Course Policies

 A. Academic Integrity & Honor Code

Academic Integrity at Al Qalam Academy means that students submit only their own original  work on all assignments at all times. The most common types of academic dishonesty include cheating, copying part or all of an assignment from another source (either from other students and/or from other sources), failing to appropriately cite sources used during research, and making their work available for other students to use or submit as their own. When students fail to have academic integrity in all their submissions, they are plagiarizing their work or aiding others in plagiarism. 

Teachers cite plagiarism through a variety of methods. All teachers have access to the plagiarism software which provides educators with a report of any material that appears to be copied from another source, including the student’s past submitted work. Teachers also use search engines, such as Google, and the like to find instances of plagiarism. No form of plagiarism will be tolerated at Al Qalam Academy. 

The following explains the steps taken for each plagiarism offense:

• First Offense – The assignment will receive a grade of 0. The instructor will email the student and provide information about the plagiarism citation and will provide a research report that the student must complete. The instructor will notify the administration for a citation in the student’s file. The instructor will delete all assignments submitted to the course and the student will have to re-submit all new and authentic assignments in the course. Only upon satisfactory completion of the assigned research report will the student be released to continue submitting assignments for the course. The student will resubmit the plagiarized assignment, but will only receive ½ credit for the assignment.
• Second Offense – The assignment will receive a grade of 0. The instructor will email the student and notify him/her of the citation and that it is the second offense in that course. The student must compose a letter of apology to the instructor, a letter to the school, and a letter to the source from which the material was taken. The criteria of these three letters will be at the discretion of the instructor. The instructor will notify the administration for a citation in the student’s file. The instructor will delete all assignments submitted to the course and the student will have to re-submit all new and authentic assignments in the course. Only upon satisfactory completion of the assigned research report will the student be released to continue submitting assignments for the course.
• Third Offense – The assignment will receive a grade of 0. The instructor will notify the administration for a citation in the student’s file. The instructor will indicate that the submission is plagiarized and will block all further submissions to that course. The student/parent will have to pay for the individual course as reflected on the tuition page on the main website. The student will face expulsion from the school. 

In pursuing your studies with Al Qalam Academy, you are expected to follow the honor system. Under the honor system, it is permissible to benefit from the exchange of ideas with other students, friends or family members. Although you may study with others, any work on the exams is expected to be of your own thoughts and ideas. Your exams must show what you have learned. You may not represent someone else’s work as your own. You may not buy, sell, or provide in any way, answers from graded assignments and exams to anyone else. You may not share your login information with anyone else other than the guarantor on the account, for the purpose of making course content available. If you do not adhere to the honor system, you should expect disciplinary action, which may include retaking an exam or dropping a course for another. Repeated violations may result in invalidation of any exam grades and/or your dismissal from Al Qalam Academy. 

All materials published by Al Qalam Academy are copyrighted. Supplying copies of questions and answers to other people is a violation of federal laws forbidding infringement of copyright and may be prosecuted thereunder. Therefore, you may not provide answers on exams to other people, whether they are students of Al Qalam Academy or not. 

By signing and submitting this application, you agree to follow Al Qalam Academy’s Honor System.

What can you do to avoid this issue?

1. Remember, teachers want to see students’ own original work: It is NEVER acceptable to go to Wikipedia, or any other website, copy information, and submit the assignment. As well, it is not enough to simply put a link at the bottom of the page to “cite” the source. If students are using words that are not 100% completely their own, put the citation not only at the end of the paper but at the end of the quoted or paraphrased material in accordance with MLA style.

In addition, teachers at Al Qalam Academy will NEVER ask students to copy and paste information and submit it. That is not learning. We want students to do research and demonstrate their learning in their own words. 

2. Work on your course(s) daily: To stay on track, work on your courses daily. When students procrastinate, it creates a headache for them in the end. 

3. Demonstrate your own understanding: Teachers want to see evidence that students are critical thinkers. Show that you are a critical thinker by demonstrating an understanding of the content in every assignment. You can do this by always submitting your own, original work. 

4. Sharing work from other students is also plagiarism: Some students are in the same course as other students they know (such as siblings in the same house or students participating in our partner programs). These students can be tempted to share assignments. 

5. Since changing only a few words is still plagiarism, it is helpful to use more than one source when completing a research assignment. This way students do not have just one explanation or description when writing answers. 

6. Making work available to others is also forbidden. Sharing your work is not precisely plagiarism, but it can lead to plagiarism. It is also in violation of the Honor Code. Never share your work with anyone or post it online for others to find.

B. Assignments 

In some ways, submitting assignments virtually is just like submitting them at a traditional school. However, in some ways, it is very different. While each assignment, course, and teacher varies, there are some general rules of thumb to remember when submitting assignments.

All submissions are considered to be formal, academic submissions. 

The assignments students submit are the way in which they demonstrate that they are learning.

Quizzes: If a student scores below 70% on a quiz, he or she may retake the quiz. If a student still fails to achieve a 70% on a quiz after the second attempt, it is at the teacher’s discretion to re-open the quiz. However, this is not done frequently and only for extraordinary circumstances. Students must take their time and be prepared. 

Assignments, Essays, and Worksheets: If a student scores below 70% on an assignment, essay, or worksheet, he or she may re-take the assignment. If a student still fails to achieve a 70% on an assignment, essay, or worksheet after the second attempt, it is at the teacher’s discretion to re-open the assignment, essay, or worksheet. However, this is not done frequently and only for extraordinary circumstances. 

C. Attendance

Al Qalam Academy requires students to attend live classes. Participation in class discussions and asking questions is highly recommended for students’ success. 

It is strongly recommended that students work for 3-5 hours a day and/or a minimum of 20 hours per week. 

It is the responsibility of the student/parent(s)/guardian(s) to meet the compulsory school attendance requirements of the student’s home state and comply with the legal requirements of the student’s home state’s homeschool laws. 

D. Bullying and Harassment

Al Qalam Academy expects that all students attending Al Qalam Academy and all personnel employed by Al Qalam  Academy not engage in bullying or harassment. Bullying and harassment will not be tolerated and shall be cause for disciplinary action. 

Al Qalam Academy defines bullying as systematically and chronically inflicting physical hurt or psychological distress on one or more students or employees. It is further defined as unwanted, purposeful written, verbal, nonverbal, or physical behavior including but not limited to any threatening, insulting, or dehumanizing gesture by an adult or student that has the potential to create an intimidating, hostile, or offensive educational environment or cause long term damage. Bullying is further defined as causing discomfort, humiliation, or interference with the individual’s school performance or participation, is an act carried out repeatedly, and is often characterized by an imbalance of power.

Al Qalam Academy defines cyber stalking as engaging in a course of conduct to communicate or to cause to be communicated words, images, or language by or through the use of electronic mail or electronic communication directed at or about a specific person and causing substantial emotional distress to that person while serving no legitimate purpose. Further, Al Qalam Academy defines cyber bullying as the willful and repeated harassment and intimidation of a person through the use of digital technologies including, but not limited to, email, blogs, social websites (e.g. Facebook, Instagram), chat rooms, and instant messaging. 

The student consequences for behaviors and actions that violate Al Qalam Academy’s policy on bullying and harassment will be determined by the administration and may include:

 ● Student/teacher/parent conferences

 ● Suspension or expulsion from Al Qalam Academy

E. Course Completion 

Full time students have a maximum of one year (365 days/ 12 months) from enrollment date to complete their course work.

If the student is unable to complete requirements for a course due to hardship circumstances in that timeframe she/ he or she will receive an incomplete grade. Courses with Incomplete Grades may be re-taken for an additional fee. 

There is no option to take a final or comprehensive exam to be exempt out of a course. It is also not an option for students to complete a course without completing all the assignments. 

Students are expected to complete all coursework before a course will be marked as completed, and attain grades and or credits. 

Per our policy, students must complete ALL assessments (assignments, worksheets, quizzes, tests, essays, projects, etc.,) in all courses in order to attain grades and or credits from Al Qalam Academy.

F. Grading 

Teachers will grade all assignments, essays, and worksheets in 48-72 hours. When one student submits more than 5 assignments at a time for a single class, the grading time is extended 24 hours for each additional assignment. For example, if a student submits 7 assignments in one day, the teacher has 96-120 hours (4-5 days) to grade all of the work.