Faculty Support for Academic Integrity in Online Learning

Many aspects of our semester have changed significantly, but our responsibility for academic integrity has not. Students are expected to continue to observe the Institutional Rules, treat all exams and assignments as if they were in-person to complete them, and maintain the highest standards of academic integrity during this period online learning. Student Conduct staff are available to support you through email, over the phone, or using Zoom.

Academic Integrity and Conduct Concerns for Online Learning

The online classroom brings new and unexpected challenges. Many of the most common violations of Section 11-402 of the Institutional Rules (ex. plagiarism or collusion on homework) have not changed. Below are some sample behavior concerns in the online environment, as well as how to address them. These examples are not comprehensive, but should provide a good framework moving forward. It is important to remember during this unusual semester, that there will be bumps in the road and we need to be flexible as we move through the semester together.

If you are concerned about student conduct online and need guidance on how to evaluate or address the behavior, please email Student Conduct and Academic Integrity.

Decorum in the Online Classroom

• Concern:
  The online classroom is a different environment, with new possibilities for class disruption. Zoom, in particular, allows students to share their screens or place background images behind them. This could allow a student to share materials deemed offensive to others, either intentionally or unintentionally, with the class.
• Solutions and Tools:
  • As soon as possible, review your expectations for class decorum. Make sure they are in writing and distribute them to your class electronically and verbally.
  • Follow Faculty Innovation Center Guidance for Zoom and other online instruction delivery platforms. The page on Zoom Privacy and Security is a great resource on how to prevent issues with Zoom meetings.
  • If needed, remove a student from the class meeting and refer to Student Conduct and Academic Integrity.

Academic Integrity in the Online Classroom

• Concern:
  Students will not be present for you to directly observe their behavior in classwork and exams. Remember that all rules under Section 11-402 of the Institutional Rules apply, regardless of how the class is delivered.
• Solutions and Tools:
  • Be proactive
    • This is a new and difficult environment for our students and faculty. While we should still have high standards, the most important goal is to ensure student learning. If the option exists, consider making exams, quizzes, and other assessments open book/note to reduce stress and help students understand what is and is not allowed.
    • Encourage students to run an online class pre-check before any quizzes or exams to make sure they have the tools they need.
  • Communicate
    • Check email often and respond promptly. This is the main way students will ask questions.
    • Inform students that your standards for academic integrity have not changed.
    • Clearly state what is acceptable and unacceptable for groupwork on class assignments, if groupwork is permitted.
    • Use clear, direct language to explain what resources students can have with them when they complete an assessment (ex. a calculator).
    • Be prepared for an increase of group chat applications used for students to study. Group chat apps can be valuable resources for studying, but it is also easy to share inappropriate material or information. Provide clear instructions what information from class is and is not allowed to be shared outside of Piazza/Canvas/Zoom, etc., (ex. remind students that sharing exam answers is strictly prohibited if that is a course policy).
  • Use the tools available to you
    • For papers, use TurnItIn or iThenticate to check for plagiarism.
    • To monitor students working together on group assignments during class time, use Zoom's breakout rooms feature.
    • Canvas has options to check for and prevent academic misconduct.
      • When creating assessments in Canvas, use question groups/banks so students will see different questions in different orders.
      • Learn how to set these options from Canvas.
      • Canvas allows faculty to see when and how students are interacting with the system. If concerned about improper access to Canvas resources during an assessment (besides that assessment), check.
      • If you are not using a separate exam monitoring service, Proctorio is built into Canvas. Review the Proctorio set-up instructions.
      • For all the aforementioned tools, it is important that if a tool flags a student for further review, the information must be reviewed to see if there has been a potential violation or a false flag.
    • Visit the Faculty Innovation Center Technology Toolbox for more tips and ideas.

What to Do When Academic Misconduct is Suspected

When academic misconduct is suspected, it is important to collect all available relevant evidence and information (logs from Canvas or other online systems/reports/ assignments of concern, etc.).

Choose either to meet with the student to hear their side, or refer the matter to Student Conduct and Academic Integrity. Use the Student Conduct Process widget below to walk through the conduct process. Visit Faculty Resources for instructions to complete the faculty disposition, If meeting with the student, or start a referral to Student Conduct.