When training to become a restorative conference facilitator, an early exercise involves brainstorming and then ranking the reasons that “most people do the right thing most of the time.” In the two years that I have given this training, invariably, “fear of punishment” is mentioned, but it always appears fairly low on the list, whereas “values,” “community,” and “responsibilities tied to relationships,” or a version thereof, consistently appear at the top. In my experience, this insight is partially reflected in most of our institutions’ approaches to academic integrity, in a focus on prevention and education over policing and punishment. But to what extent does prevention and education directly speak to the reasons people do the right thing? And how well are thes...

Many institutions are still grappling with the effects of COVID-19 and the transition to remote learning. While faculty and students find their footing, student conduct practitioners must use this time to develop new proposals for academic integrity policies at their institutions. One beneficial project would be clarifying policies for students and faculty.

Legalese. Institutional policies are riddled with legal jargon that make their policies unintelligible to the average student, staff member, and instructor. The goal of plain language guidelines is to make documents accessible to all readers. While many policies may need to have legalistic language, it can be difficult to navigate the myriad university ...

While we have been focusing on how and what instructors and student conduct professionals can do to ensure integrity as we transition to online and remote learning, students have been experiencing fear and uncertainty about their courses. This week, the focus is on what students are going through. A student wrote the blog. Here’s what Isaac had to say.

…

I, like most other students, went into Spring Break for the week of March 9 with nothing more on my mind than enjoying some free time and procrastinating my homework. By the fourth day, my entire reality had completely changed. I’m sure everyone has their own coronavirus story, as not a single person’s life has been left untouched by its effects in the past month. The unique challen...

By now, it’s already cliché to say that higher education, and the world at large, is facing unprecedented conditions that are sending much of what we do on a day-to-day basis into upheaval.  Academic integrity is especially important to maintain, as ever, with much of our operations going entirely online. This post will go into some of the issues, considerations, and potential solutions to a number of challenges of conducting academic integrity hearings in the online space.  While this is particularly pointed towards the “stay at home” nature of the 2020 pandemic, the below set of questions is meant to be as evergreen as possible for online hearings.

As we transition to online or remote learning, many practitioners and faculty are worried about an increase in academic dishonesty. This concern is valid, especially considering the articles regarding a surge in cheating across the globe. One such instance has already come to light from the National University of Singapore. With resources scarce, it may be difficult to implement any mass proctoring ...

This week, K-12 and higher education institutions worldwide embarked on an experiment. Our emergency response to move to emergency remote learning is more treatment than strategy. Only time will tell what effects this shift will have. The COVID-19 pandemic has forever changed the way we view many things, and in this uncertain time, it forces educators to drill down to what is fundamentally important for students to learn during these crises. Think pieces abound with best-practice lists and criticisms of what solutions are available. Responses are primarily written in response to the grief and uncertainty so many are ...

The response to COVID-19 is unlike anything we have seen in education. Leaders and policymakers are scrambling to keep up with changes worldwide as we focus on remote education. We at the Integrity Matters blog offer our best wishes as all work diligently to support students and faculty navigating this new normal.

Research indicates that threats to academic integrity increase in times of stress and uncertainty. To that end Dr. Sarah Elaine Eaton, researcher, educator, and ICAI contributor, offers important considerations including talking to students about academic integrity, safeguarding academic work, and being consistent with the policies and practices that are in place at the institution.
...

*****Another exciting conference for ICAI is in the books! #ICAI2020 proved to be full of innovation, education, and community as scholars and practitioners from around the world gathered together in Portland, Oregon US for the annual conference.

Organizers and volunteers work tirelessly to provide a high-quality event, as was seen over the past few days, and we submit our sincere gratitude. While the nuance of how each comes to the work is different, one thing is for sure. Integrity matters!

Stay tuned next week for a conference overview with material sourced from members all over the world on social media. Attendees: If you have a comment, memory, or fun picture you have from the event, please email us. We would love to include it in ...

This “in case you missed it” blog post highlights 3 news/media items that raised my blood pressure in the last couple of months.

Inside Higher Education - Course Hero Woos Professors (Doug Lederman)

Have you noticed a change in narrative around sites like Course Hero a...

She opened the door and you could see the fear on her face, and the shame in her eyes. She nervously sat down in front of the seven of us, afraid to look up, her hands trembling, and we began.

“Thanks for meeting with us. We are the Academic Conduct Committee. Do you understand why we’ve brought you in?”

Immediately her chin began to quiver, her eyes snapped tightly shut, her shoulders started to shake, and she finally started to cry. Snot ran down her face along with several tears as she blurted out one continuous sentence that tried desperately to make sense of how ...