An academic integrity concern can relate to any action that leads to an unfair academic advantage.
We identify two broad categories of conduct that may constitute a breach of our academic integrity policy:
- Academic misconduct
- Maladministration
Academic misconduct
Academic misconduct is an act by a student that infringes IB rules and regulations, and potentially threatens the integrity of IB examinations and assessments. It can happen before, during or after completing the assessment or examination.
Examples may include but are not limited to:
- plagiarism or the passing off another person’s work as the candidate’s without referencing; this includes translated material
- colluding with other students, e.g., presenting copied or duplicated work produced by another student as original or enabling someone else to do so
- examination misconduct, including taking prohibited items into an examination and disruptive behaviour
- sharing the contents if an examination 24 hours before or after an examination by any means.
This list is not exhaustive and we recommend that parents and guardians discuss any concerns with the relevant programme coordinator.
Maladministration
Maladministration is an act by an IB World School or an individual associated with an IB World School that infringes IB rules and regulations, and potentially threatens the integrity of IB examinations and assessments. It can happen before, during or after completing the assessment or examination.
Examples may include but are not limited to:
- overediting or creating coursework submitted by students; the IB’s procedures concerning supervision are clear
- authenticating and submitting to the IB work produced by third parties, including parents and unauthorized internet services, as the student’s
- authenticating and submitting work to the IB when the school has doubts regarding its authenticity
- breaches of the IB’s assessment procedures and examination regulations
- misrepresenting language proficiency
- failing to report incidents of student misconduct or school or teacher maladministration or actual and alleged security breaches
- failing to support an investigation into student misconduct or school or teacher maladministration.
Report an incident
If you believe you have evidence that suggests the integrity of IB assessment and examinations has been harmed or is at risk, we encourage you to contact us via the form below.
We will handle any information you provide sensitively and in confidence. When contacting us, please include the following:
- your name
- your e-mail contact details
- full details of the school(s) or student(s) concerned
- your relationship with the school(s) or student(s) concerned
- full details of the alleged actions, e.g., the individuals involved and the circumstances in which they occurred.
We will keep your identity confidential unless we are required by law to share information with official bodies such as the police. In this case, we will advise you in advance.
If you do not provide your name and contact number, we will make reasonable efforts to investigate your concerns, however, we may be unable to fully investigate or validate them.
We will be unable to discuss any investigation or outcome with you to ensure we maintain confidentiality.
You may also report academic integrity concerns to your local regulator.
