In our experience, academic misconduct (dishonesty, cheating, plagiarism, etc.) most often occurs because students are unaware of how to properly cite sources, or because students become overwhelmed and desperate. If you are concerned about how you are doing in this course, please contact your trainer instead of considering academic misconduct. You are very capable of meeting the expectations for your training.

Please ask for help in understanding and avoiding plagiarism (passing the work or words of others off as your own work or words) or other forms of academic dishonesty. Contact your trainer about your concerns or needs for flexibility, before you do something that may end your training with us.

New Beginnings Childbirth Services has our policies posted on our public website here: 

Each student must sign and agree to the scope of practice and code of ethics, which includes honesty and integrity. We expect our doulas to be honest and act with integrity at all times, and our students are expected to do the same.

We at New Beginnings commit to values of trust, honesty, integrity, and accountability. We will not tolerate academic dishonesty. By enrolling in any course, the student accepts the New Beginnings Academic Honesty Code and affirms the following pledge:

I will not lie, cheat, fabricate, plagiarize, or use any other dishonest means to gain unfair academic advantage.

Any violation of our policies will be taken very seriously and appropriate sanctions will be applied. This may mean your trainer requires you to rewrite, cite, and resubmit multiple assignments, or it could be as serious as terminating your training with New Beginnings.

Plagiarism or other academic dishonesty will result in being required to rewrite, cite, and resubmit assignments, and possibly the premature end of your training. Please be careful to cite all outside sources and to do your own, original work. This includes websites and online searches, including AI search results. When in doubt, cite!

AI Use:

As technology continues to evolve, the use of Artificial Intelligence (AI) in academic settings has become increasingly common. Therefore, it is important to establish guidelines and expectations to ensure that the use of AI such as ChatGPT is both ethical and effective.

Guidelines:

Use AI such as ChatGPT as a tool, not a substitute: The use of AI is meant to be an aid in completing assignments, not a substitute for critical thinking or original work. Students who use AI such as ChatGPT are expected to use it to supplement their own knowledge and ideas, not to provide complete answers to assignments.

Acknowledge the use of AI: If using ChatGPT or any other AI tool, students must clearly acknowledge their use of this tool. it must be cited as an outside source and you must include a paragraph that explains what you used the AI for and what prompt(s) you used to get your results. This paragraph must be written by you, not the AI!

Ensure accuracy: AI is a powerful tool, but it is not infallible. Students are responsible for ensuring the accuracy of any information or responses generated by AI. You will likely need to refine your prompt in order to obtain a good outcome. Assume numbers and facts are wrong unless you have checked with yourself through a valid source. You will be responsible for any errors or omissions.

Avoid plagiarism: Using AI to generate content that is identical or substantially similar to another source without proper attribution constitutes plagiarism. Students must ensure that any material generated by AI is properly cited, and that any paraphrasing is done in your own words.

Follow the assignment requirements: Students who use AI must do so in a manner that is consistent with each assignment. Assignments should be completed in a way that demonstrates an understanding of the course content and learning objectives, with ChatGPT serving as a tool to aid in that process, not as the main mechanism for completing the assignment.

As always, our academic policies still apply. Your work must be your own and you should adhere to the policies we have outlined.

When in doubt, students should reach out to their trainer for clarification. Our trainers are Cherylyn and Mell, and they can be reached by email – cherylyn@trainingdoulas.com and mell@trainingdoulas.com 

If you don’t know who your trainer is, please email office@trainingdoulas.com and we will help you.

Please type “yes” in the box to agree to the policy