Office of Student Affairs & Activities

Academic integrity refers to the ethical code and moral principles that guide academic behavior. It ensures that all students and faculty engage in honest and fair practices in their scholarly activities.

Examples of Academic Integrity:

• Proper Citation: Giving credit to original authors by accurately citing sources in your work.
• Original Work: Submitting your own work for assignments and exams without unauthorized assistance.
• Collaboration vs. Cheating: Working with peers when allowed by the instructor, but ensuring that the final work submitted is your own unless otherwise specified.

Violations of Academic Integrity:

• Plagiarism: Copying or paraphrasing someone else’s work without proper citation.
• Cheating: Using unauthorized materials or receiving unauthorized help during an exam or on an assignment.
• Fabrication: Making up data, results, or citations in academic work.
• Facilitating Dishonesty: Helping others commit any of the above violations.

With the rise of artificial intelligence (AI) tools like ChatGPT, the landscape of academic integrity has evolved. While AI can be a valuable resource for learning and idea generation, its misuse poses new challenges.

Guidelines for AI Use, if approved by faculty in the classroom

• Permitted Uses: AI tools may be used for brainstorming, organizing thoughts, or generating ideas under the guidance of the instructor. They should not replace a student’s own critical thinking and analysis.
• Prohibited Uses: Submitting AI-generated content as original work without proper attribution is considered a violation of academic integrity. This includes using AI to write essays, solve problems, or create projects intended to reflect the student's own work.

AI and Plagiarism:

• Ethical Use: If students use AI to assist in their work, they should clearly indicate how the tool was used and ensure that all sources are cited appropriately.
• Avoiding Plagiarism: Encourage students to use AI responsibly by combining its use with their own research and writing efforts. Educate them on the importance of originality and the ethical implications of passing off AI-generated content as their own.

For Faculty:

• Turnitin: Utilize plagiarism detection software to identify and address potential academic integrity violations.
• Syllabus Templates: Include clear statements on academic integrity and AI use in your syllabi. Provide examples of what constitutes a violation.
• AI Policies: Develop clear guidelines for the use of AI tools in assignments and assessments. Communicate these policies to students clearly and frequently.

For Students:

• Writing Center: Offer students access to writing support services where they can receive help with structuring their essays, proper citation, and understanding plagiarism.
• Academic Integrity Pledge: Encourage students to sign an academic integrity pledge at the beginning of the term, reinforcing their commitment to ethical practices.
• AI Ethics Resources: Create materials or workshops that educate students on the ethical use of AI tools in academic work.

Educating Students:

• Clear Communication: Regularly discuss the importance of academic integrity in your course, including the consequences of violations.
• Assignments and Assessments: Design assessments that encourage original thinking and reduce the likelihood of cheating, such as open-ended questions, project-based learning, and oral exams.

Creating a Culture of Integrity:

• Role Modeling: Demonstrate ethical behavior in your own academic work and interactions with students.
• Encouraging Dialogue: Foster an environment where students feel comfortable discussing challenges and seeking help rather than resorting to dishonest practices.

1. Gather Evidence

• Plagiarism Detection Tools: Use software like Turnitin to check for similarities between the student’s work and existing sources. These tools can help identify direct plagiarism or content that closely resembles AI-generated text.
• AI Detection Tools: Some platforms now offer AI detection features that analyze whether a text likely has been generated by AI. However, use these tools cautiously as they are not always foolproof.
• Compare with Previous Work: Review the student’s previous assignments to look for inconsistencies in writing style, vocabulary, or the overall quality of work.

2. Review Assignment Guidelines

• Check Course Policies: Ensure that your course policies regarding AI use and plagiarism were clearly communicated to students. This helps in determining whether the student violated the guidelines.
• Assignment Instructions: Review the instructions given to the students to confirm that the expectations were clear and that the assignment design discouraged AI misuse.

3. Speak with the Student

• Private Meeting: Arrange a private meeting with the student to discuss your concerns. Present the evidence you have gathered and ask the student to explain their work.
• Questioning: Ask the student specific questions about their process for completing the assignment, such as their research methods, sources they consulted, or how they arrived at particular conclusions. This can help determine whether they fully understand the content.
• Compare Understanding: If you suspect AI use, ask the student to explain or expand on certain points made in their assignment. If they struggle to do so, this may indicate reliance on AI-generated content.

4. Determine the Intent

• Unintentional Misuse: In some cases, students may misuse AI tools or inadvertently plagiarize without fully understanding that their actions violate academic integrity. Consider whether this might be a learning opportunity rather than a disciplinary issue.
• Intentional Misconduct: If it becomes clear that the student deliberately used AI or plagiarized to gain an unfair advantage, it should be treated as an academic integrity violation.

5. Decide on a Course of Action

• Educational Intervention: For minor or first-time offenses, consider requiring the student to redo the assignment or attend a workshop on academic integrity. This helps them learn from the mistake.
• Lowering the Grade: If the violation is more serious, you might decide to reduce the grade for the assignment or apply a penalty according to the severity of the misconduct.
• Zero on the Assignment: In cases where the plagiarism or AI misuse is significant, you may choose to give the student a zero for the assignment, with a clear explanation of why this action is being taken.

6. Report the Incident

• Report Incident: Maxient reporting form.
• Documentation: Keep a detailed record of the incident, including communications with the student, evidence collected, and the final decision. This ensures transparency and consistency.

7. Provide Educational Resources

• Refer to Support Services: If the student seems unaware of academic integrity standards or has difficulty understanding the appropriate use of AI, refer them to campus resources such as the library and LRC
• Future Prevention: Encourage the student to seek help in the future if they are unsure about how to complete an assignment without violating academic integrity. This could include guidance on proper citation, paraphrasing, or ethical AI use.

1. Oral Examinations

• One-on-One Interviews: Conduct a short, focused oral exam where the student must explain key concepts from the assignment. This can be done in person or via video conferencing.
• Follow-Up Questions: Ask the student to elaborate on specific points made in their written work. Their ability to discuss the topic in detail can reveal their depth of understanding.

2. In-Class Essays

• Timed Writing Assignments: Have the student complete a similar or related essay during class time without access to AI tools or notes. This helps ensure that the work reflects their own knowledge and writing ability.
• Compare Writing Styles: Compare the in-class essay to the suspected assignment to check for consistency in writing style and quality.

3. Concept Mapping

• Create a Mind Map: Ask the student to create a concept map that visually represents the relationships between key ideas in the subject matter. This exercise demonstrates their understanding of how different concepts connect.
• Explanation Required: Require the student to explain their concept map, either in writing or orally, to ensure they can articulate the relationships they’ve drawn.

4. Problem-Solving Exercises

• Application of Knowledge: Design a problem-solving exercise related to the course material, where the student must apply their knowledge to a new situation or set of data.
• Step-by-Step Reasoning: Ask the student to walk you through their thought process and reasoning for solving the problem, ensuring they understand the underlying concepts.

5. Discussion-Based Assessment

• Socratic Seminar: Engage the student in a Socratic seminar where they discuss the topic in depth with you or in a group setting. This encourages critical thinking and allows you to assess their grasp of the subject matter.
• Debate Format: Organize a debate on a relevant topic, where the student must argue a position and respond to counterarguments. This can reveal their ability to think on their feet and understand multiple perspectives.

6. Reflective Writing

• Reflection Paper: Have the student write a reflection on what they learned from the assignment or the course. This could include how they approached the assignment, what challenges they faced, and how they overcame them.
• Personal Insights: Encourage them to relate the material to their own experiences or future goals, which can demonstrate genuine engagement with the content.

7. Portfolio Review

• Compilation of Work: Ask the student to submit a portfolio of their work over the course of the semester. Reviewing the progression of their assignments can help identify inconsistencies and verify the authenticity of their work.
• Reflective Summary: Include a reflective summary in the portfolio, where the student discusses their learning journey and the development of their skills over time.

8. Open-Ended Questions

• Broad Questions: Include open-ended questions in exams or assignments that require the student to synthesize information from multiple sources or parts of the course. These questions are more difficult to answer using AI tools alone.
• Unique Responses: Design questions that require personalized responses or opinions, making it harder for AI-generated content to be relevant or accurate.

9. Cumulative Assessments

• Cumulative Exams: Administer exams that cover a wide range of material from the course, requiring students to integrate and apply what they’ve learned throughout the semester.
• Comprehensive Projects: Assign a comprehensive project that builds on multiple components of the course, where the student must demonstrate their ability to connect different concepts and skills.

10. Peer Review

• Peer Feedback: Incorporate peer review into the assignment process, where students evaluate each other’s work. This can help identify discrepancies in quality and offer insights into the student’s engagement with the material.
• Collaborative Learning: Encourage collaborative projects where students must work together to solve a problem or complete a task. The group dynamics and contributions can reveal individual levels of understanding.

Inform the student that you have concerns with the assignment and you would like to discuss it. If more than one student is involved, meet with each student individually.  If you are unable to meet with the student notify the student of the findings and report the incident through the Maxient reporting form.

If you meet with the student, the instructor should get a sense of how the student constructed the assignment or that he/she did violate the academic integrity policy.

Fill out the online reporting form for violations to the Academic Integrity Policy. 

• Attach all supporting documentation to Maxient report
• Report must be submitted as soon as incident occurred
• Report only facts of incident (please leave out opinions or comments that may sound bias against student)

Grading: Faculty may grade the student's assignment based on their grading and academic integrity policy as stated in their syllabi. The student may receive a grade reduction or a zero for the assignment they allegedly plagiarized. Please note that according to Title V, students cannot be automatically failleg for the entire course for academic integrity violations.

Once a report is received: Office staff will create a file through Maxient to keep all documentation, communication, statuses.

Notice of Concern: Written notice must be provided to the student within 10 days of the date on which the conduct took place; in the case of continuous, repeated or ongoing conduct, the notice must be provided within 10 days of the date on which conduct occurred which led to the decision to take disciplinary action.

Notice of Receipt: Written notice will be sent to the faculty that submitted the report.

Office of Student Affairs and Activities will work with students through the student conduct process.