Ferro Technics Institute of Technology is committed to the highest standards of academic integrity. This policy seeks to ensure that all students understand their rights and responsibilities in upholding the values of academic integrity, that students receive an accurate and fair assessment of their work, and that the integrity of EHCO Business Development Institute’s community is accessible to all students, faculty and staff.

Ferro Technics Institute of Technology believes that the development of integrity-based practices is fundamental to the learning process and success in the workplace. All members of EHCO Business Development Institute’s community, including students, faculty and staff, must uphold the values of academic integrity, honesty, equity and responsibility, and must demonstrate a commitment to these values in all academic endeavours

This section includes an explanation of terms and abbreviations used within the policy and procedure.

1. Academic Environment

   Anywhere learning takes place including but not limited to classrooms, labs, Library Learning Commons facilities, and digital and online resources

2. Academic Integrity

   Demonstration of the values of honesty, equity, trust, fairness, respect and responsibility in all forms of learning and scholarship.

3. Assessment

   Any form of student activity in a course which contributes to a grade

4. Expulsion

   When a student has been directed to leave the college. This may be for a period of 12 months or more.

5. Fabrication

   The intentional invention and/or unauthorized alteration of any information or citation in an academic endeavour

6. Faculty

   The academic staff responsible for the course.

7. Experiential Learning

   Any opportunity provided through the College for students to develop applied knowledge and/or work experience in their field

8. Policy

   A statement of basic principles, rules, regulations and/or guidelines, developed and enforced to direct and/or limit actions and activities

9. Procedure

   The operational processes required to implement college policy, to be provided as a clear sequence of instructions to be followed

10. Suspension

    When a student has been directed to leave the college for a period of time but is allowed to return based on the conditions set by the decision maker. Suspensions can be for a period of between one day and one year.

11. Working Day

    Monday to Friday, excluding statutory holidays or any other day in which the college has publicly announced that it is not open for business.

1. General Principles

   Ferro Technics Institute of Technologyseeks to promote an environment that supports academic integrity with an emphasis on honesty, equity, trust, fairness, respect and responsibility.
   Academic integrity applies to all academic endeavours, including teaching, learning, scholarship and field placement.
   Student development and demonstration of academic integrity is intended to prepare students to achieve success in their fields of practice while maintaining the integrity of all Ferro Technics Institute of Technologycredentials, as well as those of its students and faculty.
   Every member of the Ferro Technics Institute of Technologycommunity has the right to be treated equitably through a fair and transparent process in response to allegations of breaches of the College’s Academic Integrity Policy.
   Matters relating to academic integrity must be addressed in a professional and respectful manner that respects the confidentiality of all members of EHCO Business Development Institute’s community and supports the college’s commitment to maintaining a supportive environment for learning. These efforts should occur within an environment of integrity, partnership, fairness, respect, and transparency.

2. Guidelines

   Ferro Technics Institute of Technologyis committed to ensuring that all students develop integrity-based academic practices in order to prevent breaches of academic integrity, intentional or otherwise, which are considered serious offences.
   The course outline will include specific reference to this policy, and faculty will provide direction to students for acknowledging the ideas, writing and work of others for individual assessments.
   Students, individually and in groups, are responsible for demonstrating behaviour that is honest and ethical in their academic work. Such behaviour includes but is not limited to the following:

   • Abiding by Ferro Technics Institute of Technologypolicies and provincial and federal legislation;
   • Submitting their own original work for all assessments, whether individually or in group work;
   • Fully citing and referencing sources, and respecting the authorship and work of others;
   • Following the expectations provided by faculty for working in groups, including respecting (and crediting when applicable) the thoughts and ideas of others;
   Adhering to the principles of academic integrity when conducting and reporting original research and scholarship:
   Preventing their work from being used by others without faculty authorization [e.g. not posting work/class slides, notes, tests and recordings either physically or electronically]:
   Asking for clarification of expectations as necessary. Students who are in any doubt as to whether an action on their part may be viewed as a breach of academic integrity should ask their faculty and/or consult other relevant Ferro Technics Institute of Technologyresources pertaining to integrity-based practices.
   Any breach of academic integrity, intentional or unintentional, is subject to the conditions and resolutions outlined in this policy [see Section 4.0].
   Any action that encourages, enables, or causes others to attempt or commit an act constituting a breach of academic integrity is considered a breach of academic integrity.
   Faculty may question the academic integrity of the work of students without prior evidence. Such inquiries do not necessarily mean that a breach of academic integrity has occurred, and should be seen as an act of due diligence on the part of faculty unless otherwise stipulated.
   For further details on integrity-based practices, students, faculty and staff are encouraged to take advantage of Ferro Technics Institute of Technology Library Learning Commons resources.

3. Forms of Breaches of Academic Integrity
   • Cheating:

     This includes but is not limited to the following:
     The use or possession of unauthorized aids or use of unauthorized assistance in any academic examination or term test or in connection with any other form of academic work (e.g. cheating during a test or an examination or theft of an examination); Collaborating on exams, tests, projects or assignments when faculty instructions are to work independently.

   • Plagiarism

     Plagiarism is the act of taking credit for the work of others and is a serious academic offence, which includes presenting the work, words, images, and/or ideas belonging to others as one’s own without identifying and giving proper credit to the original source.
     This includes, but is not limited to the following:
     The use of a direct quotation, paraphrasing or expressing another’s idea without identifying the source;
     Submission of any work as one’s own when it has been prepared by another, either partially or in full;
     Failure to give credit for work that was done in collaboration;
     The submission of any work that has been previously submitted, by the student or another person, for credit or has been, is being, or will be submitted for credit in another course or program of study in the College or elsewhere.

   • Damaging, Tampering or Interfering with the Academic Environment:

     This includes but is not limited to the following:
     Obstructing the academic activities of others;
     Altering the work of others in order to gain academic advantage, including but not limited to tampering with, removing, destroying or otherwise altering any work, experiments or laboratory assignments, whether one’s own or those of another student, staff or faculty;
     Removing, altering, misusing or destroying Ferro Technics Institute of Technologyproperty to obstruct the work of others;
     Unauthorized access to, stealing, or tampering with any course-related materials;
     Unauthorized access to, or tampering with, Library Learning Commons (LLC) materials, including hiding materials in a place where they will not readily be found by other members of the EHCO community.

   • Fabrication and/or Improper Academic Research Practices:

     Academic research includes the collection, analysis, interpretation and publication of information or data obtained in the scientific laboratory or in the field. Forms of improper research practices include but are not limited to the following:
     Dishonest reporting of investigative results, either through fabrication or falsification;
     Taking or using the research results of others without permission or due acknowledgement;
     Misrepresentation or selective reporting of research results and/or methods used;
     The submission for credit of any academic work containing a purported statement of fact and/or reference to a source that has been fabricated. This includes statements and references fabricated by the student and those the student knows to be fabrications.

   • Forging or Falsifying Documents in print or electronic form:

     This includes but is not limited to the following:
     Forging, altering, or in any other way falsifying any document or evidence required for admission to the College; Forging a document or the signature on a document such as a doctor’s note, letter of recommendation, letter of permission, or educational record; Circulating or making use of any forged, altered, or falsified document.

   • Impersonation:

     This includes but is not limited to the following:
     Students taking part in the impersonation of, or the act of having another person impersonate, another student at any academic assessment or in connection with any other form of academic work.

   • Inappropriate Use of Digital Technology:

     This includes but is not limited to the following:
     Use of digital technology to interfere with or alter the work of another Ferro Technics Institute of Technologystudent, faculty member, or staff;
     Use of digital technology to obtain an unauthorized academic advantage on an assignment, test, or examination;
     Unauthorized entry into an electronic file for the purpose of using, reading or changing its contents;
     Unauthorized transfer of one or more files or part of the data contained within a file;
     Unauthorized use of another’s identification and password.

   • Copyright:

     Students and faculty must comply with the laws regarding copyright and trademark, as well as with licensing agreements pertaining to the use of print and electronic materials, software, databases, and all other resources and materials.
     See EHCO Business Development Institute’s Copyright Policy for details.

   • Resolutions to Breaches of Academic Integrity

     If a member of EHCO Business Development Institute’s community other than faculty has reason to believe that a breach of academic integrity has occurred, that person is expected to report the matter to the faculty of the course or the appropriate academic Chair within 10 working days of detection.
     Process for Exam Supervisors: If an exam supervisor who is not the student’s instructor and who may not be a staff member has reason to believe that a student is cheating during an examination, they will:
     Inform the student that they believe that a breach of academic integrity has occurred and give reasons. The process and timing (for example whether the student is informed during or at the conclusion of the exam) will be determined by the Director at the program level.
     Provide a full written report including the student’s name, identification number and the nature of the breach to the Ferro Technics Institute of Technologystudent’s Administrator and Director, who will follow up according to the provisions provided in this policy.
     If a staff member finds that a student has acted in a manner that breaches academic integrity, the staff will pursue either an informal or formal resolution. The appropriate resolution process will be identified by the staff based on the nature of the breach and file an Academic Integrity Breach Report.
     In cases of an informal resolution, guidance may be sought from the academic Director at the staff member’s discretion.

   • Informal resolutions

     [see Appendix #1 for informal resolution process] will be pursued in instances where the faculty determines that a relatively smaller penalty or a demonstration of learning by the student concerning the breach of academic integrity is the best possible outcome. During an informal resolution, the faculty will impose one or more of the following actions:
     Require the student to redo the work, or complete supplementary work or assignments;
     Deduct marks from, or assign a failing grade to the work in question.
     Formal resolutions [see Appendix #2 for formal resolution process] will be pursued in instances where the faculty determines a breach (or a number of breaches) of academic integrity warrants an action greater than assigning a failing grade for the work in question. The result of a formal resolution may include one or more of the following actions:
     Failure of the course in which the breach of academic integrity occurred; Suspension from the course in which the breach occurred, or from the program of study;
     Expulsion from the program of study and/or EHCO Business Development Institute.
     All breaches of academic integrity described in this policy, whether they are resolved by an informal or formal process, will be recorded and a report will be filed.
     Staff will only have access to their own Academic Breach reports. In keeping with the principles of Academic Integrity, staff will ensure complete confidentiality and these reports will not be shared.
     A student’s record of breaches of academic integrity will be available to the relevant academic director and may inform decision making related to future breaches. Otherwise these reports are completely confidential. A record of a students breaches will be kept for a maximum of 5 years at the program level.
     Breach reports do not appear on a student’s transcripts or permanent academic record.
     A student has a right to appeal a formal resolution. The appeal will be heard by the program’s respective Director. The Director will mirror the steps in Appendix #1 (informal appeal process) or Appendix #2 (formal resolution process) acting in the role of the Chairperson.

4. Appendix #1 Informal Resolution Process

   Summary of steps, timelines, and responsibilities in the event of a suspected breach of academic integrity where the faculty member has determined an Informal Resolution will be pursued.
   1.0 If the faculty discovers or is made aware of an apparent breach of academic integrity and wishes to pursue an informal resolution with the student, faculty must begin the process within 10 working days of detection by outlining the nature of the concern to the student in person and/or by Ferro Technics Institute of Technologyemail.
   2.0 A report outlining the nature of the breach and the proposed resolution shall be submitted by the faculty to the academic director, or designated support person.
   3.0 The student must be advised by the staff that a report will be retained by Ferro Technics Institute of Technologyfor a period no longer than 5 years. These reports are completely confidential. They will not appear on a student’s transcripts or permanent academic record. They may be referenced by a program Chair in instances of multiple Academic Integrity violations.

5. Appendix # 2 Formal Resolution Process

   Summary of steps, timelines, and responsibilities in the event of a suspected breach of academic integrity where the staff member has determined a Formal Resolution will be pursued.
   1.0 The staff must outline the nature of the concern to the student and the director in writing within 10 working days of detection. As with the informal resolution, the staff will communicate the nature of the concern to the student in person (if possible) and by Ferro Technics Institute of Technologyemail.
   2.0 If the staff member is unavailable during the review of a breach of academic integrity, the Director, or a delegate of the Director’s choosing, will assume the role of the staff member during the Formal Resolution Process:
   2.1 If the Director is acting as the faculty member for the course, another appropriate administrator within the department must take over the role of the Director during the Formal Resolution Process.
   3.0 A student may bring a support person, including a Student Association advisor, to meetings relating to their academic issues. This person may accompany a student to any meeting concerning disciplinary matters during a formal resolution.
   4.0 The Director must give the student an opportunity to discuss an alleged breach of academic integrity prior to imposing the conditions of a resolution. After reviewing the facts of the case and any previous case or cases, the Director will impose one or more of the following conditions in consultation with Administration:
   - Assign a grade less severe than “F” for the course;
   - Assign a grade of “F” or “0%” for the course;
   - Suspension from the program of study;
   - Expulsion from the program of study and/or from EHCO Business Development Institute.