Academic Integrity Dr. David Bozak Associate Dean College of Arts & Sciences SUNY Oswego

August 28, My background BA, Rice University; MS/PhD UNH Joint appointment at Oswego – computer science and psychology Developed CS dept cheating policy s_and_departments/departments/computer _science/cheating.html As Associate Dean, final step in appeal process Task Force on Academic Quality subcommittee on cheating and plagiarism Committee on Intellectual Integrity

August 28, True or False? Students begin cheating as early as 3rd grade.

August 28, Academic Integrity Survey Center for Academic Integrity Dr. Donald McCabe – replicated William J. Bower’s 1964 survey at 31 institutions (“Student Dishonesty and its Control in College”) SUNY Oswego participated in , schools 3, schools

August 28, How frequently do you think the following occurs on campus? Plagiarism on written assignments –Never - 1% –Very Seldom - 21% –Seldom - 47% –Often – 25% –Very Often – 6%

August 28, How frequently do you think the following occurs on campus? Plagiarism on written assignments –Never - 1% (<1%) –Very Seldom - 21% (7%) –Seldom - 47% (42%) –Often – 25% (39%) –Very Often – 6% (11%)

August 28, How frequently do you think the following occurs on campus? Inappropriate sharing in group assignments –Never - 1% –Very Seldom - 10% –Seldom - 32% –Often - 38% –Very Often - 19%

August 28, How frequently do you think the following occurs on campus? Inappropriate sharing in group assignments –Never - 1% (1%) –Very Seldom - 10% (7%) –Seldom - 32% (39%) –Often - 38% (38%) –Very Often - 19% (15%)

August 28, How frequently do you think the following occurs on campus? Cheating during tests or examinations –Never - 3% –Very Seldom - 33% –Seldom - 37% –Often - 18% –Very Often - 9%

August 28, How frequently do you think the following occurs on campus? Cheating during tests or examinations –Never - 3% (1%) –Very Seldom - 33% (25%) –Seldom - 37% (50%) –Often - 18% (19%) –Very Often - 9% (5%)

August 28, During the past year, how often have you Worked with others when asked for individual work –Never - 53% –Once - 18% –More than once - 23% –NA – 6%

August 28, During the past year, how often have you Copied another’s homework –Never - 66% –Once - 17% –More than once - 15% –NA – 3%

August 28, During the past year, how often have you Copied a few sentences from a written source without citing it –Never - 65% –Once - 17% –More than once - 13% –NA – 4%

August 28, During the past year, how often have you Copied from an electronic course without footnoting –Never - 64% –Once - 18% –More than once - 14% –NA – 4%

August 28, How often, if ever, have you seen a student cheating during a test/exam? Never – 41% Once – 14% Few times – 32% Several times – 9% Many times – 2% NA – 2%

August 28, Have you ever ignored an incident of cheating in one of your courses for any reason? Yes – 38% No – 62%

August 28, Have you ever referred a case of suspected cheating to anyone? Yes – 44% No – 56%

August 28, Cheating is a serious problem on campus. –Strongly disagree – 2% –Disagree – 14% –Not sure – 42% –Agree – 32% –Strongly agree – 10%

August 28, How frequently have you observed student dishonesty when completing assignments or exams? SUNY Student Opinion Survey Spring, 2003 Very frequently – 4% Frequently – 11% Sometimes – 27% Rarely – 33% Never – 22%

August 28, Faculty report suspected cases of cheating –Strongly disagree – 4% –Disagree – 23% –Not sure – 42% –Agree – 27% –Strongly agree – 5%

August 28, Oswego’s policy Two tracks –Academic Penalties up to failure for the course –Judicial Penalties up to suspension/explulsion Repeat offenders

August 28, True or False? Adhering to campus policy is a constitutional requirement.

August 28, Delhi’s policy Involves both Academic Affairs (Coordinator of Academic Advising) and Student Life (College Judicial Coordinator) Mandatory meeting with student provides educational opportunity Mandatory reporting demonstrates the seriousness of the issue Progressive punishment Appeal process is described

August 28, Community Standards Oswego’s approach – levels of non-compliance Level 0 – trivial errors Level 1 – unintentional errors Level 2 – poor decision making Level 3 – intentional dishonesty

August 28, Promotion of policy Dialog – faculty and student –Review process that led to new policy –Open faculty forum to discuss issues –Open student forum to discuss issues –Promotion from President, Provost on down, including faculty and student leaders Visibility –Posters, bookmarks, etc. promoting integrity –Encouraging faculty to include reference to policy on syllabus

August 28, True or False? The weakest students on campus are the ones most likely to cheat/plagiarize.

August 28, Why students cheat "What's important is getting ahead. Cheating is a shortcut and it's a pretty efficient one in a lot of cases.“ –Courses not interesting enough –Time –Need to get good grades –“unfair” tests/assignments; assignments that are makework

August 28, True or False? Males are more likely than females to cheat on an exam.

August 28, Combating misconduct Change exams frequently (68%) Monitor students closely on tests; space them out during tests (72%) Discuss views on integrity (65%) Info on syllabus about cheating (67%) Use of internet to confirm plagiarism (29%)

August 28, Plagiarism detection? “Plagiarism Detection: Is Technology the Answer?” by Liz Johnson rary/abstract/PlagiarismDetecti onI/44506 Compares 7 services Doc Cop –

August 28, Combating misconduct Use the policy! When students feel faculty don’t support integrity policies, there is little chance of getting caught or if caught receiving significant penalty Use a variety of assessment methods Require drafts of all papers Take more time to listen to students and understand their needs

August 28, Creating a Culture of Integrity Promotion of integrity –“Ten Principles of Academic Integrity” by McCabe and Pavela Student involvement –Student leadership –Student participation on Hearing Board Matriculation pledge

August 28, True or False? Public and Parochial college students are equally likely to report having cheated or plagiarized.

August 28, Looking ahead – an Honor code? Honor system Modified honor system Integrity Code

August 28, References org/ org/educational_resources/pdf/ Letter_To_My_Students.pdf ef/10PrinAcaInteg.shtml

August 28, References eportcard/ Ethics & Behavior, July, 2001, Vol.11, Issue 3 (special issue on cheating in colleges and universities “The Spiritual Life of College Students,” Higher Education Research Institute, UCLA ults