兔子先生

Skip to Main Content

Faculty Guide to Academic Integrity

Faculty Guide to Academic Integrity

Academic integrity is more than just "not cheating." Academic integrity is about learning, responsibility, accountability, fairness, respect, honesty, trust, and courage. It is about what students choose to do, even when no one is looking and about creating sound habits for their future. Ultimately, maintaining academic integrity is the student's responsibility. However, students don't often think about academic integrity in this way and look outward, to their instructors, for guidance. Fortunately, research shows that the more faculty members promote integrity and discuss dishonesty, the more likely the students are to adhere to the policy and expand their thinking about how this concept is defined (Quaye, 2018).

Promote Integrity in Your Classroom

In the syllabus

  • Provide clear guidelines & policy information with specific examples of misconduct in your class.
  • Write clear and specific guidelines demonstrating acceptable collaboration & sharing of work.
  • Mention expectations for source use & citations.
  • Inform about use of Turnitin®, Proctorio®, or other detection services.

On the First Day

  • Take a few minutes to discuss academic integrity & dishonesty. Examples of conversation starters:
    • What challenges do students face that lead them to commit dishonesty?
    • What will students do to ensure they do not commit dishonesty?
  • Assess students' knowledge of academic integrity expectations (e.g., a quiz).

Beyond the First Day

  • Use active & engaged pedagogy and create unique assignments that promote critical thinking.
  • Discuss the purpose of assignments.
  • Reiterate attendance & assignment expectations and guidelines.
  • Model academic integrity in your course materials.
  • Hold students accountable in accordance with university policy.

Prevent Academic Dishonesty

Exams

  • Create new exams each semester with multiple versions.
  • Write policy on personal belongings, including electronics.
  • Actively proctor (e.g., walk around, online proctoring).
  • Create application-based questions.
  • Have a clear statement about plagiarism and/or resource use on exams.
  • If open book/open note, define what this means.

Written Papers and Projects

  • Scaffold assignments, including a practice Turnitin® assignment.
  • Require multiple drafts with electronic submission.
  • Allow students to see Turnitin® scores and revise.
  • Give examples of source use and citation expectations.
  • Create unique and application-based assignments each semester (Authentic Assessment).
  • Provide clear guidelines about collaboration and acceptable help.
  • Follow up with personalized questions.

Forms of Academic Dishonesty

Cheating: Using or attempting to use or possessing any aid, information, resources, or means in the completion of an academic assignment that are not explicitly permitted by the instructor or providing such assistance to another student.

Plagiarism: Presenting as one's own the work, the ideas, the representations, or the words of another person/source without proper attribution.

Fabrication: Falsification, invention, or manipulation of any information, citation, data, or method.

Unauthorized collaboration: Working with another individual or individuals in any phase of or in the completion of an individual academic assignment without explicit permission from the instructor to complete the work in such a manner.

Misrepresentation: Falsely representing oneself or one's efforts or abilities in an academic assignment.

Gaining an unfair advantage: Completing an academic assignment through use of information or means not available to other students or engaging in any activity that interferes with another student's ability to complete his or her academic work

Handling Suspected Academic Dishonesty

Instructors are required to report suspected cases of academic dishonesty. Here are the steps:

  1. Gather the initial relevant information.
  2. Submit a report to the Academic Integrity staff via the online reporting form.
    1. Academic Integrity staff will follow up with the instructor and get the process started.
  3. Do not record a grade for the assignment/course until the case is fully resolved.
  4. Provide sanction recommendation, and participate in hearing if held.
  5. If you have any questions at any point in the process, consult with the Academic Integrity staff.

Checklist of information/evidence to gather for report:

  • Student name and Banner ID number
  • Date of suspected dishonesty
  • Description of incident and/or detailed description of areas of suspicion
  • Course syllabus & assignment instructions
  • Any information presented to students about academic integrity and/or acceptable behaviors related to the assignment
  • Evidence and relevant documentation
    • Student assignment(s)
    • Suspected source or other student's work (if applicable)
    • Turnitin®, Proctorio®, or other report/video
    • Student's comparative work, if applicable
    • Witness statements and documentation, if applicable
    • Record of correspondence with student about incident, if applicable

Office of Undergraduate Education

Roudebush Hall, Room 208
501 E. High Street
Oxford, OH 45056
513-529-6721
Academics Admission Apply Policy Library Career Center for Exploration and Success