Academic Honesty Policy

Complete honesty is expected for all academic endeavors completed under the auspices of the Knowledge Elements Course Delivery System, Atheneo (Atheneo). This expectation is consistent with biblical truth and God’s standards for Christian living as well as accepted protocol in higher education.

Students who complete academic courses through Atheneo must not participate in any form of cheating, plagiarism1 or other forms of academic dishonesty.  They are also not to encourage or condone such behavior in others by permitting it and/or allowing it to go unreported.

Submitted academic work in a course is intended to be the student’s original work. Any additional information submitted that is not the student’s own work must be properly cited so that it is recognized and due credit can be given to the original source of the information.

Academic dishonesty is a serious violation of morality and of academic integrity. This unethical behavior will at minimum initiate a rebuke and warning from the course facilitator and possibly include the penalty of failing the assignment. Failure to correct this behavior will necessitate reporting of these matters to the academic administrators at the institution where the student is enrolled. Beyond this, more stringent measures may be invoked if and as needed, including a failing grade for the course where violations have occurred and a possible ban from future enrollment in courses. 

Grade Dispute Policy

Informal Disputes:
The first steps in resolving a grade dispute should be informal. Before initiating a formalized grade appeal, a student should discuss the reason for the grade with the instructor who assigned it. No student should discuss any grade complaint with anyone else without first discussing it with the instructor.

Formal Dispute Conditions and Possible Consequences:

1. Informal efforts to resolve a dispute must be completed before the formal policy may be invoked and no more than 21 days after grade being disputed was given.
2. The magnitude of disagreement must be significant for a formal dispute to be considered.  For example: more than or equal to one full letter grade.
3. The student’s work may be referred to an academically qualified reviewer chosen by the student’s Dean and the KEEN Director.
4. The reviewer may recommend that the instructor raise the grade, lower it, or leave it unchanged.

This recommendation will be advisory only. The instructor will have no obligation to follow the recommendation, but should inform the student, the student’s Dean, the KEEN Director and the reviewer of his or her decision in writing.  The member institution reserves the right to override the instructor’s recommended grade and record whatever grade they deem to be appropriate on the student’s official transcript record.