MYP & DP policy
Academic integrity.
Honest work, built on trust.
Academic integrity means acting responsibly so others can trust us. It is the foundation for honest, original work in the MYP and DP.
Download PDFThe Pupil fosters a culture of inquiry, reflection and lifelong learning. This policy asks students to show honesty, intellectual rigour and personal integrity in all their work.
Integrity is more than following rules. It builds critical thinking, research skills and intercultural understanding, and it is required to complete the IB programmes. A breach harms the student’s work, the school’s reputation and the standards of the IB.
Key terms
The IB defines academic integrity as “a guiding principle in education and a choice to act in a responsible way whereby others can have trust in us as individuals.”
- Intellectual property: any creation, design, idea, image, invention or software that belongs to a person or group.
- Authenticity: work that is genuine and original, showing your own thoughts and ideas.
- Authentic authorship: honestly showing your own contribution. In group work, each member’s part is acknowledged.
- Plagiarism: using another person’s ideas, words or work, on purpose or by accident, without clear acknowledgement.
- Collusion: helping another student’s misconduct, such as letting your work be copied.
- Duplication: submitting the same work for different assessments.
Any other behaviour that gives a student an unfair advantage, such as falsifying data or misconduct in an exam, is also a breach.
Integrity and the IB learner profile
- Inquirers pursue knowledge honestly and admit the limits of their findings.
- Knowledgeable learners understand their sources well enough to explain ideas in their own words.
- Thinkers draw their own conclusions and acknowledge the ideas of others.
- Communicators express ideas honestly, credit others, and never fabricate or select data to mislead.
- Principled learners act with honesty, fairness and accountability.
- Open-minded learners welcome different views and acknowledge their sources.
- Caring learners respect the work and ideas of others.
- Risk-takers explore new ideas while always giving credit.
- Balanced learners manage their time and avoid shortcuts.
- Reflective learners review their own work and seek feedback.
An ethical school culture
Awareness
All MYP and DP students and teachers attend a yearly workshop on this policy. Parents learn about it at the Parent Orientation each year. It is also covered in our BYOD and Cybersafety Policy.
Skill-building
Students attend workshops on paraphrasing, quoting and citing, introduced step by step across the forms.
A supportive learning environment
- Building students’ own motivation.
- Focusing on mastery rather than marks.
- Using frequent, low-stakes assessments.
- Building confidence and talking openly about ethics.
- Giving enough time, support and resources for every task.
- Taking account of each student’s background and prior knowledge.
Accountability
When misconduct is suspected, the teacher looks into it and talks with the student. If misconduct has happened, the teacher decides a fair consequence, taking the context into account, and explains the decision. Students or parents may ask the Programme Coordinator to review it.
Collaboration and collusion
- Collaboration is working together when the teacher has asked for it, such as a group project with clear roles, or a study group before a test.
- Collusion is working together when it has not been allowed, such as handing in a shared presentation as individual work, or getting help to finish an individual task.
Teachers give clear instructions for each task and examples of the difference, and students should ask when they are unsure.
Citing sources
- Paraphrasing: rewording someone’s idea still needs a citation.
- In-text citations: name the author, year and page, where relevant, whenever you use a source.
- Bibliography: list every source used, in the citation style the teacher asks for, such as APA, MLA or Chicago.
- Online sources: include the full web address and the date you accessed it.
- Images and media: state the source and copyright of every image, chart or video.
In the DP, every source must show at least the author, date of publication, title and page numbers, where relevant. Students are introduced to MLA first, then APA and Chicago. From MYP Year 3 (Form 8) and throughout the DP, MLA is used consistently.
Artificial intelligence
The IB does not ban AI tools such as ChatGPT, but their use must follow its academic integrity policy. At The Pupil, students learn digital citizenship, including how to find and use information ethically, so that AI is used as an aid to learning in honest and appropriate ways.
Misconduct and consequences
The IB defines misconduct as behaviour, deliberate or not, that could give a student or anyone else an unfair advantage. We look at the context of each case rather than simply punishing. These lists are not complete, and the school may act case by case.
Category 1
- Using direct quotes without quotation marks and citation.
- Working with peers on an individual assignment.
- Getting help from other students, parents or adults when told not to.
- Giving or receiving information during an assessment when told not to.
Category 2
- Presenting someone else’s work as one’s own.
- Interfering with or obstructing other students’ work.
- Helping another student break the policy.
Category 3
- Falsifying data or signatures in assignments or official documents, such as portfolios and report cards.
- Having or using unauthorised material, such as textbooks, notes or devices, in an exam.
- Repeating earlier misconduct of any category.
- Getting task information or sources without permission.
Possible consequences
- Informing the Programme Coordinator and Head of School, and asking the student to explain.
- Redoing the assignment.
- Lowering the score.
- Giving a score of zero.
- Meeting the parent or guardian.
- Asking for a letter of assurance that it will not happen again.
- Making a permanent note in the student’s record.
- Repeating the year or leaving the school.
- More serious consequences for repeated misconduct.
Any step is taken only after a full investigation and a discussion with the student, teacher, parent or guardian, and the Programme Coordinator or Head of School.
Coursework and IB examinations
Coursework
- Any integrity issue is resolved before work is submitted to the IB.
- Work that does not meet integrity standards is not submitted.
- Plagiarised work receives a failing score for internal assessment, or is marked as not submitted for external assessment.
- If misconduct is found after submission, the Programme Coordinator informs the IB straight away.
- A student found guilty of misconduct is not eligible for a final grade in that subject.
Examinations
- Students are told the IB’s rules for exam conduct in advance.
- Only permitted materials may be taken into the exam room, and invigilators’ instructions must be followed.
- Having unauthorised material is a breach and will be investigated.
- The school reports any breach to the IB within 24 hours.
- A student may finish the exam unless they disturb others, and their paper is marked as usual if no misconduct is found.
If the IB finds malpractice, no grade is awarded for the subject, and serious cases may stop the student from sitting future exam sessions.
Roles and responsibilities
Teachers
- Know this policy and build a culture of integrity.
- Share clear rubrics and rules for each task: individual or group work, what help is allowed, and which references may be used.
- Mark fairly and consistently against the rubrics.
- Identify misconduct and follow the process in this policy.
- Answer questions from students, parents and leaders about assessments and integrity.
Students
- Know and follow this policy.
- Help create a class where integrity is expected and respected.
- Ask the teacher when a task is not clear.
- Report any breach they know of.
Parents
- Know and follow this policy.
- Help their child understand why integrity matters, and support the school in it.
- Ask the teacher when a task is not clear.
- Report any breach they know of.
Policy review
This is a working document and is reviewed every year by the Head of School, the Programme Coordinators and subject specialists.
Last reviewed January 2024. Next review February 2025.
Sources
- International Baccalaureate, Academic integrity (2019)
- International Baccalaureate, IB learner profile (2017)
- International Baccalaureate, MYP: From principles into practice (2021)
- International Baccalaureate, DP: From principles into practice (2015)
- Assiniboine Community College, Academic Integrity for Students (2023)
- Berkeley Center for Teaching and Learning, Academic Integrity (2022)
- University of Pittsburgh Library System, Overview of Citation Styles (2023)
- Neev Academy, Academic Honesty Policy (2019)
Questions about this policy? Write to admission@thepupil.in or call +91 98848 89910.