Academic Integrity (AI)

Introduction

WiseCourses Academy is an independent division of WisePlant. From WiseCourses we are inspired by innovation in education to create training processes that are representative of the world in which we currently live. Create and support new systems empowering educators and professionals who have the experience, to redesign the way in which new professionals acquire skills and knowledge that allow them to take advantage of new opportunities and face current and future challenges.

‎Our mission and objective are to (a) establish a system of responsibility and control over academic activities, (b) develop an analytical view of the needs of the market; (c) design, plan and execute quality training events, (d) establish appropriate evaluation mechanisms based on the objectives of each course, and (e) finally monitor and improve training and training processes to achieve the objectives.

As an academic institution interested in providing high-quality learning material, transfer of knowledge, and assisting the participants to gain valuable experience, we have chosen to comply with ANSI/IACET Standards for continuous education units.

Academic integrity

Cheating, plagiarism, and all forms of academic dishonesty are expressly forbidden in this academy, and by the WisePlant Group LLC Policy on Academic Integrity. It is important to follow the instructor’s guidance and rules, as it may vary from course to course, and between instructors.

Students who copy exams or assignments, allow assignments or answers to question exams to be copied, share their user account with others, or cheat on tests. They will fail the assignment or test on the first offense and fail the entire course on the second.

Here are some general things everyone needs to know to ensure that you are working within the constraints of both the Academy policy, and the expectations for each course:

1. Assignments: You are welcome to work with other participants in almost any class on your homework assignments. You must (a) list the names of anyone you work with on your assignment, and (b) write up your own solutions to homework problems, based on your own understanding of the material. Some participants find it helps to take a half hour break between any work you do with other students, and the time you spend writing up your own solutions. Some assignments are meant to be done by working in groups, while others are meant to be completed individually.

2. Crib Sheets for Exams: You may work with others to develop your crib sheets, and you may use the same crib sheet as others in the class. Note, however, that it is in your best interest to be actively involved in the creation of any crib sheet that you use. This process will help you learn and recall the right sort of material and is therefore likely to contribute to a higher test score. Some assignments are not allowed to use crib sheets. For example: Prometric or Scantron Exams.

3. Campus Resources: we have tailored an academic campus with lots of complimentary information accompanying the training course primary material. Every piece of material or document is usually copyrighted, and many are paid for and cannot be copied, shared by part or in whole. Some material is offered for free, and you are good to download and share, whiles others cannot be shared and only to be used by the participant.

4. ISA laboratory exercise and material. Some training courses use ISA official laboratory for doing hands-on exercises. A remote connection to the labs is provided to the participants for being able to allow access. The students are not allowed to download any document, software, or any item from ISA Labs. Downloadable documents are provided to the students from WiseCourses Campus or by the instructor.

Support for participants with disabilities

If any individual has a disability and has an accommodation letter from the Disability Resources office, I encourage you to discuss the accommodation and needs with us as early as possible. I will work with you to ensure that accommodation is provided as appropriate. Especially if we are hosting an in-person event. It is of primary importance that we are informed beforehand of any need, such as dietary food, or any.

As nowadays most of the training activities are being held online, we are working hard to make our campus accessible and provide accessibility options for adjusting to better experience.

Support for participants’ Well-Being

Take care of yourself. Do your best to maintain a healthy lifestyle while in class by eating well, exercising, avoiding drugs and alcohol, getting enough sleep, and taking time to relax. Some of our training activities are very intense, with many consecutive hours, and everyone needs to maintain attention and active participation.

Despite what you might hear, using your time to take care of yourself will help you achieve your academic goals more than spending too much time studying.
All of us benefit from support and guidance during times of struggle. There are many helpful resources available on campus. An important part of the learning experience is learning how to ask for help or advice. Take the time to learn about all that’s available and take advantage of it. Ask for support sooner rather than later – this always helps.

If you or anyone you know experiences any academic stress, difficult life events, or difficult feelings like anxiety or depression, we strongly encourage you to seek support. Consider reaching out to a friend, faculty, or family member you trust for assistance connecting to the support that can help. While we cannot solve your problems, work with the instructor for assistance or advice and guidance on your learning goals and support.

Use of Devices in the Classroom

As research on learning shows, unexpected noises and movement automatically divert and capture people’s attention, which means you are affecting everyone’s learning experience if your cell phone, pager, laptop, etc. makes noise or is visually distracting during class. Nowadays, and when attending online courses, you must use a computer or electronic devices.  Mute your microphone when you are not using it, or when some noise around you might impact the rest of the class.

Microphones are typically extremely sensitive devices and capture surrounding noises, amplifying their sound. Examples of this can be the voice of other people speaking behind you, hitting the keyboard, the click of the mouse, noise from the street, open windows, wind over the microphone, and many more. It is required that you find a noiseless environment for your best experience, to avoid distractions and comfort of the class.

If two or more participants are sharing the same connection, computer, device to attend the training, let the instructor know about this. Failing to prove attendance will make you fail the course. The campus tracks participants’ activity on campus. Make sure to comply with minimum course requirements.

Grading Policies

Academic Performance

Participants are expected to attend lectures and workshops, participate in class, complete memorandum reports on time, and take the examinations. There will be one term examination and one final examination for each course. There will be assignments due. These evaluative requirements allow the participant to perform data analysis in two different circumstances; memorandum reports provide less structured problems with lax (1 week) time constraints. The grades may vary from course to course. But in general, the following is considered:

• Class Participation,
• Individual Assessments and exercises,
• Laboratory exercises in-class and hoe work,
• Surveys, quizzes, final Exam, or test simulations, and
• Final Exam or Certificate Exam.

Group Assessment

“Free Rider” Problem. In the business world, you live and die by the results of your team. We prefer to give a single grade to all members of a group but understand they there may be substantial “outlier” behavior by group members. Within 4 days after handing in the final report, hand in a peer evaluation form rating the contribution of each team member. I expect that 90 percent of these memos will not lead to major changes in grades. However, if there appears to be consensus that one group member did not pull his or her weight (or alternatively, that one member was crucial to the team’s success). I will adjust an individual’s project grade up or down according to the peer evaluation form. Please be fair in rating others. A copy of the peer evaluation form is attached to the course packet (see Appendix 1) and can be downloaded from the course website.

Flex Days/Late Work

Due dates for every assignment are provided on the course syllabus and course schedule (and posted on Canvas). Unless otherwise stated, assignments are due on those days. However, I recognize that sometimes “life happens.” In these instances, you may use your allotted two flex days. These days allow you to submit an assignment up to two days late without penalty. You can use these days for any assignment and for any reason. You do not need to provide me with a reason: simply email me and tell me how many of your flex days you would like to use.
Once you’ve exhausted your flex days, then point deductions will occur for any assignment submitted after the deadline. An assignment submitted 24 hours before the due date will only be eligible for 80% of the maximum number of points allotted. Assignments submitted more than 24 hours after the due date will not be accepted. If you experience extenuating circumstances (e.g., you are hospitalized) that prohibit you from submitting your assignments on time, please let me know. I will evaluate these instances on a case-by-case basis.

Re-grade Policy

If you would like me to review a graded assignment, I am more than willing to do so. All requests for re-grades must be submitted within one week of the graded assignments being returned. After requesting a re-grade, please schedule an appointment with me to discuss your assignment and grade. Please allow me a minimum of 48 hours between your request for a re-grade and our meeting. Exceptions to this policy may apply in the case of the final perspective paper, due to deadlines for CMU grade submissions.

Participants Recording of Class

No participant may record any classroom activity without express written consent from WisePlant Group LLC. Participant recording is forbidden. If you have (or think you may have) a disability such that you need to record or tape classroom activities, you should contact the Office of Disability Resources to request appropriate accommodation.

The instructor may occasionally record the class for auditing or quality control purposes, or under specific circumstances to be evaluated by the instructor. The students might be asked for consent to be able to record the class. The recordings might be available to the participants upon request (not by default). The recordings might be kept and available for 30 days period. After 30 days, the recording will be automatically deleted, unless it is required to be kept for longer periods of time.

Attendance Policy

Class Presence and Participation. Class presence and participation points are given to encourage your active class participation and discussion. You will be rewarded with a perfect score as long as you frequently come to class and actively contribute to the class discussion during recitations and lectures.

Presence: Although it is not required, most students send their professor a brief e-mail to explain their absence in advance. Students who repeatedly arrive late to the lecture or recitation will be eligible for 80% of the participation grade. Please sign the attendance sheet when you come to the class. Any false signatures will result in zero participation grades for all parties involved.
Participation: We will devote one entire session to the case discussion. The instructor’s role during a case discussion is that of a moderator. When the cases are discussed, we are less concerned with “right” or “wrong” answers than we are with thoughtful contributions which follow the discussion and either add to the debate or move it in a new direction. If you find it uncomfortable to speak up in class, we encourage you to visit your professor in office hours and work on this skill.

Study Tips

How to Use Your Study Time More Efficiently

1. Read your lecture notes over within 24 hours of the lecture (or at least once before the next lecture).
   1. Highlight or make marginal notes for important words or concepts. This will help fix ideas and will help you to actively learn the material. This review takes about 20–30 minutes and really yields a large return.
   2. Re-do examples yourself, step by step, with pencil and paper. Examples often look easy when explained in class, but often turn out to be much harder when you do them yourself.
2. Write down questions about things you do not understand. Bring these questions to lectures, labs, and to office hours and ask them.
   1. Readings are assigned for each class. Read them – if not before the class for which they are assigned, then certainly after that class and before the next. Moreover, as you read, highlight, re-work examples yourself, and write down questions, as suggested above.
   2. Do homework assignments. Actively doing assignments is the only way to learn the material. Exam questions will be like homework assignments.
   3. Start early. Do not leave assignments until the night before they are due.
3. Try doing the assignments yourself before discussing them with other people.
4. Use office hours productively. Ask thoughtful questions about things that you do not understand. In other words, if you do (1)-(3) above, it will be much easier to isolate what is giving you trouble. Please take advantage of the availability of office hours.
5. Review solutions to assignments and exams. Just because you do not lose points on a homework question does not necessarily mean you fully understand the question and answer. Furthermore, the solutions should serve as a model for how to write, using proper sentences and paragraphs, discussions, and interpretations of data analyses.
6. We will make every effort to help you learn the course material, but you must also try to utilize the resources that are made available to help you. Please come talk to us – not only when you are having trouble, but also when things are going well.

How to Get Help

Since the teaching staff for the courses and classes is large, you might wonder who you should see about what. Here are some general guidelines.

Clarifications on the homework: If the question does not give away any of the solution, you should post the question on the course discussion bulletin board. Simply click on the Communication forum indicated for each class.

If you have a question, someone else in the class does too, so posting to the forum will help everybody. The course staff reads the forum regularly and will try to answer your question as soon as possible. Likewise, it is possible that a fellow participant will have the answer and can respond. If the question requires giving away part of the solution, send one of the TA’s email or see one of the course staff during office hours.

You need help with the homework or class material: Talk with the member of the course staff in the cluster, send one of the instructors’ emails, or see any of the instructors during their office hours. Please don’t feel intimidated about going to office hours. We are all here to help you.

Questions about your grade on some homework: See (or email) the instructor in charge of the assignment. Your recitation instructor will know which person is responsible for which assignment.
Questions about your grade on a quiz or test: See your recitation instructor. You can send email or come by during office hours.

The course is taking too much of your time: This course is supposed to take, on average, 12 hours per week. If on average you are spending significantly more than this, we want to know. Please send one of the instructors an email message telling them. Occasionally, it is hard for us to judge the difficulty of an assignment, and your message lets us know when there is a problem.

General academic questions: The course staff is happy to answer general academic questions, such as “is it worth it for me to take 15-212?” You should catch one of us after class or recitation or see us during office hours.

Statement about Units

Units and Quality Points

WiseCourses Academy has adopted the method of assigning several “units” for each course to represent the quantity of work required of students.

Continuing Education Units (CEU).

Diversity Statement

“Respect for Diversity: It is our intent that participants from all diverse backgrounds and perspectives be well served by the course, that participants’ learning needs be addressed both in and out of class. And that the diversity that participants bring to this class be viewed as a resource, strength, and benefit. It is our intent to present materials and activities that are respectful of diversity: gender, sexuality, disability, age, socioeconomic status, ethnicity, race, and culture. Your suggestions are encouraged and appreciated. Please let us know ways to improve the effectiveness of the course for you personally or for other students or student groups. In addition, if any of our class meetings conflict with your religious events, please let me know so that we can plan for you.”

“The topics that we’re covering in the courses are often difficult, not just intellectually but emotionally. While we expect there to be rigorous discussion and even disagreement during our class discussions, we ask that you engage in discussion with care and empathy for the other members in the classroom. Aim to disagree without becoming disagreeable. In the class, we will not shy away from the uncomfortable. Critically examining and assessing our most basic assumptions and values is not just one of the tasks of philosophy but is an activity vital to living an authentic life. We urge you to have the courage to be uncomfortable in this class. In exchange for your courage, we will work to ensure a classroom environment that supports your taking these intellectual and emotional risks.”

“All people have the right to be addressed and referred to in accordance with their personal identity. In our class, we will have the chance to indicate the name that we prefer to be called and, if we choose, to identify pronouns with which we would like to be addressed… We will do our best to address and refer to all students accordingly, and support classmates in doing so as well.”

“‘An academy is a place where the universality of the human experience manifests itself.’
-Albert Einstein Maintaining the spirit of Einstein’s viewpoint, the Department of Communication Studies is committed to providing an atmosphere of learning that is representative of a variety of perspectives. In our class, you will have the opportunity to express and experience cultural diversity as we focus on issues such as gender and communication in small groups, communication in the multicultural group, and cross-cultural and intercultural work group communication. In addition, writing assignments and daily activities have been designed to encourage individuality and creative expression. You are encouraged to not only take advantage of these opportunities in your own work, but also, learn from the information and ideas shared by other students.”

Document Control

Date	Reviewer	Observations
Feb 2023	Monica Lopez	Initial publication and release of the new policy
Jun 2023	Monica Lopez	Minor changes and updates
Oct 2023	Maximillian Kon	Minor changes and updates on list of systems