ETHOS

Quote of the Month

Integrity is the essence of everything successful.

JANUARY 2013

A Monthly Publication of the International Center for Academic Integrity Featuring Summaries of Integrity News + News from the Center

From the Director

Achieving What We Can
One of the frequent objections to integrity initiatives is that no matter what we do, we will never eliminate cheating. Sadly, they are correct. It doesnt follow, however, that we should stop working toward increasing and improving integrity to the extent that we can. Our experiences tell us that in most groups of students about 20% seem not to be inclined to cheat, regardless of the temptation. Those are the ones we can leave in a room taking a test and not worry, if only we knew which ones they were. At the other end of the spectrum, there is roughly the same percentage of students inclined to cheat if the opportunity presents itself. Those are the ones for whom penalties come into play as a deterrent. The vast majority however, are somewhere in the middle, where we can reach them with our integrity building efforts. So, it comes down to this: we can both accept that our challenges will continue, and continue to work to develop integrity to the extent it is possible. Not only can we do thiswe must.

Buckminster Fuller

UI Considering Major Revision to Academic Integrity Rules

By: Christine Des Garennes The News-Gazette 12/23/12

Late at night, several students sit around a table and discuss their
answers for a take-home test. Collaborative group work or cheating? In response to a growing number of temptations for students to borrow facts, copy and paste information to assignments, post or even sell lecture notes or tests online, the University of Illinois is considering its first major revision in years to the student codes academic integrity section. It attempts to make clearer the ramifications and procedures for when students are accused of cheating and plagiarizing as well as address gray areas when a students motive behind an infraction is not always clear. The code update, administrators said, is the first step in what they hope will be an honest conversation about academic integrity at a top national research institution, a conversation that will raise the profile of academic honesty and what that means for the institution and how its enforced, said Brian Farber, director of UIs Office for Student Conflict Resolution. Ethics expert Teddi Fishman, director of the International Center for Academic Integrity housed at Clemson University, makes the point that people plagiarized words and ideas as far back as the time of Pliny the Elder. Some forms of dishonesty looking over someones shoulder and cheating on a test, for example have not significantly increased, while others have, such as copying and pasting text from the internet, she said. An increase in the number of cheating or plagiarism cases does not mean there is more cheating occurring on a campus, Fishman said. Instead, an uptick in cases is when faculty and staff are paying more attention to it Theyre doing a good job of policing it. Is redundancy a bad thing? asked Fishman. Not when it comes to educating students about plagiarism, cheating, and other issues, she said. Complete Article: http://www.news-gazette.com/news/education/2012-1223/ui-considering-major-revision-academic-integrity-rules.html

~Teddi Fishman

articles to achieve tenure. Why do some academics choose the cut1/14/2013 and-paste shortcut? They are relying on a false conceit: that its the words that count. If the words, or the lab results, led to The best way to conquer plagiarism in universities is to make acclaim for one scholar, theyll be golden for another, no? Well, no. students and faculty more comfortable with failure. All too often, the focus on marks or on succeeding in the publish-or-perish culture can No doubt the costs of even small failures in the university can be make universities seem like credential factories that have structured high. Im not sure how much students are willing to participate in the risks and rewards of plagiarism in such a way that, for the failure, said Dr. Don McCabe, who is updating a study he unethical, copying is a smart bet. Yet anyone who chooses that path published with Dr. Julia Christensen Hughes. Students want the is misunderstanding the purpose of a university. grade and to move on with their lives. By: Simona Chiose The Globe and Mail C students are realistic theyre not going to become doctors or top To read the complete article, including a list of practical strategies to help lower rates researchers. Imagine you almost have the A average to get into grad of plagiarism, please visit: or professional school, or that you must publish a certain number of http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/national/education/choose-a-c-overplagiarism/article7304342/?cmpid=rss1

Choose a C Over Plagiarism

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Mischievousness Not Missed, Professor Suspects Dishonesty

Institutionalised Cheating
01/14/2013

By: Erica Techo University of Georgia The Red and Black

By: Sarah El Masry 1/10/2013 Daily News Egypt

At the end of the fall 2012 semester,

It is currently exam season in Egypt.

Many students are not concerned about the best way to summarise chapters, draw mind maps and generally revise. They are planning to cheat. During exams, new ways of cheating are trialed and new cases are covered in the media, drawing a bleak picture of the countrys future. A country whose students are mostly cheaters. One foot tap means you start cheating, two taps mean you should stop because the floor supervisor is on his way, she said cautiously. I was a 1-year-old girl attending a school run by nuns. Once a week we attended a class dedicated to conduct and ethics where we learnt about tolerance, honesty, and integrity. This comment by the teacher supervising my final exam in primary school was my first educational trauma. Her request baffled me completely. How on earth is this woman asking us to cheat during our final exam? The details of what happened next have faded, but her words remained in my memory. The Boss Fee Waratak (Mind Your Own Paper) campaign to combat and raise awareness about cheating conducted a survey on a randomized sample of 1314 university students. The results showed that 92.19% of the sample had cheated in an exam. Numbers for schools are not available, but if such results exist at university level where cheating is supposed to be harder, then one can infer that at schools the problem is worse. Complete Story:
http://dailynewsegypt.com/2013/01/14/institut ionalised-cheating/
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www.academicintegrity.org/icai/events-1.php many MIST 2090 students didnt see ___________________________________ the easy A they expected. Instead they saw Incomplete. We want your feedback! Visit our

redesigned and updated website and email It popped up on my grade report as an comments, questions, and suggestions to: incomplete, and theres a course grade comment, an anonymous student said. CAI-L@clemson.edu!

It says, an I indicates a potential academic honesty violation. You will hear from Deborah Bells office of the Vice President for Instruction. I cannot discuss this any further with you. He said many students in frats or sororities work together on assignments. When you take MIST, if youre in any Greek organization, then a lot of people collaborate, he said. I dont want to say they cheat, but they collaborate in terms of they help each other throughout the course, and thats where theres kind of a gray area. Sharing files via email or other means is how students were deemed academically dishonest. You have allegedly either received unauthorized assistance by submitting for grading a file provided by another student, or provided unauthorized assistance by making available a file to another student, which he or she submitted for grading, Janine Aronson, professor of management information systems, wrote in a December 18 email.

www.facebook.com/AcademicIntegrity

Aronson spoke with students regarding academic honesty on October 4, as well as during several other lectures during the semester, according to the email.
http://www.redandblack.com/ugalife/mistmischievousness-not-missed-professor-suspectsacademic-dishonesty/article_c183f092-5abc11e2-9036-0019bb30f31a.html

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The International Center for Academic Integrity grants permission to duplicate and distribute this newsletter physically or electronically, so long as it is duplicated and/or distributed in its entirety and without alteration. Please note that this publication features summaries of and links to original works that are subject to copyright protection. This publication is sponsored by:

Welcome new ICAI members Jan. 2013! Institutional Members Integrity Action! ProctorU, Inc. Individual Members Constance Hardy, Saint Xavier Univ. Christina Jaquez, Ashford University Leslie Korb, Lindsey Wilson College Jeff Zuckerman, Walden University Forrest Mims Chris Spoons

CAI-L@clemson.edu

Ethos Staff: Aaron Monson: Writer / Editor Teddi Fishman: Executive Editor