Academic Integrity

1. Purpose

Berean Institutes certifies what its students can do. A certificate means something only if the work behind it is the student's own. This policy explains what honest work requires, what counts as a violation, and what happens when a violation is suspected.

2. Who and what this policy covers

This policy applies to every applicant and student. It covers the program application, the reading and writing assessment, and all course work: assignments, papers, quizzes, examinations, discussion posts, research projects, and any work submitted toward a certificate.

3. What honest work means

• The work you submit is your own, in your own words.
• You name every source you use, whether you quote it, summarize it, or borrow its idea.
• You report what sources and evidence actually say.
• You follow the rules your instructor or the assessment sets for help, sources, and tools.
• You ask your instructor when you are unsure what is allowed.

4. Violations

The following are violations of this policy:

Plagiarism

Presenting another person’s words or ideas as your own, including copying without quotation marks or citation, and close paraphrase without citation.

Unauthorized help

Getting help from another person on work that must be done alone, or working with others when the instructor has not allowed it.

Unauthorized sources and tools

Using notes, books, websites, or software that the assignment or assessment does not allow. Using an artificial intelligence tool to write or rewrite work you submit as your own is a violation unless your instructor allows it for that assignment, and then only as the instructor allows.

Work done by someone else

Submitting work that another person wrote or completed for you, whether paid or unpaid.

Fabrication

Inventing or altering quotations, citations, sources, data, or evidence.

Reusing your own work

Submitting work you already submitted elsewhere, in whole or in part, without your instructor’s permission.

Helping another student violate this policy

Sharing your work so it can be copied, or completing work for someone else.

Sharing assessment or examination content

Copying, recording, or passing on the questions or passages of the assessment or of an examination.

Giving the Institute false information or documents is handled under the Student Conduct policy.

5. Citing your sources

Most Berean courses use Turabian notes and bibliography; some biblical studies courses use SBL style. Your professor tells you which style each course requires. The Turabian and SBL quick guides show the patterns for common sources.

6. The admissions assessment

The reading and writing assessment is not proctored. Before you begin, you confirm that you will work alone and use no notes, books, or websites. Breaking those rules is a violation of this policy and may lead to the assessment result being voided and the application being denied. See Assessment rules.

7. How a concern is handled

1. An instructor, staff member, or student reports the concern. An instructor who suspects a violation in course work reports it rather than deciding it alone.
2. The Lead Professor and Faculty Chair, or a member of the Academic Board they appoint, reviews the report.
3. If the report may be a violation, you are told in writing what is alleged and which work is involved.
4. You may respond in writing or in a video meeting.
5. The reviewer decides whether a violation occurred, using a standard of “more likely than not,” and tells you the decision and the reason in writing.

8. Your rights in the process

• To be told in writing what is alleged.
• To see the work and the information the decision relies on.
• To respond before a decision is made.
• To keep working in your course while the concern is reviewed, unless the concern involves an examination still in progress.
• To receive the decision and the reason in writing, and to appeal.

9. Outcomes

Outcomes depend on how serious the violation is, whether it was intended, and whether it is repeated. They include:

• a written warning and a required correction of the work;
• redoing the work, or a reduced grade or a zero for it;
• a failing grade for the course;
• academic probation;
• suspension or dismissal from the Institute; and
• for an applicant, a voided assessment result or denial of admission.

If a serious violation is found after a certificate is issued, the Academic Board may revoke the certificate and update its public verification record.

10. Appeals

You may appeal a decision in writing to the Academic Board within 7 business days. State one or more grounds:

• the process was not followed;
• there is new information that was not available before; or
• the outcome does not fit the violation.

The Academic Board's decision is final.

11. No retaliation

The Institute prohibits retaliation against anyone who reports a concern or takes part in a review. Retaliation is a violation of the Student Conduct policy.