“Lessons Learned about Academic Integrity: How Being an Academic Integrity Monitor/Board Member Changed My Perspective,” was a special panel presented Wednesday, March 27th.

During the event, a panel of past and current Academic Integrity Monitors (AIMs) and All-University Academic Integrity Board (AUAIB) members discussed a variety of topics including prevention measures to combat common violations of academic integrity, effective practices instructors can incorporate when reporting suspected violations, what faculty should expect from the process, and teaching tips for promoting academic integrity on assignments, exams, and collaborative work.

Academic leaders with over 20 years of combined experience with the academic integrity policy at the U of A will led the panel discussion including:

Patricia Koski, associate dean of the Graduate School and International Education.
Lorraine Brewer Lorraine Brewer, instructor in chemistry and biochemistry in J. William Fulbright College of Arts & Sciences.
Norman Dennis Norman Dennis, senior associate dean and university professor in the College of Engineering.
John Gauch, professor of Computer Science and Computer Engineering in the College of Engineering.
Paul Cronan The panel was moderated by Paul Cronan, professor and M. D. Matthews Chair in Information Systems in the Walton College of Business.

This event is co-sponsored by the Office of Academic Initiatives and Integrity and Teaching Innovation and Pedagogical Support (TIPS).

One of the topics that came up was contract cheating, which is essentially hiring someone to write a paper or take a test for you. There are plenty of services that are more than happy to write a student’s paper for them.  There are even people who will write your dissertation for you.

They had many suggestions to encourage academic integrity.

  • Talk about it early and often. Be clear in your syllabus about what constitutes cheating.
  • Keep in mind that although they should graduate from high school with a clear understanding of what must be cited, they don’t always know.  Point them toward the information that they need to be able to succeed.
  • Remember that plagiarism detection tools don’t catch everything.
  • Remind them of Academic Integrity Policy on the day of the exam. Have them sign an Academic Honesty Pledge as part of the cover sheet of their exam.
  • Remove temptation by color coding exams. Have multiple versions of the exam and color code them.  This ensures that you can easily see if two students who are sitting near each other have the same test, as well as reminding them not to look at the papers around them because they’re not the same test anyway.
  • Build a comfortable enough relationship with the students that they feel like it’s okay to come and ask you if something is acceptable.
  • Desperation leads to cheating. Don’t give them an assignment that takes more time to complete than they have to do it.  Understand how long one of your assignments will really take.

They wrapped up with a discussion of the process that must be completed in the event of an academic integrity violation.  They all agreed that the faculty should trust in the process.  Even if you’re not 100% sure that there was a violation, the form includes a rating for your level of confidence in the violation.

Other Resources

If you would like more information on how to incorporate technology into your courses, reach out to us at tips@uark.edu.

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This content was developed from a panel sponsored by the Office of Academic Initiatives and Integrity and Teaching Innovation and Pedagogical Support (TIPS).