NBEA Learning Center Academic Integrity Policy

Purpose and Scope

NBEA is committed to professional learning grounded in honesty, fairness, respect, and responsibility. As educators, participants model the academic integrity they expect from their own students.

This policy applies to all Learning Center activities, including quizzes, discussions, reflections, projects, and requirements for certificates, digital badges, or professional development credit.

Your Work and Participation

All submitted work must reflect your own learning, judgment, and contribution. You must personally complete required course activities and accurately represent your participation.

You may not:

• Have another person complete coursework or assessments on your behalf.
• Submit another person’s project, responses, or materials as your own.
• Share your account or use another learner’s account to complete coursework.
• Misrepresent attendance, completion, time spent, or achievement.
• Bypass course requirements or manipulate completion records.

Personal reflections must describe your actual experiences, learning, and professional intentions. Do not invent classroom applications, results, or experiences.

Original Projects and Use of Sources

Projects must be created or meaningfully developed by you to meet the assignment’s learning objectives. Using permitted templates, examples, or tools does not remove your responsibility for the final work.

Acknowledge sources when using another person’s words, ideas, data, images, code, or instructional materials. Identify direct quotations and provide enough information for reviewers to locate the source. Formal citation styles are required only when specified by the assignment.

Do not fabricate references, evidence, data, or results.

Previously developed materials may be submitted only when the assignment permits them or the instructor approves their use. Identify the prior work and explain what you changed or developed during the course. Do not present previously completed work as newly created.

Collaboration and Assistance

Professional discussion, peer feedback, and sharing ideas are encouraged. However, individual assignments must demonstrate your own understanding and contribution.

Unless collaboration is explicitly authorized, do not jointly produce submissions, exchange assessment answers, or copy another learner’s responses. For approved group projects, identify the contributors and your own role.

Accessibility tools and approved accommodations are permitted. Routine spelling, grammar, and formatting assistance is also permitted when it preserves your meaning and does not generate substantive answers or analysis.

Artificial Intelligence and Other Digital Tools

AI permissions depend on the learning objective and assignment instructions.

• AI-focused activities: When an assignment directs you to use an AI tool, that use is authorized within the stated requirements.
• Other assignments: Unless explicitly permitted, do not use generative AI to produce assessment answers, substantive reflections, or other work intended to demonstrate your independent understanding.
• Disclosure: When permitted AI use contributes substantive text, images, code, analysis, or other project content, identify the tool and briefly explain how you used it and what you reviewed or revised.
• Responsibility: You remain responsible for accuracy, appropriate source acknowledgment, and the quality of everything you submit.

For example: “I used Canva Code to generate the initial game, then revised the questions, tested the interactions, and checked the content for accuracy.”

AI must not be used to invent personal experiences, fabricate evidence, or conceal a lack of participation. If instructions are unclear, ask the instructor before using AI for assessed work.

Assessment and Course Materials

Follow each assessment’s rules regarding notes, outside resources, collaboration, and digital tools. An online assessment is not automatically open-book.

Do not distribute restricted questions, answer keys, or another learner’s submissions without authorization.

When submitting classroom examples, remove identifying information about students and other individuals. Do not upload confidential school information or identifiable student work to external tools without appropriate authorization.

Review of Suspected Violations

NBEA will review concerns fairly and confidentially, sharing information only with those who need it to conduct the review.

The learner will receive an explanation of the concern and an opportunity to respond before a final decision. Reviewers may request relevant drafts, sources, revision history, or an explanation of the learner’s process.

A similarity score or AI-detection result alone will not establish misconduct. Decisions will consider the available evidence, assignment instructions, and the learner’s explanation.

Outcomes and Appeals

Responses will be proportionate to the seriousness of the violation, its effect on the assessment, and whether it is repeated. Outcomes may include:

• Guidance and correction of citations or disclosures.
• Revision or resubmission.
• An unsuccessful assessment result or additional work to demonstrate learning.
• Denial or revocation of a course certificate, badge, or professional development credit.
• Suspension or removal from the Learning Center for serious or repeated misconduct.

Learners will receive written notice of the decision and its rationale. An appeal may be submitted to the NBEA Executive Director within 10 business days of notification, identifying an error, procedural concern, or relevant new evidence. When practicable, the appeal will be reviewed by someone who did not make the original decision.

Professional Development Credit and Licensing Agencies

When applicable, NBEA reports professional development completion and credit to licensing agencies or other approving organizations. Such reporting must accurately reflect the learner’s participation and successful completion of course requirements.

If an academic integrity violation results in the denial or revocation of credit already reported, NBEA may notify the receiving agency and correct the completion record, consistent with applicable reporting requirements.

Approval and credit eligibility vary by agency, jurisdiction, and course. Learners are responsible for confirming that a course meets their licensing or renewal requirements. Information about where NBEA is approved to provide professional development credit is available at nbea.org/compliance.

Learner Acknowledgment

By participating in the NBEA Learning Center, I agree to complete required activities honestly, submit work that reflects my own learning and contribution, acknowledge sources and permitted assistance, and follow the instructions for each assignment.