Strategies for Fostering Academic Integrity

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Strategies for Fostering Academic Integrity

• Kimberly B. Kelley
• University of Maryland, University College
• WCET Conference
• November 2004

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Cheating Quiz True or False?

• A faculty member has little influence over
  whether a student will cheat
• Peers are not influential in deterring their
  classmates from cheating
• An honor code has no usefulness
• Students mention grade pressure and their
  parents expectations as two reasons they might
  cheat
• Cheating is perceived as very risky behavior by
  students

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What Does this cartoon say about cheating?
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Some Thoughts on the Cartoon

• Students do not take cheating seriously
• Teachers do take cheating seriously
• Telling students not to cheat may not be
  effective
• Threats may not be effective
• Making a joke, with a serious side to it, may be
  one good way to get students attention, however
• Ensuring punishment occurs, equitably, is
  imperative

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National Research on Cheating

• Dr. Donald McCabe found that almost 75 of the
  2,000 students surveyed admitted they engage in
  some cheating
• Peer influence is an important contextual factor
  that decreases (or increases) cheating
• Cheating behaviors occur because of personal and
  contextual motivators

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Motivators to Cheat

• Individual factors
• Underclassmen
• Students with lower grade point averages
• Male students
• Contextual Factors
• Fraternity and sorority members
• Intercollegiate athletics
• When perceive peers cheat and are not caught (or
  get off easily)
• Business and Engineering majors

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Center for Intellectual Property Academic
Integrity Study (2003) Findings

• 87.5 of faculty respondents teach at least one
  course per year
• 63.3 reported having identified at least one act
  of academic dishonesty in their course in the
  last 12 months
• The most common response to academic dishonesty
  is to give an F on the assignment

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Fostering Academic Integrity
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Approaches to Fostering Academic Integrity

• The virtues approach
• The Fundamental Values Project
• The 10 Principles
• The prevention approach
• The police approach
• Turnitin.com
• Essay verification machine (EVE2)
• Plagiarism.com

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Fostering Academic Integrity Institutional
Approaches (1)

• An academic integrity policy
• Education for the campus community
• Senior-level support for academic integrity
• Implement an equitable, straight-forward system
  for adjudicating suspected policy violations
• Engage students in the process
• Support faculty in the process

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Fostering Academic IntegrityInstitutional
Approaches (2)

• Build awareness
• Orientations
• Required seminars
• Syllabi
• Encourage student leaders to educate their peers
• Train faculty in strategies to deter cheating
• Evaluate and revise policies and procedures
  regularly to ensure currency, equity and
  usefulness

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Principles of Academic Integrity

• What do you think is the role of the principles
  statement?
• Would these principles work at your campus?

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Honor Codes The Basics

• Honor statement and/or code
• Written pledge
• Unproctored examinations
• Zero tolerance provision / obligation to report
• Student governance

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Honor Code Effectiveness?

• McCabe 1995 study
• Serious cheating
• Honor code schools 54
• Non-code schools 71
• Repeated test cheating
• Honor code schools 7
• Non-code schools 17

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Honor Code Benefits

• Student engagement in the process
• Personal responsibility
• A community that supports honesty
• A preventative, not simply punitive, approach
• Greater likelihood of positive peer pressure
• Increases awareness

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Modified Honor Codes (1)

• Include
• A student pledge
• Student involvement in designing the code
• Student involvement in the adjudication process
• May or may not require student reporting of
  cheating by peers

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Modified Honor Codes (2)

• Proctored examinations
• An academic integrity policy
• Campus wide commitment to providing education in
  ethics
• A principles statement

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Evaluating a Modified Honor Code for Your Campus
Community

• Get insights from students and faculty about the
  culture/efficacy of a code
• Give faculty/students a role in creating and
  implementing policy
• Involve students in governance
• Ensure the process is fair, equitable, and
  procedures are enforced
• Involve the campus community in implementation

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The Online Environment and Academic Integrity

• Proctored examinations essential
• Drill and practice
• Provide a conference dedicated to academic
  integrity discussions
• Provide case studies and explore student views
• Make academic integrity a prominent element of
  your course

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The Case of Dr. Dumbledore
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Thank You!

• Questions?