Best Practices in the Classroom

What can graduate faculty do to support the academic honor code?

• Discuss the special significance of integrity in academic communities.
• Talk about the graduate and professional academic honor code on the first day of every class, and write in into your syllabus.  Sample paragraph:
• Write a reference to the academic honor code into your assignment sheet, or at the top of every test/exam. Consider asking students to write a statement on their papers, tests, labwork, etc., that says "In preparing this work, I have neither given nor received inappropriate aid.Reiterate the importance of integrity throughout the term".
• Talk about the academic honor code in conjunction with every major assignment.Provide clear explanations of plagiarism, proper citation, and appropriate collaboration. 
• Require citations in every paper, even when the content is focused on only 1 reading. 
• Lead by example, use proper forms of citation in every course.
• Specify what level of collaboration/cooperation (both in and out of class) is appropriate for each assignment.
• Work a reading or unit about integrity into your syllabus.
• Attend public events held by the Graduate and Professional Academic Honor Council, and encourage students to attend.
• When you find a violation of the Academic Honor Code, follow the procedure. (see Reporting Academic Dishonesty)
• Model appropriate behaviors.
• Demonstrate a commitment to integrity.
• Cite sources in your own lectures and papers.

How can faculty prevent academic dishonesty?

•  See "What can faculty do to support the academic honor code?"
• Put the issue in the foreground.
• Emphasize the importance of striving to produce original thought.
• Stress the value and beauty of each individual's "voice."
• Talk about the differences between high school and college-level work (transition from memorization and regurgitation to development of independent ideas).
• Limit students' opportunities to be dishonest.
• Change tests regularly. Use different questions in different sections of the course.
• Require drafts of papers, programs, etc., so that you can observe the development of the student's thinking.
• Narrow assignments (for example: give 5 choices for paper topics, all of which extend discussions that began in this specific class).

How can I tell if a paper is plagiarized?

• "Listen" for a change in voice
• shifts in vocabulary/style
• use of anachronistic phrases
• use of high level academic vocabulary not discussed in class
• use of foreign or archaic terms not introduced in class
• Watch for multiple shifts in verb tense
• Note ideas that were never addressed in class
• Assess whether the vocabulary and sentence structure seem typical of the student
• Be sure that the version/translation of the work matches the one used in class
• Use intervention strategies
• Enter suspicious passages into a search engine such as Google, Lycos, or Yahoo
• Post suspicious passages to a department or program email list
• Ask the student

How do I talk to a student with a suspicious paper/assignment?

When confronting the student initially:

• If you find the source from which the work was taken, say: "I found this on the internet [or in the library, or in our text, etc.] and it matches the content of your paper. What happened?"
• When you can't find the original source, say: "I found your work to be very impressive, but atypical. I'd like to ask you a few questions about some of the words and ideas in it."
• Show the student the text of the academic honor code that directly relates to the matter and say: "Our academic honor code specifies that ______ is a violation of the policy. I think that your work is an example of this violation. Explain to me what happened."

What the student might say in response:

• "I don't know what happened."
• "I didn't do it."
• "It was an accident."
• "I didn't know that was a violation."
• "I'm under a lot of pressure."
• "This class is not in my major."
• "I made a mistake."
• "I'm really sorry."

How you can respond to them:

• Say: "I support our academic honor code, and as a member of this community, you have agreed to do the same. In this work, you have violated that agreement."
• Maintain the policy.
• Reiterate your commitment to integrity. Say: "I know that it is difficult to write papers. I struggle too, when I write. Overcoming those obstacles is an important part of the college level experience."
• Use silence. Often, they will speak with sincerity when given the opportunity.
• Tell them that you are hurt. Say: "It actually made me sad when I realized that this wasn't your work. I know that you are capable of doing your own work; that's why the college admitted you in the first place. So I am sad that you have chosen not to do what you are capable of doing. I am also hurt that you chose my class as the place to make this choice."
• Explain the procedure:
  If the student admits the violation, say: "I need to contact the Academic Honor Council, and you and I will meet with one of their members to resolve this situation."
  If the student denies the violation and you retain your suspicion, say: "I am not convinced that this is your own work. It is my obligation to contact the Academic Honor Council and ask them to review this matter."
• Remind them why integrity is important. Say, "The decisions that you make have consequences. I can't give you credit for work that you didn't do. This is a time for you to stop and reflect on your decisions, and to ask yourself what your decisions say about your character."
• Some useful metaphors:

• "Your writing is like your fingerprint, your voice, or your face; it must be unique to you."

• "You wouldn't send someone to the gym to lift weights for you; this is the academic equivalent of that."
• "I can't let you steal someone's words any more than I would let you steal someone's money; words and ideas have special value in the academic world — even yours, when you have struggled to create them."