Academic Integrity

What is Academic Integrity?

Thoughts From Dr. Joseph Lechner:1. I have been called by God to Christian higher

education. Class participation and learning are acts of service to Him.

2. My body, my mind, and my spirit are gifts from God. He expects me to develop them to their fullest potential.

3. Time, energy, health and finances are resources that have been lent to me by God. I am accountable to Him for my stewardship of these resources.

4. Attending MVNU is a privilege that has been extended to me. It is my personal responsibility to make the most of this opportunity.

Thoughts From Dr. Joseph Lechner:5. Learning is my personal responsibility. I may

receive help from teachers and from fellow students, but it is my obligation to learn skills and knowledge. I will not short-circuit my education by allowing others to do the work for me.

6. Learning is my principal occupation at this time. It requires time and active effort. As a good steward of my time and energy, I will devote two to three hours of study time per hour of class time for each course in which I am enrolled. Each course deserves and will receive my undivided attention during the times that are reserved for it.

Thoughts From Dr. Joseph Lechner:7. Every academic discipline belongs to God.

All truth is His truth. Every discipline is relevant to my life, and is worthy of my interest and my best effort.

8. The most important outcomes of education are my personal character, faith, wisdom, understanding, and skills.

9. Grades are one means of measuring educational outcomes, not an end unto themselves.

10. I will not falsely misrepresent myself or my work in order to secure a higher grade than that which accurately represents my achievements.

Learning as _________?

Why do you think having academic integrity is so

important?

Mount Vernon Nazarene University’s Institutional Statement on Academic Integrity

• As a Christian community, faculty, staff and students have a moral and ethical responsibility to uphold the principle of unquestioned honesty, and refrain from any activity or behavior that would suggest academic dishonesty and lack of personal integrity.

• Academic Dishonesty is defined as misrepresentation of facts with the motive to– slant consequences in one's favor, – minimize one's workload, or – make untruthful claims to benefit oneself or others.

Situations…What do you think?

• You have been ill and fallen behind in your classes. You have a test coming up in History and Faith. You would like to ask your professor for an extension but do not think they will be convinced you were ill without proof. You have a doctor’s excuse from a previous illness you were able to alter. Is this a problem? After all, you were legitimately ill.– Yes.– It is called fraud.

• Attendance Fraud - misrepresentation of one's attendance at a required campus event. – Writing another student's name on an attendance

sheet;

– Asking or permitting another student to write one's own name on an attendance sheet;

– Writing one's own name on an attendance sheet and leaving the activity before it is formally dismissed; or

– Making a false or misleading statement to an instructor as an excuse for missing class.

• The final exam in your psychology class is a take-home test. Dr. Cronk’s instructions state that you may consult the following resources: library books, class notes, texts and the professor. You and your roommate discuss the test questions, but wrote your own answers. Is this a problem?– Yes.– It’s a form of cheating called collusion. – Studying before the test would have been fine, but

once they had the questions the professor expected the students to do all the thinking about the answers individually.

• Your roommate took Dr. Cochran’s history exam yesterday. You missed class because of a legitimate medical excuse. Would it be OK to ask your roommate what topics the essay questions addressed?– No.– This too is cheating

• The student who cheats untruthfully represents his/her own legitimate effort on an assigned project, paper, assignment, test, etc.

• Cheating includes:– Unauthorized use of a previously-given examination to

prepare for a present examination; – Discussing any part of an examination which has not yet

been completed with any person who has already completed the examination;

– Unauthorized storage of information on an electronic calculator, cell phone, Ipod or other media for use during an examination;

– Unauthorized collaborating with or consulting another person to complete a project or homework assignment.

• While reading an article in a professional journal you find an idea that becomes the main point of a paper you are writing for Art in the Western World. Rather than quote the text you choose to paraphrase it. Have you done anything wrong?

– It depends.

• Did you site the source?

• If not, this is called plagiarism.

• Plagiarism is a special form of academic dishonesty in which writers:

[a] fail to acknowledge the source of ideas, or

[b] portray someone else's work as one's own.

• Plagiarism includes:

– Submitting written work purchased from commercial sources (e.g., "mail order" term papers/or one secured through Internet connections);

– Submitting written work prepared by another person; or

– Unacknowledged use (direct quotation or paraphrase) of a published work.

• A statistics project requires you to distribute five surveys to other students on campus prior to tomorrow’s class. You remember the project late in the evening so you have three friends complete surveys and you fill out the remaining two surveys. Have you done anything wrong?

– Yes.

– It is called fabrication.

• Fabrication also includes:

– Submitting a report on an experiment or project that was not actually performed;

– Listing works which were not actually consulted in a bibliography; and

– Listing fictitious works in a bibliography.

• A research paper is required in both your Research Writing class and Introduction to Sociology class. The same paper fits the requirements of both classes so you do one paper and submit it in both courses. Have you done anything wrong? – Yes (if not discussed with the professor).– Some call this double-dipping.– Important for you to discuss this possibility

with your professor.

• You are working on a paper for your General Psychology class and decide to have a friend read it over to provide feedback. They make several editorial, as well as content suggestions. You decide to incorporate most of them. Does this represent academic dishonesty?

– No.– It is good practice to have another person

proof-read your paper!

How does the institution respond to

academic dishonesty?

The penalty for a first offense shall be a zero (0) on that particular assignment, examination, or project.

– No makeup examination or extra credit project will be permitted.

– The zero may not count as the lowest grade to be dropped, if a faculty member uses a lowest-grade-dropped policy.

The penalty for the second offense during the entire college tenure of the student shall be failure for the course.

The penalty for the third offense during the entire college tenure of the student shall be immediate dismissal from the University.– In cases of academic dismissal, the

"dismissal" designation shall be entered on the student's transcript.

Why do you think students feel compelled to engage in academic

dishonesty?

Statistics• Dr Cronk, 2003 (N=257)

– Academic pressures to succeed

• US News and World Report Poll:

–84% of college students believe they need to cheat to get ahead in the world

–40% say parental pressure

• Cronk, 2003 (cont’d)– Fear of failure– Over commitment and heavy workloads

• Robert Harris, Institute of Academic Integrity in Teaching and Learning

–Students faced with too many choices

–Students have poor time management & planning skills

So what can you do to avoid the academic

dishonesty trap?

• Access the services and resources available to you–Academic Support Services

• Supplemental Instruction• Peer Instruction

• Communicate often and honestly with your professors

• Keep each other accountable

ECC 10:1 As dead flies give perfume a bad smell, so a little folly outweighs wisdom and honor.

Folly – foolishness, stupidity, idiocy, craziness, recklessnessHonor – respect, admiration, credit, reputation, tribute, principle,

nobility, veracity, reliability, integrity, uprightness, truthfulness

ECC 4:9 Two are better than one, because they have a good return for their work: 10 If one falls down, his friend can help him up. But pity the man who falls and has no one to help him up! 12 Though one may be overpowered, two can defend themselves. A cord of three strands is not quickly broken.

Questions?