We Expect All Students at The National School of Aesthetics to Present Their Own Ideas and Work in Assessments
Academic integrity is in place to ensure a certain standard of education is achieved at the National School of Aesthetics. Academic dishonesty, such as cheating, copying, plagiarism, and falsification, are discouraged.
The National School of Aesthetics thanks and honours Westmont College (Santa Barbara, CA, USA), who have graciously given us permission to adapt their Academic Integrity policies and procedures for our own use.
Quick Links about Academic Integrity
Academic Integrity at The National School of Aesthetics
The beauty industry acts within strong ethical guidelines. A qualified beauty therapist, nail technician, or spa therapist needs to remain honest in all her dealings with various people and organisations she interacts with, and she also should hold the knowledge and skills to give her clients the best outcome for each individual client.
At the National School of Aesthetics, we encourage our students to think critically about their learning, their profession, their treatments, their products and their industry. Students should learn and grow their knowledge, and how to apply that knowledge to individual treatments for individual clients, sometimes uniquely different from others. They should act with integrity not only in their learning and assessments but also in the industry. Students are studying with us to become the best beauty therapist, nail technician, or spa therapist they can be.
We will not tolerate academic dishonesty from students, including, but not limited to, cheating, collusion, falsification, and plagiarism.
Academic Dishonesty
Cheating
Cheating is defined as you:
- Attempting to gain credit for work obtained by deceptive means from another person or another source; and / or
- Deceptively aiding another person for that person to gain credit for work.
Cheating can include, but is not limited to, you:
- Talking with another student during an assessment or examination;
- Using hand or other signals with another student during an assessment or examination;
- Having or accessing unauthorised items, such as a mobile phone or cheat sheet, to obtain information for an assessment or examination;
- Copying or sharing information during an assessment or examination;
- Taking, using, sharing, and / or posting an assessment and / or exam, questions from an assessment and / or exam, or answers from an assessment and / or exam;
- Leaving an assessment or exam to obtain information for the assessment or exam;
- Misrepresenting the procedure used to take an assessment or exam, or complete an assignment, project, or case studies.
Collusion
Collusion is defined as you:
- Working with one or more people in an attempt to individually gain credit for work which may or may not be yours and / or one or more of your collaborators.
Collusion can include, but is not limited to, you:
- Working with one or more students on an individual assignment, including projects and case studies, and presenting this work as your own; and / or
- Submitting the same or similar work as one or more students, whether current or past students, and presenting this work as your own.
We generally do not issue group assignments, so you should assume you need to complete all your assignments by yourself, unless otherwise instructed by the senior NaSA team member in charge of the assignment.
Falsification
Falsification is defined as you misleading through altering:
- Documentation
- Information
- Other evidence
Falsification can include, but is not limited to, you:
- Making up or falsifying data, analysis, citations or other information for assignments, assessments, case studies, examinations, or any other academic work;
- Forging or altering official documents, credentials, or signatures;
- Misrepresenting your academic accomplishments, credentials, experiences, or expertise;
- Withholding information related to admission, enrolment, recognition of prior learning, credit transfer, cross-crediting, disciplinary actions, academic status, medical conditions, contraindications, previous learning, previous serious charges and / or convictions, and so on.
Plagiarism
Plagiarism is defined as you presenting someone else’s work as your own through:
- Using or copying another person’s words
- Mimicking or utilising another person’s line of thought
- Miming, copying, or using another person’s organisational structure.
Plagiarism occurs when you do not:
- Cite the sources properly; and / or
- Gain permission from the original author to use his or her work.
When you do not cite the sources used in your work, you are essentially stealing the material that is not your own; therefore, plagiarism is a form of dishonesty. When you plagiarise, you violate your relationships with classmates, graduates, tutors, other NaSA team members, and the industry in general, and you violate the legal rights of the people who created the work in the first place.
Another person’s “work” can include, but is not limited to:
- Drawings and paintings
- Photographs of treatment outcomes
- Case study and statistical data
- Papers and essays
- Articles or chapters
- Tables and figures
If any information you use can be considered the intellectual property of another person and you use it without correct acknowledgement of the original source, this is plagiarism.
Stating widely known facts, such as, “the molecular composition of water is two hydrogen atoms to one oxygen atom” or “the ocean is comprised of salt water”, is not generally considered plagiarism.
Types of Plagiarism
Plagiarism can take several forms and vary in severity. All forms are unacceptable in all submitted assignments, including projects and case studies, unless a tutor specifies otherwise.
Minimal Plagiarism
Minimal plagiarism is defined as doing any of the following without attributing the original source:
- Inserting a word-for-word phrase of 2 to 3 distinct words from a source
- Replacing certain words for other words meaning the same thing into the original sentence instead of rewriting the entire sentence from a source
- Reordering the clauses within a sentence from a source
- Imitating or mimicking a sentence, paragraph, or organisational structure, or writing style of a source
Substantial Plagiarism
Substantial plagiarism is defined as doing any of the following without attributing the original source:
- Inserting word-for-word sentences or longer passages from a source
- Combining paraphrasing with word-for-word sentences from a source to create a paragraph or more of text
- Using or mimicking a source’s logic, thesis or ideas
- Repeatedly engaging in minimal plagiarism
Complete Plagiarism
Complete plagiarism is defined as doing any of the following without attributing the original source:
- Turning in or presenting someone else’s complete published or unpublished work
- Submitting another student’s work for an assignment, with or without that person’s knowledge and / or consent
- Using information from any school’s old assignments
- Downloading a work from a Web site and submitting it as your own work
- Buying a work from a mail order company or Web site and submitting it as your own work
- Resubmitting, reusing, or modifying a previously submitted work (from another course or programme, for example) for a current assignment without written approval from your previous and current tutors
Response to Violations of Academic Integrity
Where a violation of academic integrity is suspected to have occurred, the tutor marking the assessment, or the tutor observing the assessment, should bring this to the attention of the Principal or Board of Directors. It may also be discussed with the Education Team, or the wider NaSA Team.
In most cases, you would receive 0% (fail mark) for the assessment in question, at least.
In more serious cases of violations of academic integrity, the Academic Council or their representatives may meet with you to discuss the case. Responses can include, but are not limited to:
- You receiving a fail mark for the assessment in question;
- You receiving a written warning to go permanently on your file;
- The school suspending you from attending class for a specific period; and / or
- The school expelling you from your programme without refund.
The relevant authorities may also be notified.
You have the right to have an advocate (such as parent, sibling, or friend) attend the meeting with you. The Student Liaison Officer may fill this role in cases where you have no advocate. The advocate cannot be a lawyer or other legal professional, and the advocate role is to support you, not to intervene on your behalf.
Where instances of violations of academic integrity are discovered after you have completed your programme, we may:
- Delay the issuing of the qualification(s);
- Withhold the issuing of the qualification(s); and / or
- Rescind the qualification(s).
We may also notify relevant governing bodies such as the New Zealand Qualifications Authority and other relevant authorities.
Appeal to the Response to Violations of Academic Integrity
If you have been sanctioned as a response to violations of academic integrity, you have the right to appeal the decision.
Your appeal must:
- Be in writing (by signed letter);
- State the specific reason(s) for the appeal;
- Outline the specific grounds on which you are appealing;
- Be received by the Board of Directors or their representative from you within 3 school days after the decision is reached.
The appeal process is not a new hearing into the case, but it is in place to determine whether a new decision should be considered where:
- There may be a procedural error;
- New information has become available; and / or
- The original sanction(s) issued could be considered excessive.
During the appeal process, the Board of Directors reserve the right to set aside sanctions or keep them in place.
After a review, the Board of Directors will issue their findings in writing within 15 school days after the appeal is received. The decision may be one of the following:
Original Decision Upheld
If the review of the appeal determines no change in the original response to violations of academic integrity, then the original decision will be upheld.
Original Decision Modified
If the review of the appeal determines a change in the original response to violations of academic integrity, then the original decision will be modified. The modification may include sanctions being decreased, being modified, or being revoked.
The appeal decision will be the final decision made by the National School of Aesthetics on the matter, and no further appeals will be considered.