Plagiarism Policy

Plagiarism:

What is plagiarism?

Plagiarism is using someone else's words or ideas without identifying the source, leaving the impression that the words or ideas are your own.

What are some examples of plagiarism?

1. Submitting a paper written by someone else, but identifying yourself as the author.

2. Copying and pasting material from the Internet into your paper, presenting it as your own wording and not saying where the material came from.

3. Copying sentences or paragraphs from a book or article without quotation marks and without giving credit to the author.

4. Summarizing or paraphrasing blocks of material from a source but not crediting the source in your paper.

What's wrong with plagiarism?

Plagiarism is a form of stealing and lying. It violates Christian moral standards, is contrary to accepted academic guidelines, and is illegal under government law.

How does Christian Leaders Institute respond to plagiarism?

1. Any assignment found to involve plagiarism will automatically receive a failing grade.

2. If the student wishes to appeal the failed grade, the student may contact the Registrar. If the Registrar determines that the plagiarism is unintentional and on a small scale, the student may be allowed to redo the assignment for a grade.

3. However, if the Registrar determines that the plagiarism is intentional and involves a substantial amount of material, the student will fail the course as well as the particular assignment that involved plagiarism. At the Registrar's discretion, the student's scholarship may be revoked.

4. If a student commits a second offense of serious plagiarism, the usual penalty will be loss of all scholarships and removal from Christian Leaders Institute. In exceptional circumstances, the Registrar may lessen this penalty. However, plagiarism is such a serious breach of Christian conduct and academic integrity that those found guilty of it repeatedly are not mature, trustworthy Christians who qualify to be trained for leadership in God's church.

5. If a student completes a class or earns a certificate, diploma, and/or degree from Christian Leaders Institute but is later found to have committed plagiarism, course credit may be withdrawn and the credentials may be revoked.