1. Objective

The purpose of this policy is to uphold academic integrity, fairness, and ethical conduct during all online evaluations conducted under any course or program offered by Masai School, whether independently or in collaboration with partner institutions.

This policy defines plagiarism, outlines compliance expectations during proctored assessments, and specifies the consequences of academic misconduct. It also extends to plagiarism and misconduct in asynchronous submissions (assignments, projects, and code repositories) and to the unauthorized use of generative AI tools, as detailed in Section 3.

2. Scope and Applicability

This policy applies to all students participating in any assessment, test, or evaluation conducted under any course or program offered by Masai School, whether independently or in collaboration with partner institutions. Occurrences are counted cumulatively across all assessments taken by the student during their enrollment, regardless of the specific Masai program or partner institution administering the assessment. Where a partner institution maintains its own academic integrity policy, the stricter of the two policies will apply.

3. Definition of Plagiarism and Academic Misconduct

Plagiarism refers to the act of presenting someone else’s work, ideas, code, or responses as one’s own without proper acknowledgment.

Academic misconduct includes, but is not limited to:

• Copying or sharing answers during an evaluation.
• Using unauthorized assistance, materials, or communication tools.
• Attempting to manipulate, disable, or deceive the proctoring system.
• Impersonating another candidate or seeking help from an external source.
• Collusion: unauthorized collaboration between two or more students on an assessment intended to be completed individually.
• Fabrication: inventing or falsifying data, results, or credentials submitted as part of an assessment or application.
• Unauthorized use of generative AI or third-party tools: using ChatGPT, GitHub Copilot, or any other AI or human assistance service to generate, translate, or substantially edit responses or code submitted for evaluation, unless expressly permitted for that assessment.

Any such act is a serious violation of academic ethics and will attract disciplinary action as outlined below.

Key Definitions:

• Qualifier Process: the assessment program administered by Masai School, alone or in collaboration with Partner Institutes, through which candidates are evaluated for admission, progression, or certification purposes.
• Partner Institute: any educational institution or organization that has entered into a collaboration agreement with Masai School to administer the Qualifier Test Process or other assessments covered by this policy.
• Disciplinary Committee: the review body constituted under Section 6 to investigate and decide suspected violations of this policy.
• Authorized Materials and Tools: any material, device, tool, or form of assistance that the instructions for a specific assessment expressly permit. Anything not expressly permitted for that assessment is unauthorized.
• Suspicious Activity: conduct observed during a proctored assessment that a reasonable proctor or reviewer would consider inconsistent with independent, unaided completion of the assessment, including but not limited to a second person or unauthorized device visible on camera, audible conversation or prompts, sustained absence from the camera frame, or use of a second screen, tab, or application not permitted for that assessment. A single brief or incidental occurrence will not, on its own, be treated as suspicious activity.
• Verified Occurrence: an instance of plagiarism or academic misconduct that the Disciplinary Committee has reviewed, based on proctoring recordings, logs, or other evidence and the student’s response under Section 6, and confirmed as more likely than not to have occurred.
• Academic File: the confidential record maintained by Masai School documenting a student’s disciplinary history under this policy, accessible only to the Disciplinary Committee, and authorized administrators.
• Business Day: a day other than Saturday, Sunday, or a public holiday observed by Masai School’s head office, calculated in Indian Standard Time regardless of the student’s location.

4. Proctoring Compliance

• All students are mandated to comply with the dual proctoring requirements (camera and screen monitoring) during online evaluations.
• Failure to adhere to proctoring guidelines, switching off or obstructing the camera, or engaging in any suspicious activity will be treated as a breach of academic integrity.
• Masai School and its partner Institutes reserve the right to review all recordings, logs, and evidence collected through the proctoring mechanism to determine cases of misconduct.
• Isolated technical failures (e.g., camera or connectivity interruptions) that are promptly disclosed and resolved will not, on their own, be treated as a breach of academic integrity. Students requiring accommodation due to a documented disability or connectivity constraint may request alternate arrangements in advance of the assessment.

5. Consequences of Plagiarism or Academic Misconduct

The following disciplinary measures will apply based on the number of verified occurrences:

Note: The disciplinary action applies based on the verified occurrence and severity of the act. The Disciplinary Committee may, however, consider whether the conduct was intentional or accidental as a mitigating factor in determining the specific consequence within the applicable band above — for example, impersonation or tampering with the proctoring system will be treated as a severe offense and escalated accordingly even on a first occurrence. Students are therefore advised to exercise utmost caution and honesty during all assessments.

6. Review and Implementation Process

• All instances of suspected plagiarism or dishonesty detected through the proctoring system will be reviewed by the Disciplinary Committee of the Program.
• The Committee will verify evidence and notify the student in writing of the specific allegation and supporting evidence. The student will be guaranteed a minimum of three (3) business days to submit a response, which the Committee must consider before finalizing its decision. The Committee will aim to finalize its decision within ten (10) business days of completing its evidence review.
• All official communications regarding the outcome or disciplinary actions will be sent to the student’s registered email address only.

7. Student Responsibility and Ethical Conduct

Students are expected to maintain the highest standards of integrity throughout their learning journey.

Any attempt to gain an unfair advantage — whether through plagiarism, collaboration during restricted assessments, or misuse of technology — compromises personal learning and the reputation of the academic community.

Masai School encourages all students to:

• Complete assessments independently.
• Use reference materials ethically and with proper citation.
• Seek guidance when in doubt about acceptable practices.