The Care Institute is committed to fostering an educational environment grounded in honesty, responsibility, and professional integrity. All participants are expected to uphold the highest standards of ethical conduct in their academic work.
Participants in Care Institute programs are encouraged to view academic integrity as extending beyond technical compliance and as reflective of the professional and ethical standards associated with clinical, pastoral, and lay caregiving work.
1. Scope and Applicability
This policy applies to all learners enrolled in Care Institute courses and programs, including fully online and asynchronous offerings, and covers all graded and ungraded academic activities, including but not limited to:
- Written assignments and reflections
- Projects and integrative work
- Assessments and examinations
- Discussion contributions
Participants are expected to:
- Submit work that is their own and original, unless collaboration is explicitly permitted
- Accurately represent sources through appropriate citation and attribution
- Complete assignments in accordance with course instructions and stated requirements
- Refrain from misrepresenting participation, attendance, or completion of coursework
Academic misconduct includes, but is not limited to:
- Plagiarism: Presenting another person’s words, ideas, or work as one’s own without proper attribution
- Unauthorized collaboration: Working with others on assignments intended to be completed independently
- Fabrication or falsification: Inventing or altering data, references, or completion records
- Cheating: Using unauthorized materials or assistance on assessments
- Misrepresentation: Submitting work completed by another individual or misrepresenting one’s identity or participation
As a fully online program, The Care Institute utilizes remote instructional and grading staff to review assignments, track course progression, and assess participant work.
Participants acknowledge that:
- Assignments may be reviewed for originality and integrity
- Instructors or evaluators may request clarification or additional documentation regarding submitted work
- The Institute may employ reasonable measures to ensure academic honesty and verification of learner participation
The Care Institute acknowledges that artificial intelligence tools may be used in limited ways to support learning. However, all submitted work must reflect the participant’s own original thinking, analysis, and authorship.
Unless explicitly authorized in writing, participants may not use AI tools to:
- Generate written assignments, reflections, or projects submitted as original work
- Produce responses to graded assessments or examinations
- Paraphrase or rewrite content in a way that obscures authorship
- Generate citations, sources, or references without independent verification
The Care Institute reserves the right to review submitted work for indicators of AI-generated content and to request clarification regarding authorship. Submission of AI-generated or AI-assisted work as original may be treated as a violation of the Academic Integrity Policy and subject to academic or administrative consequences.
Violations of this policy are taken seriously and will be reviewed by appropriate instructional or administrative personnel.
Consequences may include, but are not limited to:
- Required revision or resubmission of work
- Reduction or denial of credit for the assignment
- Failure of the course or program component
- Removal from a course or program
- Revocation of certificates or credentials issued in connection with the program
The severity of consequences will correspond to the nature and seriousness of the violation.
Because The Care Institute serves individuals engaged in professional and caregiving roles, violations of academic integrity may also be considered in light of broader ethical and professional expectations. Participants are encouraged to approach coursework as an extension of their professional formation and responsibility to others.
By enrolling in or participating in Care Institute programs, learners acknowledge their responsibility to understand and comply with this Academic Integrity Policy.
