Student Guidelines

1. The Brilliant Learning Honor Code

At Brilliant Learning, academic distinction is built upon an unwavering foundation of personal integrity, rigorous intellectual honesty, and genuine self-improvement. We empower students across the globe to achieve top-tier grades in rigorous programs such as the IB Diploma, Cambridge IGCSE, and SAT by developing authentic mastery of foundational concepts.

2. Academic Integrity & Anti-Plagiarism Policy

Academic honesty is fundamental to the ethos of the International Baccalaureate (IB) and Cambridge Assessment International Education (CAIE). Brilliant Learning enforces a strict zero-tolerance policy regarding intellectual dishonesty:

• Authentic Authorship: All homework, diagnostic responses, essay outlines, and practice exam scripts must be the student’s own authentic creation.
• Zero Ghostwriting: Students must never ask, incentivize, or permit a tutor or third party to write or draft any part of their school coursework, IA, EE, or graded assignment.
• AI & Generative Tools: Generative AI tools (e.g. ChatGPT) may only be used for conceptual exploration or grammar refinement where permitted by the student’s school. Copying AI-generated text directly into submitted assessments is considered academic malpractice.
• Proper Citation: All external academic sources, datasets, and quotes must be cited using standard academic formats (APA, MLA, or Harvard).

3. Ethical Utilization of Solved Papers & Markschemes

Access to hundreds of past examination papers and official markschemes is a powerful academic privilege. To derive maximum learning value:

1. Timed Independent Attempt First: Always complete an exam paper under timed conditions without consulting markschemes or notes. This builds genuine exam endurance and pinpoints knowledge gaps.
2. Diagnostic Error Analysis: Review the official markscheme only after finishing your attempt. Focus on M-marks (method marks), A-marks (accuracy marks), and examiner remarks explaining why specific steps earned credit.
3. Avoid Passive Memorization: Never simply copy answers from markschemes into homework assignments. Memorizing markschemes without underlying conceptual understanding leads to failure when examination boards alter question variants.

4. Live 1-on-1 Tutoring Session Etiquette

Our educators are senior teachers and examiner-trained mentors who commit their time and expertise to your success. To maintain a productive, professional learning environment:

• Punctuality: Log into the virtual classroom 2 to 3 minutes prior to the scheduled start time. Sessions will conclude at the designated hour to respect subsequent student appointments.
• Active Preparation: Come prepared with specific questions, identified paper doubts, and homework attempts. The most impactful sessions occur when students drive the inquiry.
• Audio & Video Peripherals: Students are encouraged to maintain active camera video and a clear microphone during sessions to foster interactive pedagogical engagement and board-writing collaboration.
• Mutual Respect: Maintain courteous, respectful communication at all times. Inappropriate language, disrespectful behavior, or unexcused disruptions will result in immediate termination of the session.

5. Internal Assessment (IA), EE & TOK Mentorship Guidance

For IB Diploma candidates working on Internal Assessments, the 4,000-word Extended Essay (EE), and Theory of Knowledge (TOK) exhibitions and essays:

• The Mentor’s Role: Our mentors guide students through topic selection, research question refinement, rubric criteria breakdown, experimental design critique, and structural feedback.
• The Student’s Role: The student must conduct the research, perform laboratory experiments or mathematical modeling, write the actual prose, and format citations.
• Final Confirmation: Brilliant Learning faculty will decline to review any assignment if there is reasonable suspicion that the work is not the student’s original output.

6. Mock Exam Simulation Protocols

When enrolled in Brilliant Learning’s invigilated mock test series prior to May or November official exam sessions:

• Exam Room Environment: Complete the exam in a private, quiet room free from phones, secondary monitors, or textbooks.
• Approved Calculator Regulations: Use only board-approved graphic display calculators (e.g., TI-Nspire CX II non-CAS, Casio fx-CG50) with memory cleared or in official Press-to-Test / Exam Mode.
• Formula Booklet Usage: Refer strictly to the official, clean curriculum data booklet without personal handwritten notes or cheat sheets.
• Honest Timing: Stop writing immediately when the allocated time expires. Submit your scanned scripts within 15 minutes of completion for official examiner marking.

7. Digital Respect, Privacy & Safety

Brilliant Learning takes student digital safety seriously. All members of our community must uphold standard digital citizenship:

• Recording tutoring sessions without explicit written consent from the mentor and academic administration is prohibited.
• Do not share personal phone numbers or direct social media contacts with tutors outside authorized Brilliant Learning communication channels.
• Report any uncomfortable, inappropriate, or unprofessional interactions immediately to the Academic Desk.

8. Academic Review Board & Compliance

Failure to adhere to these Student Guidelines may result in formal warnings, cancellation of mock exam grade verification, forfeiture of prepaid tuition packages, or termination of account access without refund.