Academic Integrity Policy

Preamble

As a higher education institution dedicated to preparing future healthcare professionals, the MGH Institute of Health Professions upholds the highest standards of ethical behavior for all members of its community. The Institute expects everyone—faculty, students, and staff—to adhere strictly to principles of academic integrity and intellectual honesty. Any form of cheating, plagiarism, distortion of materials related to performance, or collusion in another's dishonesty is a fundamental violation of intellectual honesty and is unacceptable.

To promote the integrity of the professions, the Institute embraces three broad principles:

Mutual Trust: Every member of the community should benefit from being able to rely upon the honesty of others.
Personal Integrity and Accountability: Every member of the community is personally accountable for maintaining intellectual honesty and integrity.
Community Responsibility: Every member of the community is responsible for reporting observed violations of intellectual dishonesty.

Article I: Governance of the Academic Integrity Policy

Section 1: Scope and Application

This Academic Integrity Policy applies to all members of the Institute and requires the participation of all Institute faculty, staff, and students. The Policy is applicable in all academic settings, including both in-person, online, and off-site environments, ensuring that the standards of academic integrity are upheld regardless of the mode of instruction or interaction. Most academic programs have additional criteria on professional and ethical conduct aligned with profession- specific codes of ethics that students are required to follow; those policies and standards can be found in the respective program manual. Upon matriculation, students are informed of academic policies, including those pertaining to professional and ethical conduct and the penalties for violations. Students are responsible for understanding and adhering to the requirements of this Policy.

Section 2: Interpretation and Authority

Conflicts or questions about this Policy (including its interaction with other policies of the Institute) should be forwarded to the Office of the Provost (“Provost”). The Provost or designee shall be the final interpreter of this Policy. This Policy and any changes will be interpreted to comply with applicable state, federal, and legal requirements.

Article II: Academic Integrity Standards

Students, faculty, and staff are responsible for the honesty and integrity of their own academic work, which may also include their applications for admission and financial aid, in addition to any group or collaborative academic or clinical work attributed to them that is submitted for academic evaluation or credit in an academic course or program of study.

Section 1: Definition of Academic Integrity Violations

The following are examples of actions that constitute academic integrity violations, though this list is not exhaustive.

Academic integrity violations are cheating of any kind, including misrepresenting one's own work, taking credit for the work of others or artificial intelligence, referencing the work of others without proper credit or citation, without appropriate authorization, and/or with the fabrication of information.
For purposes of this Policy, an academic exercise can be any student activity, document, record, or similar media submitted for review by an instructor, clinical site instructor, teaching assistant, or a similar role as part of a course or program of study, in which the student is registered or seeks to register. This includes but is not limited to graded assignments, drafts submitted for review, discussion board postings, simulations, comprehensive exams, dissertations, admission or financial aid applications, or other products in pursuit of any academic credential.

Attempts to commit acts prohibited by this Policy constitute a violation of this Policy and may be sanctioned to the same extent as completed violations, even if such attempts are unsuccessful or incomplete.
Common examples of academic integrity violations include, but are not limited to, the following, whether they occur in-person or remotely:

Plagiarism: Plagiarism is the use of another person’s words, ideas, images, or results, no matter the form or media, without giving that person appropriate credit. To credit appropriately, a student must identify every direct quotation using quotation marks or appropriate indentation, cite direct quotations, and paraphrase appropriately according to the accepted format for the discipline or as required by the instructor in a course. Some common examples of plagiarism are:

Copying word for word (i.e., quoting directly) from an oral, printed, or electronic source without proper attribution.
Paraphrasing without proper attribution, i.e., presenting in one’s own words another person’s written words or ideas or the product of an artificial intelligence source as if they were one’s own, regardless of the nature of the assignment.
Incorporating into one’s work graphs, drawings, photographs, diagrams, tables, spreadsheets, computer programs, or other non-textual material from other sources, regardless of format, without proper attribution and permission.

Cheating: Cheating is the use or possession of inappropriate or prohibited materials, information, sources, or aids in any academic exercise. Cheating also includes submitting papers, research results or reports, analyses, and other textual or visual material and media as one’s own work when others prepared them. Some common examples are:

Prohibited collaboration: receiving research, programming, data collection, or analytical assistance from others or working with another student on an assignment where such help is not permitted.
Copying another student’s work or answers on a quiz or examination.
Using or having access to books, notes, calculators, cell phones, artificial intelligence, other technology, or any prohibited devices or materials during a quiz or examination unless explicitly authorized by instructor or granted through an accommodations request.
Submitting the same work or significant portions thereof to satisfy the requirements of more than one course without permission from the instructors involved.
Preprogramming a calculator or other device to contain answers, formulas, or other unauthorized information during a quiz or examination.
Acquiring a copy of an examination from an unauthorized source before the examination.
Having a substitute take an examination in one’s place.
Submitting a purchased or downloaded manuscript or other materials to satisfy a course requirement.
Submitting as one’s own work a manuscript, essay, report, or other assignment prepared, in whole or in part, by someone else or by artificial intelligence.

Fabrication: Fabrication is the invention or falsification of sources, citations, data, or results and recording or reporting them in any academic exercise. Some examples include the following:

Citing a source that does not exist.
Making up or falsifying evidence or data or other source materials.
Falsifying research papers, reports, or other documents by selectively omitting or altering data that do not support one’s conclusions or claimed experimental precision.
Falsifying patient or client records.
Falsely documenting experiential and/or internship opportunities that did not occur.
Providing falsified excuses, documents, or other information to excuse late or missed assignments or to justify regrading.

Facilitation of Dishonesty: Facilitation of dishonesty is deliberately or carelessly allowing one’s work to be used by other students without prior approval of the instructor or otherwise aiding others in committing violations of academic integrity. A student who deliberately facilitates a violation of academic integrity can be subject to the same sanctions as the student who receives the impermissible assistance, even if the facilitator does not benefit personally from the violation. Some examples are:

Collaborating before a quiz or examination to develop methods of exchanging information.
Knowingly allowing others to copy answers to complete a quiz or examination or assisting others to do so.
Distributing an examination from an unauthorized source before the examination.
Distributing or selling a term paper to other students.
Taking an examination for another student.
Allowing other students access to your work in violation of course policies.

Academic Sabotage: Academic sabotage is deliberately impeding the academic progress of others. Some examples are:

Intentionally destroying or obstructing another student’s work.
Stealing or defacing books, journals, or other library or Institute materials.
Altering computer files that contain data, reports, or assignments belonging to another student.
Removing posted or reserved material or otherwise preventing other students’ access to it.
Misrepresenting the contributions of others in the group to give more credit to a particular student for one’s gain.

Violation of Research or Professional Ethics: Violations in this category include violations of the code of ethics specific to a particular profession and violations of more generally applicable ethical requirements for the acquisition, analysis, and reporting of research data and the preparation and submission of scholarly work for publication. Some examples are:

Using unethical or improper means of acquiring, analyzing, or reporting data in a course research project, a senior thesis project, a master’s or doctoral research project, grant-funded research, or research submitted for publication.
Misuse of grant or institutional funds.
Violating professional ethics in performing one’s duties as a Research Assistant, Teaching Assistant or Graduate Assistant.
Violating rules, regulations, or ethical practices in interacting with or sharing protected health information without proper authorization and permission.

Violations Involving Potentially Criminal Activity: Violations in this category include theft, fraud, forgery, or distribution of illicitly obtained materials committed as part of an act of academic dishonesty. Some examples are:

Unauthorized acquisition of an examination from a faculty member or electronic files.
Selling, buying, or distributing an examination.
Forging a change-of-grade form.
Falsifying an Institute transcript.
Falsifying clinical documentation or unauthorized access to health records in clinical placement.

Section 2: Reporting Violatinos

Allegations involving violations of this Policy may be initiated by any member of the Institute community, including clinical site instructors/preceptors. Anyone with awareness of a violation may report it to the instructor of record, program director, department chair, or dean. Any allegations should be made as expeditiously as is reasonably possible from the time of discovery of the alleged violation.

Article III: Procedures for Addressing Violations

Section 1: Resolution Processes

When a violation of the Academic Integrity Policy is alleged, students are expected to refer to their specific program manuals for detailed procedures on how such violations are handled. Each academic program within the Institute may have its own protocols that align with the overarching principles outlined in this policy but may include additional steps, sanctions, or remedial actions pertinent to the profession-specific ethical standards.

Section 2: Special Cases for Interprofessional Education and Practice

For violations during Interprofessional Education and Practice courses and activities, the faculty of record or Dean of Interprofessional Education and Practice will address sanctions or remedial actions.

Article IV: Roles and Responsibilities

Section 1: Faculty Responsibilities

Faculty are responsible for being aware of this Policy and contributing to student growth and professional development by promoting academic integrity, addressing dishonesty, and assisting in the development of ethical reasoning. To that end, faculty should:

Provide a clear and complete syllabus that describes course expectations, guidelines, standards of performance, and a link to this Policy.
Hold students responsible for knowing and demonstrating these standards and expectations.
Foster an environment in which academic integrity is expected and respected.
Detect and properly handle suspected and established breaches of academic integrity.
Foster learning environments in which all students are treated with courtesy and respect.
Create assessments and evaluations that effectively measure student knowledge, skills, and abilities.
Evaluate student work based on its academic merit.
Give students timely and honest feedback.
Be available to discuss appropriate academic matters, student questions, and concerns.
Serve as effective role models to students for academic integrity and ethical practice.

Section 2: Student Responsibilities

Students are responsible for understanding this Policy and demonstrating behaviors that are consistent with academic honesty, integrity, and published ethical standards. Such behaviors include:

Follow the instructor’s rules and processes related to academic integrity, as detailed in the course syllabus and related course documents.
Ask the instructor for clarification if the standards of academic performance are unclear.
Ask the instructor for clarification if the syllabus, assignments, or grading policies are unclear.
Contribute to a campus environment in which academic integrity is expected and respected.
Foster a learning environment where all people are treated with courtesy and respect.
Commit to the highest standards of excellence in the practice of your discipline, to sustain the interests and welfare of those you serve, and to be responsive to the health needs of society.
Report any suspected violations of this Academic Integrity Policy by another student to the appropriate instructor or academic authority.

Up one level

Section V: Student Rights and Responsibilities