The increasing availability to students of generative artificial intelligence (GAI) has radically changed the landscape of higher education, and many instructors are rightly concerned with how students may “cheat” on assignments using this technology. This concern can lead to approaching student work with suspicion and to focusing on how to punish students for their use of unauthorized technology.

Concentrating on punitive approaches to academic misconduct and the associated negative framing of the vital disposition of academic integrity is inadequate alone to promote desired behaviors (Miller, et al. 2011; Sun and Hu, 2020), since much academic misconduct stems from inadequate understanding of academic integrity combined poor skills at paraphrasing and referencing (Greenberg et al., 2016). The addition of positive educational framing of academic integrity can provide students with adequate understanding to avoid misconduct before it occurs (Richards, et al., 2016). Therefore, to ensure appropriate student use of GAI, it is important for all instructors to turn a spotlight toward the values and behaviors associated with academic integrity.

The International Committee on Academic Integrity (2021) defines academic integrity as commitment to six core values: honesty, fairness, respect, trust, responsibility, and courage. By clearly communicating your adherence to, value of, and expectations for these key elements of academic integrity, you can foster a community of learning among your students while guiding them toward development of dispositions of ethical judgement and reasoning that are highly valued by academicians, coworkers, and employers (Finley, 2021; Laduke, 2013). Consider including a statement in your syllabus that affirms your commitment to integrity and asks your students to do the same. Consider, further, providing students with frequent examples of how to behave with academic integrity and how integrity benefits them. 

Sample syllabus statement about academic integrity: #

Academic integrity is foundational to all activities at UWSP. Our learning community focuses on the pursuit of knowledge and meaningful exchange of ideas while fully committing to the values of honesty, fairness, respect, trust, responsibility, and courage that form the basis of academic integrity. Without this commitment, all academic achievements are suspect, and their value is reduced. 

Your diploma from UWSP should be a reliable indicator that you have gained strong skills, abilities, and knowledge in your field of study through the courses and learning experiences you’ve undertaken at this university. When we work toward enacting the values of courage, honesty, trust, respect, responsibility, and fairness, we possess academic integrity. Through commitment to a culture of academic integrity in our programs, courses, and inside ourselves, we can feel confident in the value of our degrees.

Because I value UWSP’s commitment to academic integrity, I ask that you engage in the work of this course yourself to develop your knowledge and skills. This means honestly presenting only your own work, and giving credit to others for theirs by correctly citing your sources. This means acting and working ethically and transparently on every assignment, and in every interaction you have with other members of our academic community, representing yourself, your knowledge, and your skills honestly.

Maintaining academic integrity is everybody’s responsibility, and both UWSP and I take this seriously. Dishonesty in academic work is considered academic misconduct (UWSP Chapter 14), and I will address concerns immediately, which includes sharing information with the Office of the Dean of Students. Although there may be penalties applied to those who engage in academic misconduct (including possible grade reduction, course failure, academic probation, or expulsion), the biggest cost of such incidents is that they prevent student learning, and devalue the degrees our students are working toward. 

Please consult the resources on our course canvas page to familiarize yourself with behaviors and habits that demonstrate academic integrity, common forms of misconduct, and tips for pursuing your degree with integrity.

Optional Addition/Canvas Course Page #

In my work as an instructor, I will demonstrate my commitment to academic integrity in the following ways:

• I will show honesty by providing references to sources I use in teaching other than the text, and being truthful in my interactions with students.
• I will show fairness by clearly stating learning objectives for the course and for all lessons, making the purpose of all assigned work transparent, clearly describing the expectations for all assignments, provide impartiality by grading your work “blinded,” and consistency by using the same rubric and grading criteria for all students.
• I will show respect to you by making myself available to you in office hours, actively listening to you in conversation, communicating openly, providing flexibility in assignments when possible, providing constructive feedback on your work, and respecting your boundaries. I will show respect my colleagues by providing referencing their work when I use it in teaching.
• I will show trust in you by always beginning with the assumption that you are being truthful in our interactions, providing you with flexibility meeting some assignment deadlines, providing choices in the manner of your assessment. I will also be trustworthy, because trust is a two-way street, by keeping your confidence in academic and private matters, being fair and impartial, and being transparent in my expectations.
• I will show responsibility by being prepared in advance of each class or lesson, grading and returning your work promptly, following the schedule set for this course, and adapting my instruction to meet your learning needs when possible.
• I will show courage by confronting dishonesty, cheating, unfairness, and disrespectful behavior in my class.

As a student in my course, I expect you to commit to academic integrity by:

• Demonstrating honesty in interactions, including telling the truth, adhering to guidelines in all assignments, using generative artificial intelligence tools for course work only as directed, submitting only your own original work, and citing the sources of ideas and words that are not your own.
• Demonstrating fairness by doing your share of group work in a timely manner, abiding by deadlines unless there are significant extenuating circumstances, and by being open to new and diverse ideas.
• Demonstrating respect by listening actively when others are speaking, being punctual, coming to class prepared, participating in discussions, using feedback to improve personal performance, and by not cheating.
• Demonstrate trust by always beginning with the assumption that the instructor is trying to help you and will have expectations of you that are reasonable for the level of the students in the course, following the rules of the classroom, and by being trustworthy (because trust is a two-way street).
• Demonstrate responsibility by completing readings before lecture, taking notes during lectures and while reading, beginning work on assignments early, completing work on time, studying daily, and reaching out for help when extra help is needed.
• Demonstrate courage by admitting that you need help, reaching out for help when needed, accepting the consequences of your actions, confronting dishonesty, cheating, unfairness, and disrespectful behavior, and by alerting the instructor to the occurrence of cheating, unfairness, and disrespectful behavior shown by others in this class.

References and Readings #

Finley, A. (2021). How College Contributes to Workforce Success: Employer Views on What Matters Most. Association of American Colleges and Universities.

Greenberger S., Holbeck R., Steele J., Dyer T. (2016). Plagiarism due to misunderstanding: Online instructor perceptions. J. Scholarsh. Teach. Learn. 16 72–84.

International Center for Academic Integrity. (2021). The fundamental values of academic integrity. Third Edition. 

Laduke RD (2013) Academic dishonesty today, unethical practices tomorrow? J. Prof. Nurs. 29(6) 402-406 

Miller A., Shoptaugh C., Wooldridge J. (2011). Reasons not to cheat, academic-integrity responsibility, and frequency of cheating.J. Exp. Educ. 79 169–184.

Richards D., Saddiqui S., White F., McGuigan N., Homewood J. (2016). A theory of change for student-led academic integrity. Q. High. Educ. 22, 242–259.

Sun X., Hu G. (2020). What do academics know and do about plagiarism? An interview study with Chinese university teachers of English. Ethics Behav. 30 459–479.