We faculty members at Oakton Community College, sharing a commitment to
academic integrity, acknowledge that one of our professional responsibilities
is to model the kind of integrity we wish our students to develop. By letting them know that the norms of academic integrity apply every
bit as much to us as they do to them, and then living up to those standards, we
can bear witness to the values that motivate us as professionals. In so doing, we believe we will foster the
growth of integrity in the lives of our students.
To that end,
we pledge to conduct our professional lives in accordance with the standards of
behavior spelled out below in the list of strategies for promoting academic
integrity, choosing from that list those practices that best fit our teaching
style and the circumstances under which we teach. We also pledge to talk with our students about our commitment to
academic integrity, letting them know what they can expect from us and what we
expect from them.
__________
Strategies for Promoting Academic Integrity
With regard to preparing a course, a faculty member can promote academic integrity by:
·
giving
careful consideration to the syllabus to make sure it is updated to reflect the
latest scholarship and the best available texts,
·
spelling out
clearly in the syllabus the nature of the work required of the students, the
criteria for grading, as well as any expectations s/he might have of the them,
·
respecting
copyrights, trademarks, and patents (on software, for example), and
·
planning to
talk about what integrity requires of the students as each new task occurs
(exams, written or lab assignments, group work, oral presentations…).
At the
beginning of the semester, a faculty member can promote academic integrity by:
·
providing the
students with a syllabus that clearly spells out course requirements, teacher
expectations, and the grading process, and
·
discussing
why s/he is committed to academic integrity and why integrity is important for
the discipline, perhaps including examples of how professionals in the
discipline have violated those principles, and the consequences of those
violations.
With regard to preparing
for class, a faculty member can promote academic integrity by doing the things necessary to make the
class a worthwhile educational experience for the students. This can be done by:
·
staying up to
date on recent scholarship and trends in the discipline, as well as the current
issues,
·
giving credit
to his or her sources,
·
rereading the
assigned text materials, and/or working out problems ahead of time, in
preparation for class,
·
clarifying
information s/he might not be clear about,
·
recognizing
that some subjects may be uncomfortable for some students and trying to find
ways to deal with those issues in a direct, constructive manner,
·
preparing the
class with an eye toward what is current today (that is, not simply relying on
past notes), and
·
creating
opportunities for intellectual growth rather than devoting class time to a
recitation of facts or restating what the students can learn for themselves by
reading the text.
With regard to
class sessions, a faculty member can promote academic integrity by taking her/his students seriously and
treating them with respect. This can be
done by:
·
showing up
for all class sessions, unless s/he’s simply unable to do so,
·
coming to
class on time, and for the most part, not ending the class early or keeping the
class late,
·
not wasting
class time, but using it well to fulfil the objectives of the course,
·
fostering and
expecting mutual respect among the students and creating a safe environment in
the classroom,
·
talking about
and modelling for students file sharing and downloading protocols, as well as
respect for software licensing rights,
·
doing his or
her best to answer the students’ questions, or arrange to do so outside of
class,
·
being
especially careful when a students asks what might be considered a “dumb”
question, or one that was just answered,
·
honestly
acknowledging when s/he doesn’t have an answer or doesn’t know something, and
then going out and getting an answer by the next class,
·
making clear
when s/he’s expressing an opinion, and not imposing on the students her or his
views on controversial issues,
·
respecting
the views the students express and not making fun of the students or their
views,
·
treating all
students the same and not playing favorites in applying the policies spelled
out in the syllabus,
·
both
encouraging the students, and giving each of them an equal opportunity, to
participate in class discussions,
·
containing
those students whose enthusiasm for participating in the discussion makes it
difficult for others to participate,
·
discussing discipline-related
ethical dilemmas that the teacher has faced and how s/he dealt with them,
·
engaging in
an ongoing process of self-evaluation of the effectiveness of teaching methods
and whether students are learning from those methods,
·
not allowing
students to ridicule other students or their ideas,
·
not talking
with students about other students or faculty members,
·
adequately
preparing students to do the class assignment or activity,
·
providing
equal opportunity and treatment for all students, such as not modifying
syllabus requirements unless willing to do so for all students,
·
encouraging
the students to ask her or him and not their classmates for help with
assignments and laboratories,
·
working to
identify students who look as though they may not have the study skills and/or
study habits necessary to succeed without cheating, and either working with
them to help them develop those skills and habits, or taking them to the
Learning Center where they can get help, and
·
knowing what
his or her students are capable of doing by watching them work in laboratory
situations.
With regard to
being available to students outside of class, a faculty member can promote
academic integrity by:
·
being
available during office hours or at arranged times to work with students on an
individual basis, and
·
returning
calls and emails in a timely fashion.
With regard to
exams, a
faculty member can promote academic integrity by:
·
doing his or
her best during class time, and through appropriate and meaningful out-of-class
assignments, to prepare the students for the exams,
·
developing
exam questions that will be a meaningful test not only of the course content,
but also of the student’s ability to express and defend intelligent judgments
about that content,
·
making clear
what constitutes a violation of academic integrity with regard to exams,
·
setting up
the classroom in such a way that it reduces the chances of cheating,
·
carefully
monitoring all exams to ensure fairness and to ensure that honest students will
not feel disadvantaged by other students who might choose to cheat if given the
opportunity,
·
being
consistent in his or her policy regarding makeup exams,
·
being aware
of the fatigue factor when grading exams, and
·
giving due
and careful consideration to exam answers when evaluating them and assigning a
grade.
VII.
With Regard to Written Assignments
With regard to
written assignments, a faculty member can promote academic integrity by:
·
devising
meaningful assignments that grow out of and further the work done in the
classroom,
·
making clear
what constitutes a violation of academic integrity with regards to written
assignments (i.e., what constitutes “doing your own work”),
·
providing
students with a clear written description of all written assignments so they
know what is expected of them and what the teacher will be looking for when
grading them,
·
providing
students with samples of well-written assignments,
·
finding out
if students know how to do the assignment, and if not, teaching them how to do
so,
·
looking at
the students’ work at the various stages of a long term assignment,
·
giving due
and careful consideration to the papers when evaluating them and assigning a
grade,
·
returning
assignments in a timely fashion, and
·
confronting
students whom s/he suspects of having plagiarized or in other ways not handed
in work that is entirely their own.
VIII. With
Regard to Assigning Final Grades
With regard to
assigning the grade the student earned, a faculty member can promote
academic integrity by:
·
having, and
adhering to, a clear process and set of criteria for grading spelled out in the
syllabus,
·
helping
students know throughout the course of the semester what grade they are
earning,
·
carefully
weighing all of the student’s grades during the course, as well as the other
factors that affect the final grade as spelled out in the syllabus, before
assigning a final grade, and
·
giving
respectful consideration to students who question the grade they received.
With regard to
possible academic integrity violations on the part of students, a faculty member
can promote academic integrity by:
·
not
overlooking a possible violation, but taking the time and making the effort to
determine if a violation did occur,
·
not violating
the confidentiality of students who bring information about academic integrity
violations, and
·
being
familiar with and following the College’s policy on dealing with academic
integrity violations.