Academic Integrity Policy

This is the document we would hand the University of Canterbury on day one. It is written to be read by a student in thirty seconds and by a university in five minutes, and both readings should reach the same conclusion.

The line

Lighthouse is for understanding and practice. It is never for completing work that will be assessed.

Peer tutoring is ordinary and legitimate. Students have explained things to each other for as long as universities have existed. What makes it misconduct is not that help was given, but that the work submitted was not the student's own.

What is fine

• Explaining a concept the student has not understood
• Working through a practice problem together
• Reviewing marked work the student has already had returned, to understand where it went wrong
• Explaining how to approach a type of problem
• Talking through lecture material, a textbook, or a past exam paper
• Helping someone check their own understanding by asking them questions

What is not

• Doing an assignment, or any part of one, that will be handed in
• Sitting or assisting with a test or exam, online or otherwise
• Writing an essay, or drafting sentences that will be submitted
• Working through the student's actual assessed questions rather than equivalent practice ones
• Providing answers to be copied
• Anything the student's course or the university has said is not allowed

The simplest test: if the tutor's contribution would end up in something being marked, it is not allowed.

How this is enforced in the product

This is not a policy that sits on a page. It is built into the flow.

Agreement at signup. Every student and tutor accepts this policy when they create an account.

Agreement at every session. Both people accept it again before a session can start. Not a link, an actual acceptance, every time.

A reminder on screen. During the session, both people see a reminder that this is for understanding and practice.

One-tap reporting. Either person can report that the other asked for, or offered, help with assessed work. It goes straight to a human review queue.

Records. We keep every agreement, every report, and every action taken.

For tutors: this protects you

If a student asks you to do their assessed work, decline and report it. That is not you causing trouble, it is you protecting yourself.

You are a UC student. If a student you helped is later investigated for misconduct, the record showing that you refused and reported it is the difference between being a witness and being a respondent. Use the button.

You will never be penalised on Lighthouse for refusing a request. Declining a session because you were asked to cross the line has no effect on your rating, your eligibility, or your standing.

What happens when something is reported

A person reviews it, and we aim to respond within 2 business days. Payment for the session is held while it is reviewed.

Depending on what we find we may take no action, issue a warning, remove a tutor's eligibility for a paper, or remove an account entirely. Repeat behaviour results in removal.

We keep the record either way, including where we decide nothing happened.

Our relationship with the University of Canterbury

Lighthouse is not affiliated with, endorsed by, or operated by the University of Canterbury. It is a service that UC students choose to use.

We take the university's academic integrity rules seriously, and this policy is written to sit alongside them rather than against them. Where UC's rules for a particular course are stricter than this policy, UC's rules apply. Some courses restrict collaboration more tightly than others, and it is the student's responsibility to know what their course allows.

If the university has concerns about how Lighthouse is being used, we would rather hear from them than not. We will provide our records of agreements, reports and actions taken on request where we are lawfully able to.

Contact: lighthousetut@gmail.com

What we do not currently do

Stated plainly, because a policy that overstates its own defences is worse than one that does not.

Sessions are not recorded or monitored by default. Transcription exists as a feature and is currently switched off. So this policy rests on agreement, reporting and consequences rather than on proof of what was said.

We think that is the right balance for peer tutoring between adults, and we would rather say so than imply a surveillance capability we do not use.