By virtue of enrolling at the Curtis Institute of Music, you have signaled your desire to learn and to grow as a person and as an artist. Learning and growth require effort and sometimes discomfort and difficulty. Challenges are part of the learning process, as are excitement, joy, and fulfillment. There are no shortcuts to becoming an independent thinker and artist.

Therefore, fundamental to the work you do at Curtis is the expectation that you will make choices that reflect personal integrity and responsible behavior. You may feel overwhelmed while at Curtis. You will need to complete thoughtful academic work, attend lessons and classes, practice your instrument or craft, and participate in concerts and programs. Support for students
experiencing difficulties is available through the staff members of the Office of Student Life, and Curtis faculty members are available for academic consultation as well. No matter the stress you may find yourself experiencing, Curtis expects you to complete your work with the highest degree of academic integrity.

Students are responsible to familiarize themselves with this policy in all its components listed below and should bring any questions or concerns they have about the policy and its application to the attention of an academic faculty member or academic department chair.

Any student who is uncertain about the application of any part of the policy to any particular assignment has the responsibility to ask their instructor for clarification and for more explicit directions.

Violations of The Academic Honesty Policy occur when a student attempts to receive academic credit or a grade in a way that is dishonest, or otherwise engages in conduct that is deceptive, deceitful, or misrepresents the student’s work. Dishonesty misrepresents a student’s knowledge and abilities and undermines the instructor’s ability to honestly and fairly assess a student’s knowledge and abilities. Violations will be judged seriously and thoroughly. The following actions are some examples of academic dishonesty. This list is not designed to be exhaustive: The Academic Honesty Policy constitutes the principle by which infractions will be evaluated:

• Cheating: using or giving unauthorized assistance or material in examinations or any other
academic work, for example by using a cheat sheet during an exam, copying from a
colleague, or referencing online materials without permission.
• Plagiarism: presenting work from another source as your own, including using the ideas or
language of another person, without full acknowledgment. Published and unpublished
material, websites, and material generated wholly or in part through the use of artificial
intelligence (unless specifically permitted for an assignment by an instructor) are included
in this definition.
• Self-Plagiarism: re-using your own work (whether that work was submitted for the same
course, another course at Curtis, or a course at another institution) without specific
instructor permission and full citation.
• Fabrication of sources.
• Dishonesty regarding absences, lateness, or missed work.
• Unauthorized collaboration with, or assistance from or to, other students in the completion
of assignments or examinations.

If an instructor suspects that a student has violated the policy, the instructor will request a meeting with, and an explanation from, the student. If the student admits the infraction or the instructor determines that a violation has occurred, the instructor may choose to require the student to re-do the work, may choose to reduce the grade for the assignment in question, including by assigning an F for the assignment, or may choose to fail the student for the course. Further penalties, including academic probation, expulsion from the Bachelor of Music program, or expulsion from Curtis, may be determined by the Senior Associate Dean of Academics.

A report of the infraction, written by the instructor, shall be placed in the student’s file.

In cases where a student’s sanction includes suspension, expulsion, or failure of a course, a student who disputes the finding of a violation of the Academic Honesty Policy and/or the sanction has the right to a hearing before the Academic Honesty Student Conduct Board. To initiate such a hearing, the student must submit a request for a hearing within fourteen calendar days of being informed of the determination of the violation. The only issues that may be raised by the student are (1) Did a violation of the Academic Honesty Policy occur? and (2) Was the sanction determined by the instructor inappropriate? The instructor shall respond in writing to the student’s request for a hearing within seven calendar days, and notify the department chair.

Hearings shall follow the same procedure for lodging an appeal to the Student Conduct Board, as outlined in the Student Code of Conduct, with the below caveats.

In all academic honesty cases, the Senior Associate Dean of Academics shall oversee the hearing process. The Academic Honesty Student Conduct Board shall consist of the Senior Associate Dean of Academics, two faculty members, the registrar, and a student. After the AHSC Board hears the matter, it submits a recommendation to the Provost, with a copy to the student involved. The Student involved has seven days to respond to the recommendation in writing. The Provost shall then decide whether to accept, reject or modify the recommendation and the Provost’s ruling shall be final.