told you that it is not allowed.
• Using a tool in the wrong way. For example, you were allowed to use gen AI to brainstorm, but you used gen AI to write the whole assignment.

Team work is a wonderful skill. But at Conestoga, assessments are designed to allow each student to demonstrate their understanding of the learning outcomes of their course. When students collaborate with other students without the knowledge or consent of the professor, their collaboration impedes the instructor's ability to accurately evaluate the individual student’s learning. This hinderance is why unauthorized collaboration is a serious academic offence.

Unauthorized Collaboration 

Working with other people on something that you were supposed to do by yourself. This applied to tests, quizzes, exams, and independent assignments. 

Examples of Unauthorized Collaboration

• Working on a take-home or online test, quiz or exam with others when it was supposed to be completed independently.
• Worked on an independent assignment with others, causing a significant overlap.

Helping someone else cheat. This includes sharing your work with others or online. as well as giving away test answers. 

Examples of Facilitating Misconduct

• Sharing work with another student and then they copy.
• Giving another student the answers to a quiz, test, or exam.
• Pretending to be another student to complete a test or online work.
• Sharing materials that belongs to Conestoga online (i.e., Chegg, Coursehero).
• Sharing your own work or testing answers online (i.e., Chegg, Coursehero) and then another student copied.

Questions for Ethical Reflection

Will sharing your work with others help them be better learners?

What can you do to help students who might struggle in their courses?

Are there situations where sharing course content with the public is appropriate?

Misrepresentation and Fraud

Lying to receive a better mark or special treatment. This includes making up data on an assignment or changing answers after your work was graded. 

Examples of Misrepresentation and Fraud

• Changing information after an assignment or test was returned.
• Lying about the reason for an absence or extension request.
• Knowingly changed facts, data, or references on an assignment.
• Providing altered or falsified documents for academic work (i.e., placement, co-op, etc.)

Questions for Ethical Reflection

If all students engaged in these types of behaviours, what would happen to the value of your diploma? 

If another student lied and gained an advantage over you, how would you feel?

Behaviours and actions during a test that break the rules. This includes using a phone, creating a distraction, or talking to another student. 

Examples of Improper Behaviour in Testing Situations

• Having and/or using an electronic device (e.g., phone, table, watch, smart glasses, etc.) within reach with none are allowed.
• Causing a distraction.
• Taking photos during the quiz, test or exam.
• Failing to follow the instructions.