Faculty

Rutgers University, New Brunswick Campus

• Fostering Academic Integrity at Rutgers
• Srategies for Preventing Cheating
• Preventing Cheating on Term Papers and Take-Home Written Assignments
• Integrity on Examinations
• Essay Exams
• Objective Exams
• Calculators
• Collaboration
• The Syllabus
• Some Additional Statements Taken From the Syllabus in Courses Posted on the Web
• Example of a Departmental Policy Statement
• Reporting Violations of Academic Integrity
• Thanks

Fostering Academic Integrity at Rutgers

Academic Integrity is a fundamental cornerstone of any academic community. In many ways, the perceptions about the quality of an institution and the value of its degrees are based on the belief that graduates earned their diploma honestly and that faculty certified that graduates have knowledge and skills learned through rigorous work guided by high standards of excellence. Inherent in such an article of faith is a belief that a students work was honest and that each one did it themselves. Certainly there are few shortcuts to learning, but a shortcut that seems to be increasing is cheating. Some studies suggest that as many as 75% of all students cheat in institutions like Rutgers (McCabe). Whether this is the case is arguable. What is not arguable is that responsibility for monitoring the Policy on Academic Integrity for Undergraduate and Graduate Students, responsibility for setting guidelines for how this policy applies to each class, falls on each instructor in every class.

There is more to this than merely watching out for violations and reporting them to the appropriate person. Talking about Academic Integrity is an opportunity to teach students about the proper standards of academic behavior. Many students are genuinely confused about what constitutes plagiarism or unauthorized assistance on an assignment. Some of them do not understand why it is so important to cite their sources and include a bibliography. Making discussions of academic integrity an integral part of your curriculum will help students learn crucial skills.

Students come to Rutgers from widely diverse backgrounds. Nationality, geography, and educational preparation are only a few of the factors that contribute to this diversity. To assume that students understand what academic integrity means is to allow student culture to be the predominant force in setting the University's standards. There is an old saying that new students always hear what the rules are from their deans, then ask upperclass students what the rules really are.

There are many things an instructor should and can do to foster creation of a community that follows the standards of academic integrity. Donald J. McCabe, Associate Provost at Rutgers, Newark has done extensive research on cheating in colleges, developing an interest in the subject from his teaching in the Graduate School of Management. McCabe is a founder of the Center for Academic Integrity and was Chair of the Rutgers committee that wrote the Code of Student Conduct. Gary Pavela, Director of Judicial Affairs at the University of Maryland, College Park, is a leading authority on campus disciplinary procedures and consulted with the Rutgers Code of Student Conduct Committee. McCabe and Pavela have developed a set of principles (unpublished) for faculty. They believe that instructors are responsible for:

• making it clear that academic integrity is important, and why it is important-that the pursuit of truth is grounded in certain core values, including diligence, civility, and honesty.
• treating students as individuals and with respect. Students respond positively to classes where they see assignments as challenging and relevant, and will return respect shown them by following the rules.
• making certain that the rules for academic integrity are clear and understood. Include a statement about the rules in syllabi and review them in class. Some areas can be particularly troublesome and need special attention, particularly rules about student collaboration (see below).
• making every effort to assure that students perceive that academic work assigned and assessed is done so fairly.
• reducing opportunities to engage in academic dishonesty. Unclear policies, undefined or unrealistic standards for collaboration, inadequate classroom management or poor examination security foster a climate that encourages cheating. Students understand that one of the greatest inducements to cheating is the perception that cheating is rampant in the culture.
• reporting violations. Students in every class also learn about the values of the instructor. Faculty members who ignore academic dishonesty send the message that the core values of academic life, and community life in general, are not worth any significant effort to enforce.
• encouraging high standards of academic integrity across the University.

Strategies for Preventing Cheating

Preventing Cheating on Term Papers and Take-Home Written Assignments

Faculty can help prevent plagiarism in a number of ways.
 

1. First, it must be made clear to students what constitutes unacceptable behavior.

 
2. The due date for any paper should appear on the course syllabus so that students are given adequate opportunity to plan their work properly.

 
3. Students should be encouraged to use a wide variety of sources to preclude the tendency to extract too much from a single source because no others are readily available at the time of writing.

 
4. It is very useful for instructors to provide a style sheet that defines paraphrasing and plagiarism, explains when citation is necessary, and provides models for correct citation. With a style sheet in hand, students will not be pressured to locate a style sheet at the last minute and will be able to focus greater attention on the proper presentation of their research and analysis. Specifying a style sheet or manual would at least require a student using a "canned" paper to convert the style if necessary. Particularly in advanced courses which might serve as the basis for graduate school preparation, it is a good idea to require students to follow the style manual of the profession, and for graduate students to specify the style manual of the profession. If more than one style manual is acceptable within a profession, the faculty member should specify one particular style for all term papers because it makes reading, commenting, and grading easier.

 
5. It is helpful to provide bibliographical guidance and research strategies if students are required to meet with their instructor to obtain approval of term paper topics.

 
6. Insure that students commit early to a term paper topic to avoid last-minute panic that may cause students to turn to cheating. One means of facilitating early topic selection is soliciting possible term paper topics from students after the second week of classes, editing them for viability, and returning them to the class along with other topic suggestions from the instructor. The advantage of a suggested term paper list, it if is not restrictive, is that it focuses attention on viable choices and may stimulate students' imagination in formulating other topics.

 
7. Meetings between students and faculty for topic approval, held early in the semester, requires students to commit early to a topic and allows the faculty member to make suggestions about sources that should be included in the final product. This makes it less likely that "canned" papers can be submitted.

 
8. It is often useful to have students commit to a thesis statement, submitted in writing before the paper is due, as an additional requirement in the term paper process. Thesis statements require some preliminary research and reduce the likelihood of cheating because work on the paper had been postponed to the last minute. They also increase the difficulty of purchasing, acquiring, or commissioning a term paper on the topic chosen.

 
9. Faculty members should be readily available to advise students during the research and writing process. Students should be encouraged to seek the support and advice of reference librarians and the Learning Resource Centers. Students must feel supported throughout the process of researching and writing their papers to help them avoid the feelings of isolation and panic that can easily lead to cheating.

 
10. Requiring students to submit drafts of their work prior to the submission on the final paper helps offer some assurance that the work in progress is their own. It is not particularly easy to convert a "canned" term paper to a draft.
11. Requiring some in-class written work prior to the submission of a term paper enables an instructor to gain some knowledge about a students writing style and vocabulary that makes a good comparison to term papers if there is some thought that the work is plagiarized. Comparison of student's writing styles that show wide differences can make strong evidence of plagiarism.

 
12. Keeping copies of past papers organized by topic may make it easier to track down work that seems familiar.

 
13. Read all papers on the same topic together.

 
14. Some possible signs of plagiarism include: an average student hands in a sophisticated and error free paper; footnotes do not match the cited text; there isn't a single footnote or quotation mark; topic does not match the assignment; certain passages sound familiar; type face on the title page does not match type in the body of the paper; or the paper is a photocopy but the title page is an original.

 
15. A comment on Term Papers on the Internet. The Internet is increasingly being used by students for research. Some of that research may be at "cheaters.com" or "term-papers-on-file.com." Typing "term papers" on any large search engine brings up a long list of sites that both sell or give away term papers. While it is unknown how many students submit papers obtained from the net under their own name, the problem is certainly not new. Commercial term paper companies have been in business for a long time-the Internet just makes them more accessible. The Center for Academic Integrity maintains a web site that includes a secure, current list of most of the largest term paper sites. Rutgers faculty can gain access to this site by verifying their identity. Email paherman@rci.rutgers.edu for further information.

Integrity on Examinations

Exam conditions, type of exam, and many other factors may have a different impact on creating a climate of academic integrity during a testing period. Some standard suggestions apply whether the exam is subjective or objective in nature while others apply to each type. Factors that encourage academic integrity in all exams include:
 

1. The presence of the professor who is actively checking to assure that there is no cheating. Sitting in the back of the room and watching to see what goes on or walking around the room goes a long way to discourage cheating. In large classes having proctors assist is beneficial.

 
2. Making sure that students in the room belong there is another factor. Particularly in large classes, checking ID's against the roster assures that no "ringers" are taking exams for properly enrolled students.

 
3. The seating arrangement is another important factor. Students should be spread apart as far as possible so that the possibility of cheating is reduced. Some instructors assign seats for exams so that they can identify students whose behavior is inappropriate and discourage students who know each other well from collaborating.

 
4. Stating the rules for taking the exam before anyone begins is also beneficial. First, it notifies students that you consider academic integrity an important issue, but also clarifies specific rules about use of other material. This is particularly important when there is permission to use some notes but not others, some books but not others, and equipment such as calculators or computers. If no other materials except a pencil or pen is permitted then students should be required to remove those items to the front of the room or under desks or some other convenient place.

Essay Exams

1. For closed book essay examinations it is important that faculty familiarize students in advance with the format of the examination and the likely structure of the questions. Because some students may have access to previous exams in the same course while others do not, leveling the playing field is often a good idea. To do this, distribute copies of previous exams to the class and use it as a guide in discussing the format and structure of the exam. It is also a good idea to provide structured sub-questions to at least one of the previous year's exam questions. This helps a student understand what it is that constitutes an excellent answer.

 
2. Blue Books are the most frequent format for essay exams. Because they are readily available to all students, one method of cheating is to bring partially completed blue books to an exam. In courses where students must provide their own blue books you can require that students exchange blue books with someone else in the class before beginning the exam or collect them all and redistribute them randomly. When blue books are provided, many faculty stamp them in some way (with a name or departmental stamp, for example) prior to distributing them, after requiring that all other material be removed from desks and/or the area where students are sitting. Missing pages in a completed blue book may be a sign that some material was brought into the exam.

 
3. Take home examinations provide many opportunities for collaboration with other students and it is probably unreasonable to expect students not to collaborate or consult unapproved sources. To reduce the possibility of cheating, this type of exam should be constructed around a limited number of texts that the instructor knows intimately. This type of exam should demand that the student address issues that go beyond repeating what the authors have said and engage students in critical thinking. Take home exams are best assigned only after the students have submitted other written work so that it is easier to spot discrepancies in vocabulary or style. Instructors may want to photocopy the comments from these exams or other papers before returning them to students so that they can be compared with later work in the course. Faculty should include with the take home exam a style sheet which will outline how to cite quotations, statistics, and paraphrases. Perhaps only the last name of the author and the page citation might be adequate. Time for completion should be limited, since this type of exam probably assumes that students have already read the texts.

 

Objective Exams

1. Copying from other students is a frequent form of cheating. The use of multiple forms of the exam is an effective means of controlling this behavior. Tight seating, slanted floors and large groups of students not personally known to the proctors all necessitate the use of more than a single version of an exam. Colored cover sheets with randomly assigned colors are helpful in masking the actual patters in which multiple exams are distributed.

 
2. Assigned seating for exams makes it clear who is sitting where, and allows for an instructor to randomly assign students to seats, making it unpredictable for students to anticipate where they will be sitting.

 
3. When a large proportion of examination questions must be recycled, security of the exams is an important issue. A rigorous count-and-match procedure used when the exam is distributed and collected is a necessity. General Biology courses recycle a large number of questions and their instructors have developed a number of effective security measures. Instructors in those courses can be consulted for procedures.

 
4. When it is required that students use scratch paper for solving problems, instructors should provide the paper. This makes it easy to identify "crib" sheets that do not belong in the exam.

 
5. Many disciplines permit students to bring a set of notes to an exam. It would be desirable for departments and professional schools to standardize practices and to inform students that those practices do not extend to other departments.

 
6. It is advisable to make copies of exams before returning them to students. In this type of exam, some students erase wrong answers, supply the correct one, then ask for a grade change. A copy of what was returned would make this impossible. Grade alterers often make a habit of erasing frequently on their paper to make it harder to detect changes. Short of copying all exams, copy a random sample of the exams and announce to the class that doing so is your practice.

Calculators

As calculators become increasingly sophisticated, their use in classes and during exams has become widespread, creating problems for many departments. Questions on the use of calculators on exams and assignments are, unfortunately, so specific to disciplines that little can be said here that is both useful or general.

The most practical response here is to suggest that departmental committees formulate guidelines for their disciplines, use those guidelines across the department, and update the guidelines annually or at the point where increasingly sophisticated calculators become available on the market.

Some considerations in establishing policies include differentiations between acceptable and non-acceptable keyboards; providing the same calculator to all students taking an exam; requiring that memory be erased before an exam (which is difficult to check and/or verify); and substituting a written page of notes in lieu of calculator use.

Collaboration

A 1998 survey of Rutgers students asked the question, "On what aspect of academic integrity are you most unclear?" The overwhelming response was "collaboration." Students are encouraged to study in groups. They are assigned group projects. They work in teams to get results from experiments whose reports must be written individually. In these and other ways, students collaborate daily.

Students accused of cheating have argued that they studied together all the time and knew the same material, accounting for their identical pattern of right and wrong answers. They have also argued that similarity, including identical answers on a take-home exam, resulted from discussions in instructor assigned study groups and there were no prohibitions to using the group to prepare take-home exam essays.

There is no question that collaboration is an issue that spans a wide array of courses and practices. When collaboration is an issue for courses and departments, it is important that the rules for its use be spelled out to students. Those rules should be listed in the syllabus.

The Syllabus

It is advisable that statements on Academic Integrity be included on the syllabus for every course. Such a statement has two advantages: it informs the student that he or she is expected to uphold standards of academic integrity and allows the instructor the opportunity to define special rules for academic integrity that apply in each class. This statement on the syllabus may be particularly important when it deals with areas that are not always clear in the minds of students.

Statements can be general or specific. You may wish to address questions about the definition of plagiarism, acceptable methods of citation (particularly if you specify a particular style manual or have departmental guidelines), rules for cooperation among and between students on assignments and laboratory work, conduct on exams, or other areas of concern.

Below are two statements that could be included on a syllabus or be modified to meet the particular needs of a course:

Students in this class and in all courses at Rutgers University are expected to uphold the highest standards of academic integrity. Cheating, plagiarism in written work, receiving and providing unauthorized assistance, and sabotaging the work of others are among the behaviors that constitute violations of the Policy On Academic Integrity. You are expected to be familiar with this policy. If you have questions about specific assignments, be sure to check with the instructor.

The Policy on Academic Integrity defines all forms of cheating and the procedures for dealing with violations. You should be familiar with this policy. The trust between the instructor and the class depends on your acceptance of this essential principle of behavior in the University. Do your own work and do not provide unauthorized assistance to others and you will find this course more rewarding.

Some Additional Statements Taken From the Syllabus in Courses Posted on the Web

As is always the case, you will be responsible for your own work in this class. Pay special attention to properly citing sources in your written reports. Quotes (quotation marks) should be used for direct quotations; citations should be used for paraphrased materials. If you are unsure about how to cite sources, consult the instructor. Cheating will result in ....
http://www.engr.unl.edu/ee/faculty/michael_hoffman/911/s96syllabus.html

As is always the case, you will be responsible for your own work in this class. On all homework and tests you must show all your work. You will not receive any credit for unsubstantiated work. Finally, please don't jeopardize your opinion of yourself or your academic career by either copying someone else's work or allowing someone to copy your work. This includes both homework and exams.
http://engrss2.unl.edu/ee/faculty/karen_stgermain/304/s96syllabus.html

Note that if a student's name appears on a solution set, it certifies that he or she has participated in solving the problems and understands all of the solutions.
http://www.che.ufl.edu/courses/ECH4403/admin/problems.html

Student-teacher relationships are built on trust. Students must trust that teachers have made appropriate decisions about the structure and content of the courses they teach, teachers must trust that the assignments students turn in are theirs. Acts that violate this trust undermine the educational process.

The (school handbook) defines various forms of academic dishonesty and the procedures for responding to them. All forms are violations of the trust between students and teachers. Please familiarize yourselves with this portion of the (school handbook) and note that the penalties for plagiarism and other forms of cheating can be quite harsh.

In this course, "cheating" consists of passing off the papers, published articles, or research of others as one's own work.
http://www.loria.fr/~charoy/InternetWeb/course/classes/intro.html

...In this course we encourage students to study together. This includes discussing general strategies to be used on individual assignments. However, all work submitted for the class is to be done individually unless an assignment specifies otherwise.
http://jungfrau.usc.edu/ee681.html

Example of a Departmental Policy Statement

The Computer Science Department (Indiana University) takes the issue of academic integrity very seriously. The free marketplace of ideas is the ideal for the university. The university, in its pursuit of the advancement of knowledge has two intertwined missions: research, the development of new ideas, and teaching, the communication and refinement of these ideas. These missions require an atmosphere of mutual trust and respect. This document explains how the university's policy on academic integrity applies to computer science courses.

In the university research environment, the most productive work is rarely created by single individuals working along. Rather, collaboration has been found to be the most productive mode of operation for all kinds of scholarly activities. However, appropriate credit is to be given to all the participants in collaborative work. Furthermore, new research work rarely stands without foundation; it is usually derived from previously reported research. In these cases, the original work is to be cited.

In the university teaching environment, students are partners in the educational enterprise. The same deference is shown for other students' ideas as is shown for researchers' ideas. Collaborative work may be encouraged; many students find that their learning is enhanced during discussions with other students. However, when such collaboration occurs, all of the participants are to be acknowledged (i.e., their names written on the resulting work). Similarly, in a paper that uses ideas developed by another person, the original author is to be cited (e.g., in a footnote). When ideas that were invented by another individual are used in a program, the original inventor is to be cited (i.e., in the program documentation).

What is to be encouraged:

Turning in work that is done alone or with the help of the course staff.
Turning in one assignment for a group of students, when group work is permitted.
Discussion of course work with other students, unless explicitly disallowed, and then separately implementing the details of problems, with acknowledgments of the other students involved in the discussion.

What is considered academic dishonesty and a serious breach of trust:

Cheating: Turning in someone else's work as your own, even with the permission of the original author.
Cheating: Allowing someone else to turn in your work as his or her own.
Plagiarism: Turning in work without proper acknowledgment of the sources of the content contained within the work.

Reporting Violations of Academic Integrity

Adjudication of suspected violations fall under the procedural requirements of the Code of Student Conduct.

The Judicial Officers will serve as the primary contact person as the complaint proceeds. You will be asked to forward a written description of the complaint, including names and how to contact witnesses along with other pertinent information. You should consult with the Judicial Officer before sending information. The Judicial Officer will offer support, guidance and information as the process proceeds, which they do for both complainant and respondent..

Once the report is made, the Judicial Officer will interview the student in a "Preliminary Review." This is the student's opportunity to answer the allegations, provide an explanation for the evidence presented and tell their story. Students frequently admit their responsibility for violations during the Preliminary Review. When there is an admission of responsibility by the student, the Judicial Officer is given the responsibility for recommending a sanction. If the recommended sanction is suspension or expulsion from the University, that recommendation is made to the Vice President for Student Affairs who issues all sanctions of suspension to assure that they are equitable across the University for similar offenses. There is no appeal of this sanction.

In those incidents when a student does not admit responsibility, the Judicial Officer weighs the evidence at hand and makes a determination about the sufficiency of evidence to charge a student with a violation of the policy on academic integrity, specifying the Level of the violation in the charge. The matter is then referred to the appropriate Hearing Panel for resolution, a College Hearing for Level One and Two violations, and a University Hearing for Level Three and Four violations.

Hearings under the Code of Student Conduct are designed as fact-finding. The Hearing Panel at a University Hearing is normally composed of three students and two faculty whose role is to discover the facts related to the charge and determine whether the student is "responsible" or "not responsible." The standard used in their decision is that the evidence must be "clear and convincing." In the case of a finding of "responsible," the Hearing Panel makes a sanction recommendation to the Vice President for Student Affairs. Normally, the complaining faculty will present their case to the Hearing Panel and the student respondent will answer the charge by presenting their evidence. Both sides may be assisted by a Campus Advisor. While attorneys can be present, they are not permitted to speak.

Any member of the University Community can serve as a Campus Advisor. There are a number of faculty, staff and students who have received training to fulfill this role. A Judicial Officer can provide a list of those individuals who have been trained. In most cases, faculty bringing complaints have presented their own case without a Campus Advisor. Consequently, there are many faculty throughout the University who are willing to share their experiences in presenting a case. Each Judicial Officer is prepared to provide assistance, guidance, and information in preparing a case for a University or College Hearing, as they will do for both complainant and respondent..

The Hearing begins with instructions from the Hearing Officer who is an attorney, followed by the presentation of the Preliminary Review by the Judicial Officer. The person bringing the complaint presents their case, followed by questions from the Hearing Panel and the respondent. Next, the respondent (s) presents his/her/their case followed by questions. When both side complete their presentations and there are no more questions, the Hearing Panel retires to consider a decision. A Hearing Panel decides by majority vote and states reasons for their finding. If the respondent has been found "responsible," the Judicial Officer makes a recommendation to the Panel for a sanction. This recommendation is considered by the Hearing Panel as the standard sanction, that given to most students across the University for a similar offense. The Hearing Panel will also ask both complainant and respondent to recommend a sanction, although it is not necessary that either do so.

The Hearing Panel then retires to consider what sanction it will recommend to the Vice President for Student Affairs, then reconvenes to place its recommendation on the record. The respondent has the right to appeal the Vice President for Student Affairs sanction to the Committee on Student Conduct and to the President of the University.

This is a brief description. Judicial Officer and the Director of University Student Judicial Affairs can offer more in-depth explanations. In addition, the Office of Student Judicial Affairs web site offers the following:

1. A description of the judicial process and sanctions, along with a flow chard of the process.

2. Links inside and outside Rutgers that include sites that list Codes of Ethics for several professional organizations, judicial sites at Rutgers' Colleges, and other college and university judicial affairs web sites.

3. Information for Complainants and Respondents under the Code of Student Conduct.

Thanks

Special thanks to Donald J. McCabe for his research and understanding of the topic.

The FAS Work Group on Academic Integrity updated the policy to bring it into compliance with the Code of Student Conduct. This group is composed of Joan Carbone, Chair, and Paul Herman, Mark Mappen, Jan Meehan, Clarence Shive and Joe Ventola.

All of these individuals were asked to comment on drafts of this update. Thanks for your help.

Thanks to Joseph Delaney and the staff of the Center for Teaching Advancement and Assessment Research for helping to publish this document on the web.

Thanks to Richard Foley , Dean of the Faculty of Arts and Sciences and Michael Beals, Associate Dean , for their support for this project and their concern about this issue at Rutgers.

Special thanks to Joseph Delaney and the staff of the Center for Teaching Advancement and Assessment Research for their work on this web site.

Paul A. Herman

Summer, 1998