13 tips for talking to students about academic integrity

Do you wonder how best to speak with students about academic integrity?Here is a great resource from Kwantlen Polytechnic University, developed by Dr. Kristie Durkewich (thanks again for creating this, Kristie, and for the CC-BY license).

Watch this eight minute video for 13 tips of “pure academic integrity gold”, as one of our USask Educational Development Specialists put it. Kristie makes a particular point about the ways we “signal” to students our commitment to fostering and developing students’ academic integrity.

This is an overview of Kristie’s 13 tips, with some USask resources added.

1. Have a dialogue about the importance of academic integrity and review the policy. (here is the USask policy, and here is more on remote teaching and copyright).
2. Build rapport with your students; students who feel a connection with their instructors are less likely to cheat.
3. Create cultural norms and expectations around academic integrity.
4. Be clear about what is and what is not allowed; check for understanding.
5. Make sure students know exactly what your expectations are.
6. Signal to students that academic integrity is important to you, for example by including an academic integrity declaration.
7. Ask for work with summative assessment. (This means asking students for some of their working notes or earlier drafts to be submitted with the final product.)
8. Scaffold assignments. (This means asking students to submit assignments in stages.)
9. Use smaller late penalties.
10. Create assignments that are relevant to your students.
11. Change (the questions) on assignments and exams regularly.
12. Confront a violation, but without anger; instead appeal to a student’s values and sense of self
13. Report the violation; this signals to students that you are serious about the issue. (USask annual stats)