Academic Integrity
Tips for Faculty
Page Content
Faculty members are the first line of defense to deter and detect violations of academic integrity. According to research conducted between fall 2002 and spring 2015, Dr. Donald McCabe of Rutgers University in collaboration with the International Center for Academic Integrity found that 17% of Graduate students and 39% of undergraduate students admitted to cheating on tests and 40% of graduate students and 62% of undergraduate students admitted to cheating on written assignments. While these numbers are staggering, there are simple steps faculty can take to reduce incidents of cheating in their classrooms.
Guidelines
Deterring Academic Integrity Violations
- Discuss with your students what is and is not cheating. Knowing that you are concerned with academic integrity shows you care about your students and their learning. It also demonstrates you know the policy and will enforce it. Even just a short discussion highlighting your stance against all forms of cheating will demonstrate to students that you will be vigilant in monitoring for cheating and that you have a vested interest in what they learn.
- Be sure the academic integrity statement provided on the Provost's website is on your syllabus. Discuss with your students how the policy relates specifically to your course as well as to your discipline.
- Offer unique assignments and do not use test questions from instructor manuals. Search the internet to see what is available related to your assignments. Rotate topics to make it more evident if a student is using work from a previous semester.
- Be specific and deliberate with assignment instructions, offering students smaller deadlines for a larger project.
- Emphasize learning over grades and offer a connection from the course material to students' future careers.
- Create different versions of tests and exams.
- Check out online resources such as Study Soup, StudyLib, Chegg and Course Hero (there are hundreds of these sites) to be knowledgeable on what is available.
- Grade in a timely manner.
- Have plans for missed assignments and exams.
Detecting Academic Integrity Violations
- Keep copies of assignments to compare as the semester progresses. In smaller courses, get to know each student's writing style and ability.
- Use , which is provided by the University.
- Look for words on papers or in essays not commonly used by college students.
- If a suspicious sentence is discovered, Google it with quotation marks around the sentence so Google knows that is specifically what you are searching.
- Build trust with students who might be willing to tell you what is occurring beyond class time, such as inappropriate sharing of coursework or conspiracy to cheat.
Guidelines for Meeting with Students about AI Violations
- Reflect on your beliefs regarding student motivations for academic misconduct
- Make an outline of the points that you would like to make during the meeting
- Use a neutral tone and positive, factual language.
- Provide the student an opportunity to give context and perspective around the potential violation.
- State reasons behind your decision for a particular sanction.
- Emphasize the importance of integrity in learning; draw connections to integrity in your professional field or a career.
- Consider offering the student additional resources or your time and expertise to help them understand ways to avoid academic misconduct in your course.
Request an Academic Integrity Presentation or Consultation
Additional Resources
- (Best College Reviews)
- (Assessment and Evaluation in Higher Education)