What is Academic Dishonesty at UMSL?
"Academic Dishonesty is any form of cheating, plagiarism or sabotage which results in students giving or receiving unauthorized assistance or receiving credit for work which is not their own" (Collected Rules).
What are the specific acts of academic dishonesty?
Cheating
- Use of any unauthorized assistance in taking quizzes, tests, or examinations
- Dependence upon the aid of sources beyond those authorized by the instructor in writing papers, preparing reports, solving problems, or carrying out other assignments
- Acquisition or possession without permission of tests or other academic material belonging to a member of the University faculty or staff
- Knowingly providing any assistance to another student on quizzes, tests, or examinations
Plagiarism
- Use by paraphrase or direct quotation of the published or unpublished work of another person without fully and properly crediting the author with footnotes, citations, or bibliographical reference
- Unacknowledged use of material prepared by another person or agency engaged in the selling of term papers or other academic materials
- Unacknowledged use of original work/material that has been produced through collaboration with others without the release in writing from collaborators
Sabotage
- Unauthorized interference with, modification of, or destruction of the work or intellectual property of another member of the University community
Reporting Procedures
Steps to Take If You Suspect an Academic Integrity Violation
Step 1: Make an academic judgment about the student's grade on that work. In most cases, students receive either a "0" or "F" on the work in question.
Step 2: Submit an Academic Conduct Report Form.
Step 3: The Office of Academic Integrity and Student Conduct will investigate and give the student the opportunity to present their version of the incident.
Step 4: The Office of Academic Integrity and Student Conduct and/or Associate Provost will set forth appropriate disciplinary sanctions and notify all involved parties by mail and/or email.
Step 5: A record of the student's charge will be kept in the Office of Academic Affairs.
FERPA Compliance
The Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA) of 1974 mandates that information in student education records must be kept confidential. Access is granted only to those with legitimate educational interest on a "need-to-know" basis. The Vice Provost for Student Affairs is the federal contact regarding our FERPA policy, and the Registrar is responsible for compliance documents.
Examples of inappropriate use:
- Accessing student records without legitimate educational interest
- Releasing confidential information to unauthorized persons
- Leaving reports or screens with student information visible to others
- Discussing student record information with unauthorized individuals
Questions about the academic integrity process? Contact Shereka Kemp, Manager of Academic Integrity and Student Conduct (314-516-6342, skemp@umsl.edu). Keep reading for guidance on promoting academic integrity in the classroom! If you would like to discuss any of these strategies with a CTL staff member, please contact us at ctl@umsl.edu.
Prevention Strategies
Studies have shown that academic dishonesty can be a pervasive problem in higher education. However, there are meaningful steps that instructors can take to build a culture of honesty and integrity in the classroom. From cultivating trust and creating a clear and fair academic integrity policy to dealing with problems, here's everything you need to know about this issue.
What you can do to encourage academic integrity
- Set clear expectations from the first day of class on how you define cheating and plagiarism.
- Don't assume prior knowledge. Many students may not have experience with proper documentation or may have never been taught how to properly cite sources.
- Teach discipline-specific formats. Familiarize students with the appropriate style and format of your discipline, as certain styles may be unfamiliar to students.
Preventing academic dishonesty
- Include a statement about academic integrity in each syllabus
- Remind students of expected citation formats with each assignment
- Reference campus Academic Honesty Guidelines and Student Code of Conduct
- Frame these policies as vital to academic and career success
Test and exam strategies
- Use "backward" questions that are application-based
- Set time limits and consider the implications of extended time for students with registered disabilities
- Design tests with variety (objective items, short answers, essays, etc.)
- Develop large question pools for scrambling
- Display one question at a time and prevent backtracking
- Consider Respondus Lockdown Browser
Setting clear expectations
- Remind students before each test of your expectations
- Specify parameters (open/closed book, allowed notes, time limits, etc.)
- Clarify with whom students may confer
- Monitor statistics features for violations
Alternative assessment methods
- Consider whether tests are the best assessment option
- Use short essays or journals
- Implement small group assignments and projects
- Encourage discussion boards, wikis, or chats
- Develop community-based projects
Building trust and community
Co-creating an honor code
Consider using collaborative honor codes or community guidelines to build trust and community in your classroom. This opens conversations about academic integrity and can be integrated into assessments or major assignments to promote integrity.
How to talk to students about academic integrity
Frequent conversations about academic integrity allow students multiple opportunities to ask questions and deepen their understanding. Use clear language and provide multiple touchpoints throughout the semester to reinforce these concepts.
AI and academic integrity
Generative AI tools like ChatGPT can raise new anxieties about academic dishonesty in the classroom. One popular tool to combat this problem is the AI detector in Turnitin; however, research has suggested that this tool can target English language learners and even accuse students who have not plagiarized. While the tools you use are up to you, it’s important to use a holistic, relationship-based approach to promoting honesty in the classroom. Here are some tips:
- Talk openly with your students about generative AI, and explain why it’s so valuable for them to do their own work.
- Be clear about what constitutes appropriate and inappropriate use of these tools. Are you alright with the students using them to check their grammar, write lines of code, or brainstorm?
- Consider integrating AI tools into one or more assignments that ask students to collaborate with these tools while doing their own complex thinking.
- Scaffold complex assignments into smaller parts that get regular feedback, making it more difficult for students to plagiarize an entire essay or project.
- Ask students to do reflective writing that explains their learning process, which is more difficult to plagiarize, and asks them to take responsibility for their work.