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Below are responses to commonly expressed reasons why faculty may
be reluctant to discuss academic integrity and academic dishonesty.
| Myth |
Counterargument |
|
| If I discuss
academic integrity, academic dishonesty, cheating, and
plagiarism, I will appear to my students to be overly
strict or overbearing. |
Research shows that
students want a level playing field. They resent other
students who take the easy way out through academically
dishonest practices such as cheating and plagiarism
(Kennedy &
Nowak, 2000; see also McCabe,
Trevino, and Butterfield, 1999; Hollinger
& Lanza-Kaduce, 1996). They feel that academically
dishonest practices give some students an unfair advantage
in a competitive environment where grade ranking can
importantly affect their future. (Bishop,
2001).
Also, discussing academic integrity
and academic dishonesty may not be viewed by students
as being overly strict or overbearing. Rather, honest
students may see it as evidence that faculty care about
their learning. The typical student will demand academic
integrity of himself or herself when the faculty is
viewed as hard working, up-to-date with course material,
fair with grading, and consistent. (McCabe
& Pavela, 1997). |
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| Myth |
Counterargument |
| This discussion belongs
in some other department, not mine. |
It may be true that
your institution has a department or an individual with
a special emphasis on the topics of academic integrity
and academic dishonesty. Still, your students should
at least be aware that you know of such departments
and individuals by pointing to them as good resources
for avoiding unacceptable practices and adopting practices
that demonstrate academic integrity. You can discuss
this in class or at least have such information posted
in your syllabus.
More and more institutions are taking
the stance that it is not just the job of the
writing center or a specific department or individual
designated as responsible for teaching about academic
integrity, academic dishonesty, cheating, and plagiarism
(Purdue Online Writing
Lab, 2003; see also Joy
& Luck, 1999). A recent search in the database
Digital Dissertations on the words “writing across
the curriculum” in the title field yielded no
fewer than 20 dissertations on the subject published
since 1997! The titles show a wide variety of academic
disciplines becoming involved in good writing practices,
particularly those that demonstrate academic integrity
through proper attribution of sources and avoidance
of plagiarism. Even technical disciplines like computer
science and mathematics are grappling with such issues.
Leaving it to writing instructors alone is just not
currently pedagogically sound. |
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| Myth |
Counterargument |
| My job is to teach the
subject matter of the course. I don’t have time
to discuss these issues in my class. |
Research shows that incidences
of academic dishonesty are increasing. See the VAIL
Guide to Academic Integrity and Plagiarism in the Classroom
for information on the scope of the problem, and the
Center for Intellectual Property’s
Current Issues and Resources on Plagiarism: Incidence
and Prevalence.
Chances are good that if you do not
try to address the problem head on by discussing it
early in your class, you will be devoting some time
to addressing academic dishonesty after it has occurred.
The time you spend addressing the issue in advance will
be time saved when incidents do occur and they
have to be addressed. The process can be somewhat drawn
out and involve finding evidence, discussing it with
students, giving an opportunity for students to defend
themselves, policy decisions to consider from one’s
department or the institution as a whole, an appeals
process, etc. If you can avoid this up front by discussing
the issue in advance, it will be time well spent! |
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| Myth |
Counterargument |
| What’s
the use? I heard of faculty who accused a student of academic
dishonesty then were not backed up by the administration. |
Your administration may
have done something to address the charge but the outcome
was not made public! Faculty should be aware of student
confidentiality protections such as FERPA, the Family
Educational Rights and Privacy Act. For every instance
in which you may have heard that the outcome did not satisfy
the faculty, there are most likely many more that did
satisfy the concerns of the faculty member and addressed
the student’s learning. |
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