Academic Honesty Policy

Purpose

To uphold the academic integrity of the academic programs and courses of Surgent Income Tax School and foster a high sense of integrity and social responsibility on the part of the course participants.

Definitions

Academic dishonesty refers to the misrepresentation of one’s academic work, which includes, but is not limited to:

Cheating

The intentional use or attempted use of unauthorized materials, information, or study aids in any academic exercise. Examples of cheating include:

1. Allowing another person to complete an online course for which you will receive credit.
2. Obtaining, using, or possessing unauthorized copies of an examination or receiving unauthorized information regarding examinations.
3. Submitting another’s work as your own.
4. Having another person take an examination for which you receive credit.
5. Altering or falsifying examination results after they have been evaluated by the instructor and returned to the student.
6. Providing the answers to assignments, quizzes or exams to another student.
7. Randomly choosing multiple choice answers until the correct answer has been chosen.
8. Taking assignments multiple times while choosing multiple choice answers consistently for all questions until the correct answers are chosen. For example; choosing all As during the first attempt to complete the assignment. Choosing all Bs the next time for all of the answers that were incorrect the first time and choosing all Cs the third time.
9. Completing assignments without reading the material and not completing the tax returns by hand as required by the course.
10. Using tax software to complete returns and/or forms for Learning Activity scenarios and Final Exams.

Facilitating academic dishonesty

The intentional or knowing help or attempt to help another to commit an act of academic dishonesty. Several common forms are:

1. Completing, in whole or part, an examination or assignment in the name of someone else.
2. Permitting another student to copy your work.
3. Permitting another student to copy your written work whenever the work is to receive a grade.
4. Illicitly collaborating with another individual or individuals in the completion of course assignments.
5. Taking an examination for someone else.
6. Giving a test question or questions to anyone else.
7. Selling or purchasing all or part of examinations, papers or other assignments.

The Income Tax School reserves the right to review a student’s academic work and determine if they believe the student is being dishonest in a manner not listed above.

Policy

Students are expected to conduct themselves in an honorable manner in all academic work. The Income Tax School is committed to ensuring that the integrity of all academic programs is not violated. Students found in violation of this policy will face disciplinary action.

Procedure

If a director, administrator or instructor (school staff member) has reason to believe, through his/her own observation or through reports provided through the Learning Management System (LMS), that an act of academic dishonesty has occurred, he/she must contact the student, present the evidence of alleged dishonesty, and allow the student an opportunity to respond to the allegations. For the instructor/student meeting, the instructor may consult with or invite the participation of his/her department director or administrator. If the alleged act of academic dishonesty occurs in a distance education course, the meeting can occur via telephone.

1. If a satisfactory agreement between the instructor and the student is made regarding the allegations, an agreement should be placed in writing, indicating the violation and the disciplinary action taken and the student’s acknowledgement of the violation.
   1. The school staff member may choose to impose a disciplinary action deemed appropriate for the offense. The minimum action imposed by the school staff member is a formal warning to the student. A school staff member may, however, choose to impose a different action. The maximum disciplinary action is to award an F for the course in which the dishonest act occurred. School staff members may, at their discretion, allow the student to retake the entire course.
   2. The agreement must be signed by both parties. Copies of the agreement must be forwarded to the administrator or director of the school. Copies of evidence of the academic dishonesty must accompany all agreements and become a part of the student’s record.
   3. If a student refuses to sign an agreement or participate in an attempt to resolve an act of dishonesty; the school staff member will schedule a meeting with the administrator and director to discuss the student’s behavior and decide what type of disciplinary action should be taken. If the student refuses to accept the disciplinary action, his/her course access will be suspended until such a time that a resolution can be reached between the student and school director.

Disciplinary Actions

The following are examples of disciplinary actions.

1. Formal warning: a written statement to the student that he or she has committed an act of academic dishonesty which is prohibited by The Income Tax School and may result in more severe disciplinary action should the student be found guilty of engaging in any subsequent act of academic dishonesty.
2. Additional work: an assignment or test to provide evidence of the student’s academic performance and/or evidence that the student knows and understands the course materials.
3. A lower or failing grade or score on the assignment or examination.
4. Removal of the student from the course and a failing grade for the course.
5. Suspension or expulsion from the school: this action would be taken in cases where a student has previously violated the Academic Honesty Policy.
6. Students who have committed an act of academic dishonesty are not entitled to a refund of their fees.

Appeals

If a student would like to appeal the decision of the school, the student must submit an appeal in writing to the director of the school. The appeal must be submitted within ten (10) business days from the date of the disciplinary decision.

Student Records

Disciplinary action will result in a report which will be filed in the student’s records and become a permanent part of the student’s file.

Statement of Academic Honesty

I pledge academic honesty in completing all courses for which I may register to participate through The Income Tax School. I further understand that The Income Tax School will monitor my progress and periodically obtain reports from the LMS which will provide information regarding my grades, answer choices for assignments, questions missed and how many times an assignment has been completed. By signing this agreement (or making a purchase) I accept and agree to the terms of the Academic Honesty Policy.