Strategies to Foster Academic Integrity
Course Title Goes Here Course Number Here Date Dear Students, Each semester students struggle with the concept of Academic Integrity, mainly because Academic Integrity means different things to different people. Within integrity discussions, the conversation generally turns to plagiarism or cheating, but these are just indicators of the quality of a person’s integrity, not integrity itself. Bill Taylor, in his Letter to Students, notes that integrity is a quality of character that we must nurture and that requires practice. Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy states that “Integrity is primarily a formal relation one has to oneself. . . ..” In academics, integrity encompasses the character traits of respect, truth, fairness, and honesty: Respect for your own learning and that of others, being truthful and fair in your practices, and honest with your peers and yourself. Academic Integrity also means taking pride in your learning, and while I can point you to the University policies on Academic Honesty (2006-2007 East Carolina University Undergraduate Catalog, p. 45) and guide you through the Academic Integrity requirements in my syllabus, it is you who must make a conscience decision to incorporate the core values of integrity into your course experience. Though plagiarizing or cheating on assignments or exams are certainly examples of integrity issues, these are generally the results of not having integrity and will do little to help you “get in the practice” or “nurture” Academic Integrity. In order to nurture the growth of our individual values and professional integrity, we must incorporate them into our daily activities. As your instructor, I am prepared to help you nurture Academic Integrity by beginning each class prepared and on time, myself. I will strive to use our class time well and encourage you to do the same. I will respect your thoughts and ideas, give you every opportunity to ask questions, and help prepare you for assignments and exams. I will treat you fairly, and give you honest, timely feedback which will help you master learning objectives defined for the course. In turn, you must participate in the course with an open mind, prepared to make the most of learning by doing your own work; have read assigned course materials; have thought about the upcoming assignment; and be ready to contribute ideas from your own experiences. All of these elements promote the growth of Academic Integrity because these behaviors support respect for learning, truthful and fair practices, and honesty. Then, when the discussion rolls around to cheating and plagiarism, you will not feel the pressure to succumb to this lack of integrity, because you have “practiced” and “nurtured” your Academic Integrity. Sincerely, Professor’s Name Suggestions for use:Feel free to personalize this letter and email it to your students. You may want to post the letter in your syllabus and the Course Information area of Blackboard. You can even set an Adaptive Release requirement in Blackboard so that your students must click to indicate that they read the letter before opening the course for the semester.
What sources should you cite?Typically when conducting research you will consult books, journal articles, web sites and other sources. So when you begin writing your paper, assignment, or project it is important that you cite all of your sources. If you incorporate someone else’s ideas or words, you should cite them. Citing your resources gives credit to the owner of the original works and will guide your readers to the full text documents referenced.How do you cite sources?There are many different citation styles and generally your instructor will tell you what citation style to use. Joyner Library provides links to citation examples in the Style Manuals / Citation Guides section of the Virtual Reference Desk. Another option to cite resources is the Slate Citation Machine. You simply complete a brief online form with the citation information and the Slate Citation Machine will create the citation. You can then copy and paste the citation into your document. (http://citationmachine.net/)What is Plagiarism and how can you avoid it?Joyner Library has prepared resources to assist you with avoiding plagiarism, including tips for how to paraphrase information into your own words. http://www.ecu.edu/cs-lib/reference/display.cfm?id=72Suggestions for use:Feel free to share this information with your students. You may want to include citation information in your syllabus and the Course Information area of Blackboard. http://www.ecu.edu/cs-acad/academicoutreach/integrity.cfm
Suggestions for use:You may want to post the Distance Education Student Pledge in your syllabus and the Course Information area in Blackboard. From time to time you also may want to use the pledge as a Blackboard Announcement. The pledge is also a great resource to refer your students back to if you suspect a student may be having an academic integrity issue.
Course Title Course Number Date Dear Student, In order for all students to be assessed in the same manner with the same advantages, it is important that you use only materials allowed by your professor while completing this exam. You should not communicate with others in any manner (in person or by using instant messenger, email or any other type of communication devices and/or software) while taking this exam. This is in accordance with the Distance Education Student Pledge in Academic Integrity for Distance Education Students which states:
Suggestions for use:You may want to include the test policy in your syllabus and Course Information area in Blackboard. You may also want to include the test policy as part of the test instructions. In Blackboard you can set the Review feature and require that your students click the Mark Review button to acknowledge that they read and agree to adhere to your test policy. |
