Academic Integrity

Assessment strategy through the lens of academic honesty is certainly a topic faculty everywhere are discussing, in both 2-yr and 4-yr forums and webinars. Many resources come down to three or four central ideas; the resources shared here summarize these ideas well.

Following are some specific assessment strategies for both online and face-to-face classes, followed by additional resources and scholarship:

Use short answer and essay questions that require critical thinking and creativity, avoiding question types that may tempt looking up answers, such as multiple choice and true/false.
Mix objective and subjective questions. Weigh essay and short answer questions more than the multiple choice/true false questions. Students might be less motivated to “waste time” looking up answers for the multiple choice questions, as they hold a lower point value.
Offer several “low-stakes” quizzes instead of a single high-point value quiz – many students may not see a payoff for taking the time to look up answers online.
Draw specifically on course content, modules, or lectures: “How was sustainability defined in our Zoom session from Tuesday?” Or, ask students to analyze a hypothesis stated on page 47 of the text.
When writing objective or short answer questions, place them in the context of a specific real-world or industry situation. This may prevent students easily looking up an answer either online or from your course content.
List vocabulary words as part of the alternatives to the stem question, such that the student would need to look up each vocabulary word to determine the answer. Example: Bacterial cell membranes contain: (A) Phospholipids, (B) Glycogens, (C) Phosphates, (D) Enzymes.
Avoid testing students on material that is already likely part of their prior knowledge (prior to your instruction). Example: Consuming too much salt may lead to: (A) cancer, (B) rheumatism, (C) high blood pressure, (D) arthritis.
Set a time limit for quizzes on Canvas (but also consider students who may need extra time or have an accommodation – you can give individual students extra time through the Canvas moderate a quiz page. This helps ensure that only students with some familiarity with the content can complete the entire assessment in the time you have set.
Create an assessment in Canvas with randomly selected questions from a test bank, making it difficult for students to share answers.
Limit the number of attempts on Canvas. Consider allowing multiple attempts for low-stakes assessments (short quizzes) while allowing one attempt for high-stakes assessments (mid-terms and final exams). Some students may in essence be ‘practicing’ with each attempt they are given.
Shuffle quiz questions in Canvas. This prevents two students collaborating – one answering “odd” and one answering “even” questions – and then putting their answers together.
Have your multiple sections take their quiz/test for the week all at the same day/time. This minimizes the opportunities for the first students who take the quiz to pass on information about the quiz (or the actual questions themselves!) to their peers.
Set Canvas quizzes to display one question at a time (with multiple questions displaying, students can zoom out on their browser and capture a dozen or more questions in a single grab using screen-capture for sharing).
Have students sign an integrity statement on the exam. Highline’s Canvas Contingency Course for Faculty offers some suggestions on ways to do this.

Professional development opportunities

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Additional resources – from Highline:

EdTech’s Remote Teaching Canvas course offers a set of effective approaches to the topic on the Academic Integrity and Remote Assessment page.

The Highline library guide – Faculty Resources for Combating Plagiarism. This guide is designed to help faculty combat problems related to plagiarism in the classroom. It includes assignments, resources for students, and resources for faculty.

The Highline library Canvas module on Recognizing and Avoiding Plagiarism. Here are instructions to download the module into your course. Students can work through this self-paced module in Canvas to better understand what plagiarism is and how to take steps to avoid plagiarism.

Highline’s Office of Community Standards and Student Conduct has an Instructor Resources page , which includes addressing Chegg, and scheduling academic integrity presentations for Highline classes.

Additional resources/scholarship – general:

Highline’s Academic Integrity Website under The Office of Community Standards and Student Conduct site outlines what is considered Academic Dishonesty, how to report Academic Dishonesty, the Academic Integrity Student Conduct Process, and provides a permanent home for information about takedown requests for Chegg and other sites that promote academic misconduct.
Academic honesty page – from Highline’s Canvas contingency course
Sample academic honesty policy – from Highline’s accessible syllabus template; see page 6
Proactive Approaches for Academic Integrity in Remote and Online Learning – Webinar from Xavier University of Louisiana’s Center for the Advancement of Teaching and Faculty Development
Going Beyond Tests and Exams – In this video podcast, Ekaterina Stoops, Director for Teaching and Learning at CBC, discusses how to design and incorporate creative assessments and develop alternatives to tests and final exams.
Do online students cheat more on tests? (Faculty Focus) explores perceptions on whether students are actually cheating.
Why open-book tests deserve a place in your courses suggests open-book tests shift the onus of responsibility for upholding academic honesty onto the students themselves.
Want to stop cheating on online quizzes? (Online Learning Consortium) has practical ideas including drawing specifically from course content/lectures/Zoom session.
Teaching intelligence online: how to take your classes online, (Times Higher Education) (scroll down to ‘Can we design cheat-proof assessment?’) This article takes the universal design for learning/multiple means of expression approach suggested in a March 26, 2020 Harris III and Wood culturally responsive teaching webinar as being a critical equity consideration, especially now given wide differences in access to technology as our students head into spring.

Additional resources/scholarship – ChatGPT and AI composition tools:

Information about ChatGPT and its implications for teaching and learning from Washington University in St. Louis – Center for Teaching and Learning
Highline English department statement on ChatGPT (Highline login required)

Additional resources/scholarship – cultural responsiveness:

The following scholarship bring in cultural perspectives that would be useful in crafting a discussion around academic honesty/dishonesty to have with students. (List from Kate Skelton)

Doss, Henley. “Assessing Domestic Vs. International Student Perceptions and Attitudes of Plagiarism.” Journal of International Students, vol. 6, no. 2, Journal of International Students, Mar. 2016, pp. 542–65.

Fass-Holmes, B. (2017). International students reported for academic integrity violations: Demographics, retention, and graduation. Journal of International Students, 7(3), 644-669.

Frost, Hamlin. “A Comparison of International Student Attitudes Concerning Academic Dishonesty.” Journal of International Business Research, vol. 14, no. 2, Jordan Whitney Enterprises, Inc, May 2015, p. 153–.

Ghias, K., Lakho, G.R., Asim, H. et al. Self-reported attitudes and behaviours of medical students in Pakistan regarding academic misconduct: a cross-sectional study. BMC Med Ethics 15, 43 (2014).

Isbell, Chaudhuri. “‘It Just Messes Your Mind’: U.S. International Students’ Perspectives of and Experiences with Academic Text Sourcing.” Journal of International Students, vol. 8, no. 1, Journal of International Students, Jan. 2018, pp. 308–31, doi:10.5281/zenodo.1134309

Lee, S. D., Kuncel, N. R., & Gau, J. (2020). Personality, attitude, and demographic correlates of academic dishonesty: A meta-analysis. Psychological Bulletin, 146(11), 1042–1058. (Supplemental)

Miller, A. D., Murdock, T. B., & Grotewiel, M. M. (2017). Addressing Academic Dishonesty Among the Highest Achievers. Theory Into Practice, 56(2), 121–128.

Taylor, Taylor. “Academic Honesty, Linguistic Dishonesty: Analyzing the Readability and Translation of Academic Integrity and Honesty Policies at U.S. Postsecondary Institutions.” Journal of Academic Ethics, vol. 17, no. 1, Springer Netherlands, Mar. 2019, pp. 1–15, doi:10.1007/s10805-018-9321-6.

Thompson, L. W., Bagby, J. H., Sulak, T. N., Sheets, J., & Trepinski, T. M. (2017). The cultural elements of academic honesty. Journal of International Students, 7(1), 136-153.

Zhang, Y., Yin, H., & Zheng, L. (2018). Investigating academic dishonesty among Chinese undergraduate students: does gender matter? Assessment & Evaluation in Higher Education, 43(5), 812–826. https://doi.org/10.1080/02602938.2017.1411467