The Importance of Academic Integrity

"Today I am going to give you two examinations, one in trigonometry and one in honesty. I hope you will pass them both, but if you must fail one, let it be trigonometry, for there are many good [people] in this world today who cannot pass an examination in trigonometry, but there are no good [people] in the world who cannot pass an examination in honesty".

Madison Sarratt (1891-1978), dean, Vanderbilt University. Source

Who is responsible for academic integrity?

Originally published in the Learning and Teaching weekly newsletter (internal publication) at Saskatchewan Polytechnic. 

Like so many things, the answer is everyone. Although learners are obviously responsible for integrity in the materials that they submit, along with the assessments that they complete, faculty can support learners by discussing (early and often) the values of integrity and honesty. One of the most effective ways to do this is to model integrity in everything that we do. Here are some examples:

• Using evidence from external sources to complement or support your course materials.
• Textbooks
• Journal articles
• Blogs, newsletters, newspapers, and magazines
• Video content
• Information from vendors or trade associations/organizations
• Codes of conduct from professional organizations or governing bodies
• Reputable online information
• Adding references on all learning materials
• Provides reference examples 

If you are interested in discussing academic integrity, join our group of likeminded individuals. The Academic Integrity Community of Practice (CoP) is predominately a discussion; everyone is given time to speak and share. The goal of a CoP is to generate ideas and collaborate with colleagues to find solutions to issues in their teaching or work. This CoP will focus on academic integrity issues. We'll highlight collaborative ways to find proactive and equitable solutions and offer support for faculty and staff who are seeking assistance to empower their learners and aid in their academic success at Sask Polytech. 

This CoP is led by two ILDC Facilitators, Tasha Maddison (Saskatoon Campus) and Selinda England (Moose Jaw Campus). This CoP will be delivered virtually on the second Tuesday of every month from 3-4 p.m. All are welcome. Click here to register.

At our next CoP, we will be focusing on faculty responsibility. As you start to think about your responsibilities, ponder this quote "Former Vanderbilt Dean of Students Madison Sarratt (1888-1978) once said “Today I am going to give you two examinations, one in trigonometry and one in honesty. I hope you will pass them both, but if you must fail one, let it be trigonometry, for there are many good men in this world who cannot pass an examination in trigonometry, but there are no good men in the world who cannot pass an examination in honesty” (Patel, 2016, para. 1). This is such a powerful statement on the roles of integrity, honesty and trust, play in post-secondary institutions.

Reference

Patel, A. (2016, April 15). Honesty - The Vanderbilt community. Vanderbilt University. https://admissions.vanderbilt.edu/vandybloggers/2016/04/honesty-the-vanderbilt-community-creed/#:~:text=I%20hope%20you%20will%20pass,pass%20an%20examination%20in%20honesty.%E2%80%9D

Discovery Interviews

Originally published in the Learning and Teaching weekly newsletter (internal publication) at Saskatchewan Polytechnic. 

There are many reasons why students cheat. It is recognized in the research that situations of extreme stress often cause individuals to act in a way that they would not normally (Curtis, 2021). Factors that contribute to cheating include financial issues, physical and emotional burdens, or illness. Students may also have good intentions yet have fallen victim to the global contract cheating industry that is designed to lure them in. According to a recent podcast with Dr. Sarah Eaton, it is common for these companies to reach out to students on social media. Companies are using bots and algorithms to identify statements such as “I’m struggling with my paper” or “I need help.” Eaton (Day 6, 2022) states that “anywhere that there are students, there are companies out there searching for them, so that they can recruit them, so that they can be their customers” (5:06). These helpful bots then lead students to websites that use helpful and supportive language. In turn, an unbalanced transactional relationship begins under the guise of tutoring and academic help wherein the company knows the students’ name, credit card information, assignment instructions, instructor, course, and institution. Such biographical information is more than enough information to successfully blackmail the student in the future.

Instructors enter this fraught and complicated situation faced with assignments that are plagiarized, while simultaneously trying to ensure that every student is successful.  What steps can the instructor take to not only assist students but also to mitigate the issues of plagiarism and cheating? A discovery interview is a very useful place to start as it can help the instructor to understand what has happened and see the situation from the student’s perspective. Tips from the Discovery Interview document include using a neutral tone and approaching the conversation with curiousity (Eaton, 2019). Instructors should inquire about the research process, the materials that were used and also why they were chosen. Asking probing questions will assist instructors with delving deeper into the topic and determining if the student has a strong understanding of the content (Eaton, 2019). Ultimately, institutions of higher education are trying to help students, not catch them cheating. For more information on using the discovery interview, watch this clip (starts at 19:42).

References and Recommended Viewing/Listening

Allen, K. M. (2021, Apr. 1). Navigating difficult conversations [Video]. In Leading a Growth Mindset. LinkedIn Learning. https://www.linkedin.com/learning/leading-with-a-growth-mindset/navigating-difficult-conversations?autoplay=true&u=57683345

Centre for Learning and Innovation. (2021, Oct. 20). Contract cheating: Identifying and addressing outsourced academic student work [Video file]. YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jBY2dRa4c9o&t=1824s

Curtis, G. (2021, Dec. 16). Can negative emotions increase students’ plagiarism and cheating? [Blog post]. BioMed Central. https://blogs.biomedcentral.com/on-society/2021/12/16/can-negative-emotions-increase-students-plagiarism-and-cheating/

Day 6. (2022, Mar. 19). Why Canada is vulnerable to a $15 billon global academic cheating industry [Podcast]. CBC Listen. https://www.cbc.ca/listen/live-radio/1-14-day-6/clip/15901629-why-canada-vulnerable-dollar15-billion-global-academic-cheating

Eaton, S. E. (2019). U have integrity: Educator resource - how to lead a discovery interview about contract cheating. University of Calgary. http://hdl.handle.net/1880/111077

Success is in Cite: Building Students' Confidence in Research, Writing, and Referencing

Originally published in the Learning and Teaching weekly newsletter (internal publication) at Saskatchewan Polytechnic. 

Many students enter post-secondary education as avid users of copy/paste or click/share without much thought to authorship and attribution. Students may have learned the basic skills of research, writing, and referencing in high school but are typically unprepared for academic writing. Dependent on the program, a student may be asked to write a 5000-word essay in their first semester. This paper will invariably ask the student to use 5-10 scholarly peer-reviewed articles and follow APA 7 guidelines. Oh, and on this first paper, APA will be worth 40% of the grade. No pressure!

The use of evidence to support arguments serves many purposes. First, and perhaps most importantly, it teaches students about the ethical use of information by acknowledging their sources. For a student to incorporate evidence successfully, they require the skills of seeking relevant information sources; evaluating the authority, validity, and accuracy of the source; synthesizing the information into their argument; and then finally sharing and disseminating the information.

Secondly, acknowledging sources is the foundation of academic integrity. But what does that really mean? Saskatchewan Polytechnic’s (n.d.) student code of conduct defines academic misconduct as activities that “undermine academic integrity by using illegitimate or dishonest means in order to achieve academic success” (p.2) that may give the student an unfair advantage over others. We can surmise that working with integrity must then include being honest, trustworthy, and ethical. As seen within an academic setting, students submit their own unique work and adequately represent any external sources that were used. This definition also can be expanded to cheating on exams and data misrepresentation but is not the focus of this article.

Academic integrity must be modeled by all individuals within the institution in a manner that is appropriate for each class and in each situation. If you expect your students to provide a link to external resources, but not a formal reference, then you need to as well. If you require formal references on your assignments, then you need to reference all your materials as well. That includes images on your PowerPoint presentations, outside sources in your text-based materials (don’t forget about the textbook), and an acknowledgment of any content that is not your own. Doing so models best practices but also gives students a variety of examples of what their work should look like. For example, when using an image in your PowerPoint presentation, here is what an in-text citation for that type of resource would look like. Need to reference a YouTube video, here is what that would look like.

Students will benefit from the example that is set by the instructor because learning to paraphrase is an advanced skill. As students move from beginner to novice writers, they will become more comfortable with incorporating external materials, while maintaining their voice in their writing. Our focus as instructors can include what students need to know in order to be successful writers during their program and also once they are in the workplace.

References

Assiniboine Community College. (n.d.). Academic integrity for faculty. https://assiniboine.libguides.com/ai-faculty/pedagogical-statements

Bretag, T., Curtis, G., McNeill, M., & Slade, C. (n.d.). Academic integrity in Australian higher education: A national priority. Tertiary Education Quality and Standards Agency (TEQSA). https://www.teqsa.gov.au/sites/default/files/academic-integrity-infographic.pdf?v=1574919157

Dawson College. (2017). Strategies to prevent academic misconduct. https://www.dawsoncollege.qc.ca/academic-integrity/best-practices-for-faculty/

Howard, R. (2001). Forget about policing plagiarism: Just teach. The Chronicle of Higher Education, 48(12), B.24. https://ezproxy.saskpolytech.ca/login?url=https://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=eue&AN=507723772&site=ehost-live&scope=site

Saskatchewan Polytechnic. (n.d.). Student code of conduct (academic). https://saskpolytech.ca/about/about-us/documents/procedures/studentcodeofconductacademicprocedures1211a.pdf

Academic Integrity: Shifting from a Punishment Mindset

Improving Student Outcomes by Shifting Our Approach to Academic Integrity (abstract), presented by Jen Simonds (University of Maryland) and Mark Ricksen (Turnitin) was of particular interest to me as my institution has been making use of Turnitin for about two and a half years. I was curious to see if their approach would be similar to ours and I was also looking forward to learning some new strategies. 

Simonds set the context for the conversation with a history lesson. Simonds stated that their institution, like many others, had a traditional punishment mindset. Policy suffered from negative language that was somewhat vague. There was also targeted use of Turnitin on a few students where plagiarism was detected. Fast forward to current day with a new policy and procedures guide that focusses on what to do, is equity minded and gives the faculty the discretion to use an instance of misconduct as a teachable moment. The best part of this new policy, students were consulted! Simonds also noted a shift in culture has occurred; that faculty are guided by ensuring knowledge and the skill development of students, recognizing that a foundation of knowledge can lead to future student success. The University of Maryland has adopted a new tutorial that includes examples of integrity from the workplace. The content has a CC licence and is openly accessible. 

I was also delighted to hear Simonds mention that their main strategy was faculty training and support. Support is offered through resource pages, training, along with consultations. They use Turnitin as a teaching and learning tool for students, enabling them to view reports and make corrections. Faculty are encouraged to use an academic focus, avoid using misconduct terms and stay in a teaching role. This means that if there is an issue that goes beyond teaching and learning, than it is forwarded to administration who handle the case. 

Ricksen then turned the focus on the presentation to Turnitin stating that the company has evolved from plagiarism prevention to empowering students. Ricksen discussed contract cheating and the tools that Turnitin are developing to aid instructors in early detection. Turnitin offers an authorship tool and a draft coach that is available as an add-on for use by students in Google Docs. 

The most compelling part of their presentation came from a question from the audience. "Should institutions get rid of letter grades?" Ricksen and Simonds left us wondering if grades are a sign of learning and noted that any measure should be meaningful. That statement will definitely have me pondering the topic for the days to come. 

When does it become foundational knowledge?

Several times over the last couple of weeks, I have been confronted with the question; "was it part of the learning outcome?" Their query was justifiable. Were we asking our students to accomplish things that were not a part of the assignment? I get it. We have expectations as instructors of what we would like our students to achieve throughout the course of a semester or in a particular assignment. 

I question though, at what point does the skill become foundational knowledge and not part of the language of the assessment. Here is an example: 

• APA referencing and citations are part of the first assignment in the first semester of college or university. You get marks for using the style correctly and ultimately gain an understanding about why referencing material is part of the ethical use of information.

As a student, does APA need to listed on every assessment for every research paper from then on, or has the expectation been set, and now it is simply understood that to write an academic paper, you are expected to use a referencing style and cite your sources. I think so, as I do not need to be told that I will need to spell things correctly in my writing or use proper grammar. I understand without being told that if I do not, it will affect my grade. My writing and argument will suffer, as my writing will not be clear nor concise. 

Philosophical Questions of Academic Integrity

I recently attended the Canadian Symposium on Academic Integrity and I will share here some of the ideas that continue to resonate.

When an instructor can go to a homework site or textbook vendor and buy all of their course materials, why do we expect students to do their own work? Similarly if you have not cited any of your sources throughout the entire semester (especially pictures on PPT slides), how do you justify docking marks for incorrect or lacking references?

Ask yourself who is harmed by the educational systems? Are we continuing to erode the trust that our students have in these systems by also investing in eproctoring?

Instead of beginning the semester with an assumption of guilt, where the student needs to prove their innocence, begin with dialogue about academic integrity, hold the students responsible, ensure they understand the expectations so that they have an authentic sense of accountability for their behaviours.

Eproctoring highlights the many inequalities between students, such as connectivity, availability of a device, home (on camera - invasion of privacy, socioeconomic status). These services also quite simply increase test anxiety.

We need to amplify student voices on all of these issues.

Ensure that we are collecting the right data in the right way so that it will highlight ethics and integrity. Academic Integrity applies to everyone at the institution, it is about ethical conduct and how we conduct the business of education and educational systems. 

Remember that no one single action should indicate the individual's character or values - we are not deciding if the student is honest or dishonest for example. The one behaviour can be honest or dishonest, but that does not implicate their entire being. 

Encourage the positive - students need to be considered in everything that we undertake

If we think of preventative practices, the primary intervention is education; secondary is incidence and prevalence, understand the action and behaviours, and the design of assessments; tertiary involves implementing restorative practices 

For more information: https://pressbooks.bccampus.ca/encourageacademicintegrity/

Clarity of purpose and use of language are critical on an academic policy. Penalties should be appropriate to the offense. Operationalize the policy by employing an individual responsible for the policy. Students should know where to find the policy and how to apply it. Create a culture of academic integrity, focusing on educational opportunities. 

How can the conversation be focused on the student's future career? Is there a code of ethics in that industry? If so, start here and then talk about academic integrity. I.e.: Code of Ethics for Professional Engineers. Showcasing the responsibilities that they will have in the future and how it is related to integrity