COURSE CALENDAR – MINISTRY FRAMEWORK DOCUMENT
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ATTENDANCE
Regular attendance is key to student success. Students who do not log on regularly and/or who do not actively participate in their courses jeopardize their opportunities to learn and reach their full potential.
Teachers will monitor attendance patterns for their students and will work with them and their parents/guardians to support students in any way they can. If student attendance issues cannot be resolved, the administration will be informed and possible consequences may include: student and parental/guardian contact, attendance contracts, or removal from the program.
Attendance for record keeping purposes will be based on the number of completed lessons. For example, if a course has 20 lessons to complete and the student has completed 16 of these, the attendance register would indicate that the student was in attendance for 80% of the 110 hours. This value will be scaled accordingly for the mid-semester report card.
Students who do not complete their courses within 12 months will be removed from the course and will not be reinstated, unless there are extenuating circumstances that can be verified by appropriate documentation.
CHEATING AND PLAGIARISM
“Learning is enhanced when students think independently and honestly”. It is expected that students will demonstrate respect for the intellectual property rights of others and adhere to a code of honour in all course activities. By accessing all OVS tests and exams, students necessarily agree to the understanding that these assessments, and any work submitted for evaluation, must be their own work and that any instances of cheating or plagiarism will not be tolerated.
PLAGIARISM IS DEFINED BY OVS AS
• The use of ideas or thoughts of a person other than the writer, without proper acknowledgement;
• The use of direct quotations, or of material paraphrased and/or summarized by the writer, without proper acknowledgement;
• The submission of an assignment that has been written in part or in whole by someone else as one’s own; and
• The submission of material obtained from a computerized source, with or without minor modifications, as one’s own.
CHEATING IS DEFINED BY OVS AS
• The buying and/or selling of assignments, or exam/test questions;
• Submission of the same piece of work in more than one course without the permission of the teacher;
• The preparation of an assignment by someone else other than the stated writer;
• Allowing one’s assignment to be copied by someone else or providing another student your assignment;
• The unauthorized giving or receiving of information or assistance during an examination or a test.
Academic dishonesty destroys the integrity of the program by diminishing the learning experience for the entire Ontario Virtual School community. Therefore, maintaining academic integrity is imperative. Whether intentional or through ignorance of the policy, acts of academic dishonesty are unacceptable and will not be tolerated by the school. Any student or students found to be in violation of this policy will be subject to a mark of zero for the assessment in question. Additional consequences, up to and including forfeiture of the credit and course fees, may be exacted. Cases of academic dishonesty will be addressed on a case-by-case basis by the Principal and Head of Student Services. Any consequences imposed will reflect a continuum of behavioural and academic responses, based on the following factors:
1. The grade level of the student,
2. The maturity of the student,
3. The number and frequency of incidents, and
4. The individual circumstances of the student.
APPROPRIATE COMPUTER USE POLICY
The Learning Management System (LMS) at the Ontario Virtual School is designed for educational purposes only. Any use of LMS tools within a course for any purpose other than the intended educational purpose is prohibited. Inappropriate uses include, but are not limited to, criminal, obscene, commercial, or illegal purposes.
The administration reserves the right to review all student work to determine the appropriateness of computer use. If the LMS is deemed to be used inappropriately, the administration will levy consequences which may include suspensions and/or removal from the program. In some cases, further action may be taken including contacting day schools, legal representation or the police.
Students must remain vigilant to prevent entering into a situation whereby they may be suspected of inappropriate use. Therefore, students are reminded to:
• Protect their passwords and keep them private.
• Inform their teacher immediately upon receipt of suspicious messages or any incidents related to the OVS account or personal email used for OVS interactions.
• Only access content intended for student use.