Academic Integrity

May 23, 2002

To Whom It May Concern:

The attached paper was adopted by the Executive Committee of the Academic Senate on May 20, 2002. It was drafted by a subcommittee of the Executive Committee that included Kathy Plum, Dave Campbell, Barbara Illowsky and Mary Ellen Goodwin. The paper was further refined by input from the rest of the Executive Committee and then by Paul Setziol and Sharon Sunico who acted as the final editors of the paper. The paper was then distributed to Martha Kanter and her V.P.'s, the Classified Senate, DASB, and FA for input. Their comments, if any, were incorporated into the document that is attached here.

The Executive Committee of the Academic Senate represents all faculty at De Anza College so this paper represents the opinion of De Anza faculty. The paper on academic integrity should be used as a tool by all faculty, administration/staff and students as a tool for establishing a level of expectation for academic integrity at De Anza College. It is a working paper and will be modified when needed by the Executive Committee.

This paper is not to be used in any way as a contractually binding document but rather as basis for what constitutes academic integrity at De Anza College. It is by no means all inclusive, hence the reason it is a working paper. Suggestions for edits should be brought to the attention of the sitting Academic Senate president where they will be considered by the Executive Committee.

If any member of the De Anza College community feels that any other member of the De Anza College community has "violated" the tenets of this paper, s/he should first talk with the person. Then, if not satisfied with the outcome, can take his/her concerns to the Student Grievance committee (for students) or to the Professional Relations committee (for faculty and administration/staff) for resolution.

Kathy Plum
President, De Anza Academic Senate

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Academic Integrity and Student Success :
The Role of Faculty, Students, Staff, and Administration of De Anza College

(adopted by the Executive Committee of the Academic Senate on May 20, 2002)

The faculty of De Anza College present this policy statement to the administration, staff, and students of De Anza College to express our expectations on academic integrity.

The faculty of De Anza are convinced that academic integrity is an essential part of any true educational experience, requiring integrity on the part of faculty members, administrators, staff members, and students, and that each of us has expectations of integrity in each other.

The Center for Academic Integrity defines academic integrity as a commitment, even in the face of adversity, to five fundamental values: honesty, trust, fairness, respect and responsibility. From these values flow principles of behavior that enable academic communities to translate ideals to action.

California schools of higher education have established academic integrity standards in several ways--in a preventative format, in which standards are prescriptively stated in terms of what actions affront academic integrity (e.g. cheating, plagiarism) or in a proactive view, by appealing to an honor/enabling system among students.

In this latter format, the honor/enabling system, the entire campus affirms the importance of academic integrity, fosters a “love of learning,” and holds each person responsible for defining and supporting academic integrity standards. Such tenets of integrity have a great impact on students’ability to succeed in their educational and life goals.

Academic integrity is a value we need to nurture and practice every day. What does that involve for each of us at De Anza? In all phases of teaching and learning--from preparing for a class, interacting in class, taking and preparing for exams, and attending to written assignments and homework, the responsibility for fostering and maintaining campus-wide academic integrity must be shared by all - faculty, students, administrators and staff.

Preparation for Class

What Academic Integrity Requires of Faculty in This Area

With regard to coming prepared for class, the principles of academic integrity require that faculty come to class having done the things necessary to make the class a worthwhile educational experience for students. Therefore, faculty should:

provide a course syllabus or "green sheet" the first day of class that includes a course description, course expectations, grading scale or grading policies, a calendar of exams, quizzes, projects, and homework assignments, reference to the Academic Integrity Policy and Cheating Policy stated in the Schedule of Classes, the faculty member’s office hours, phone number and email address. (If substantive changes to the "green sheet" occur during the quarter, a new green sheet should be distributed.)
plan for course delivery in such a way as to ensure accessibility to students with disabilities,
prepare the class with an eye toward what is current today (that is, not simply rely on past notes),
plan the sessions so that they will be worth the students’while to be there, and
participate in and contribute to creating a positive, collegial working environment.

In addition, counselors/academic advisors should:

help students to have realistic time goals considering work, family, social and educational obligations,
use departmental criteria when recommending that prerequisites or unit limitations be over-ridden,
help students with long-term educational goals.

What Academic Integrity Requires of Students in This Area

With regard to coming prepared for class, the principles of academic integrity suggest that students have a responsibility to themselves, to the course instructor, and to the other students to do the things necessary to put themselves in a position to make meaningful contributions to class discussion. Therefore, students should:

read the text before coming to class,
clarify anything they’re unsure of (including looking up words they don’t understand),
formulate questions and ask them in class,
think about the issues raised in class or in the text,
commit to learning the subject matter and class requirements, and
abide by the college rules on cheating and other disciplinary matters.

What Academic Integrity Requires of Administration/Staff in This Area

With regard to coming prepared for class, the principles of academic integrity suggest that college administration and staff have a responsibility to students and faculty to do the things necessary to allow students to succeed in their classes. Therefore, administration/staff should:

post the college academic integrity policy and disciplinary policies in all appropriate college documents, including the college web page,
ensure that systems support the proper placement of students in classes appropriate to their skill level,
ensure broad program mix,
provide support services for evening, weekend and off-campus classes as needed and feasible, (e.g. tutorial, library, food)
provide adequate student services (counselors, special programs staff, etc.) to meet student needs,
provide a well-equipped library,
provide clean, well-maintained and accessible classrooms, including outdoor classrooms (pool, grass fields, track, etc.).

In-class or personal interaction

What Academic Integrity Requires of Faculty in This Area

With regard to class sessions, the principles of academic integrity require that faculty treat students, administration and staff with respect. Therefore, faculty should:

appear for all class sessions, unless simply unable to do so,
come to class on time and not leave early,
use class time wisely to fulfill the objectives of the course,
answer student questions appropriately, honestly acknowledging when they don't have an answer, referring students to appropriate resources, or committing to finding an answer to questions .
work with appropriate support services, such as tutorial, on realistic expectations of those services,
encourage students by creating an environment in which all students are afforded an equal opportunity to participate in class discussions,
be in office during office hour(s) and agree to special appointments as appropriate and feasible,
respect the views students express and not ridicule students or their views or allow students to ridicule each other,
make it clear that they, faculty, are expressing a personal opinion when they are aware that others in the field feel differently,
encourage a diverse perspective in the classroom and not impose on students' personal views on controversial issues,
be consistent in applying rules/requirements stated in the “green sheet”,
respect issues of student confidentiality, and
advise students as to the appropriate course level to take given their abilities.

What Academic Integrity Requires of Students in This Area

With regard to class sessions, the principles of academic integrity require students to treat all faculty, administration, staff and fellow students with respect. Therefore, students should:

take appropriate level courses,
attend all class sessions, unless simply unable to do so,
come prepared for class; do homework as assigned,
come to class on-time and not leave early,
make good use of class time by being engaged in what’s going on,
ask questions about anything not understood,
participate in the class discussions so as to contribute to a shared effort to develop understanding and insight,
monitor their own participation so as to allow for and encourage the participation of others,
respect the other students by not making fun of them or their ideas and by not holding side-conversations that distract from the class discussion,
avoid disturbing the class, e.g., by turning off cell phones and pagers,
do their own work, not copy others,
seek help early by taking advantage of support services and faculty office hours.

What Academic Integrity Requires of Administration/Staff in This Area

With regard to interaction with faculty and students, the principles of academic integrity require that administration and staff treat faculty and students with respect. Therefore, administration/staff should:

ensure user-friendly admissions and records services and follow-up,
provide verification of enrollment as requested by students, faculty and staff.

With Regard to Exams

What Academic Integrity Requires of Faculty in This Area

With regard to exams, the principles of academic integrity require that faculty:

do their best during class time to prepare students for the exams,
be available during office hours or at arranged times to work with students individually to help students get ready for the exams,
inform students as to where other help is available,
schedule exams with sufficient notice to students as to when they will be held, including holding final exams during the published final exam schedule,
carefully monitor the exam so that honest students will not be disadvantaged by other students who might choose to cheat if given the opportunity,
give due and careful consideration to student answers when evaluating them and assigning a grade,
provide exams in sufficient time to permit accommodation for students with disabilities, and
use sound pedagogy which could include

creating new exams each quarter to reduce the possibility of cheating,
developing exam questions that make a meaningful test not only of the course content but also of student ability to express and defend intelligent judgments about that content
providing review sessions before exams.

What Academic Integrity Requires of Students in This Area

With regard to exams, the principles of academic integrity require students to:

come to class having done their best to prepare for the exam, including seeking faculty and tutorial help if needed,
make full use of the time available to provide the best answers,
abide by the rules established by the instructor and the college, avoiding what constitutes cheating,
attend review sessions before exams, if provided, and
request disability-related accommodations in a timely and appropriate manner.

What Academic Integrity Requires of Administration/Staff in This Area

With regard to exams, the principles of academic integrity require administration and staff to:

provide adequate facilities in which to hold classes/exams,
provide secure alternative and accessible facilities for testing, and
ensure that faculty are holding final exams (or class) during the published final exam time, and
insure disability-related accommodation requests are responded to in a timely and appropriate manner.

With Regard to Course Assignments

What Academic Integrity Requires of Faculty in This Area

With regard to course assignments, the principles of academic integrity require that faculty:

devise meaningful assignments that grow out of and further the work done in the classroom,
provide students with clear descriptions of assignments so that students know what is expected and how the assignments will be graded,
give due and careful consideration to student papers when evaluating them and assigning grades,
if it is suspected that the work handed in is not entirely the student’s own, address the issue with the student immediately, and
return graded work promptly.

What Academic Integrity Requires of Students in This Area

With regard to course assignments, the principles of academic integrity require students to:

start research and writing early enough to ensure that there is enough time to do their best work,
allow sufficient time to learn (plan at least 2 hours per unit per week in their schedules),
request disability-related accommodations in a timely and appropriate manner,
hand in papers which have been specifically prepared for the course, not papers borrowed from someone else or recycled from an earlier course,
not be satisfied with a paper that is less than one’s best work,
seek only appropriate help from others (such as proof-reading or discussing their ideas with someone else to gain clarity in their thinking),
do their own work without copying others, and
give full and proper credit to all sources.

To expand on the last point, it is important to note that education and the accumulation of knowledge are shared enterprises. None of us has the time, let alone the background knowledge required, to learn everything on our own. Virtually everything we know has come to us because someone else has taken the time to think, research, and then share what s/he’s learned with us in a class lecture or, more likely, in an article or book. This is as true for teachers as it is for students, administrators or staff.

In a class lecture, it would be too disruptive to stop and cite all sources used by the instructor. Students need to know that what is being shared with them is knowledge learned from hundreds of different authors. What the instructor contributes is the way to bring these authors’ ideas together into a coherent whole so that it makes sense to students.

Nonetheless, it is essential for students, who have not had this comparative literature background, to cite sources in any research paper written, giving credit to those who have done the original research and written the article or book cited. This allows the instructor to verify that students have properly understood what the author was trying to say and that they have paraphrased his/her views accurately.

On a practical level, citing sources is a way for students to show that they’ve done the assignment. If students' papers contain no citations, the implication is that the students have not done any original research. Citations (along with a bibliography) show that a variety of resources have been consulted. Students should not feel they need to hide the fact that one or more sources have been used. That’s what research is all about.

What Academic Integrity Requires of Administration/Staff in This Area

With regard to course assignments, the principles of academic integrity require that administration and staff:

provide educational assistance to support quality instruction, including adequate tutoring, counseling, advising and special programs to meet the diverse needs of our students.

With Regard to Final Grades

What Academic Integrity Requires of Faculty in This Area

The principles of academic integrity require that faculty:

carefully weigh all of the students' grades during the course, as well as the other factors that affect the final grade as spelled out in the syllabus, to ensure that the final grade reflects the true merit of the students' work before assigning a final grade,
turn their grades in by the specified due date.

What Academic Integrity Requires of Students in This Area

The principles of academic integrity require that students:

contact the faculty member as soon as possible if a mistake has been made in computing the student’s grade.

What Academic Integrity Requires of Administration/Staff in This Area

The principles of academic integrity require that administration and staff:

assure that grades be accurately reflected in the student’s records,
assure that grades be posted in a timely manner and be available, on request, by the student in hard copy or via computer.

Summary

Academic integrity involves a system of interconnected rights and responsibilities that reflect our mutual dependence upon one another. The success of our individual efforts at De Anza depends on all of us conscientiously exercising our rights and living up to our responsibilities. The failure of any of us to do what is required will diminish the opportunity for the rest to achieve their goals. Academic integrity is expected not only in formal coursework situations, but also in all De Anza relationships and interactions connected to the educational process, including the use of college resources. It is the responsibility of all of us to maintain and further these values.

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1 This document was largely inspired by a letter from Bill Taylor, Professor of Political Science at Oakton Community College in Des Plaines, IL, written to his students, "Integrity: Academic and Political: A Letter To My Students." Professor Taylor based his letter on the ideas contained in the "The Fundamental Values of Academic Integrity", a document developed by the Center for Academic Integrity.

2 Center for Academic Integrity: http://www.academicintegrity.org/