Policy on Academic Honesty

As members of the academic community, students are expected to recognize and uphold standards of intellectual and academic integrity. The Policy on Academic Honesty assumes as a basic and minimum standard of conduct in academic matters that students be honest and that they submit for credit only the products of their own efforts. The ideals of scholarship and the need for fairness require that all dishonest work be rejected as a basis for academic credit. They also require that students refrain from any and all forms of dishonorable or unethical conduct related to their academic work.

The policy represents a core value of the university, and all members of the university community are responsible for abiding by its tenets. Lack of knowledge of this policy is not an acceptable defense to any charge of academic dishonesty. Members of the academic community, students, faculty and staff, are expected to report violations of these standards of academic conduct in accordance with the procedures articulated in this Policy.

Student Code of Conduct

The university has established the policies and procedures that comprise the Student Code of Conduct (the “Code”) to both promote the university mission and protect the rights of Students, faculty and staff. The official university rules and regulations are contained in the Georgia State University General Catalog and the student handbook.The most current version of the Code may be found online at: codeofconduct.gsu.edu. In the event of a conflict between the Code and other university policies, the most current version of the Code governs.

Student conduct is governed by the Code, university policy and applicable law. Students involved in criminal matters may be sanctioned by the university in addition to any sanctions that may be imposed by a court of law. However, the relationship a Student has with the state or federal court system does not alter the Student’s relationship with the university unless the Student is also found responsible for violating university Policy.

Dean’s Certification Procedure

A Dean’s Certification is a letter commonly requested by third parties for a variety of reasons (e.g., transferring to another institution, admission to graduate/professional programs, state bar associations, government agencies, and for certain forms of employment) to determine whether a student (past or current) has a disciplinary record(s) on file with the Office of the Dean of Students.

A request for a Dean’s Certification Letter is submitted online through the Dean of Students website at deanofstudents.gsu.edu and is typically completed by the student who as part of the request process gives consent for GSU to release the information to a third party. However, some requests are received directly from third parties using uploaded verification forms that include the student’s signature granting permission for the release of information.

For purposes of Dean’s Certification, the following information will be released upon request:

• All Code of Conduct violations for which a student has been found responsible, all disciplinary sanctions issued except as noted below, and a statement indicating whether the student is/is not in good conduct standing.
• If no applicable conduct history exists, the Dean’s Certification letter will indicate that the student has no disciplinary history and is in good conduct standing.

Information regarding the following matters will not be included in Dean’s Certification letters:

• Academic honesty violations in which the outcome was limited to an academic penalty (i.e., no disciplinary penalty was issued).
• Violations processed as University Housing Community Living Standard violations.
• Conduct matters resolved through alternative resolution options, including mediation, informal resolution, and restorative justice.
• Conduct matters for which a student is afforded Amnesty as defined in the Code of Conduct.
• Conduct records which have expired per applicable law or that are no longer maintained per University System of Georgia record retention policies.

Homework Help Websites

There is a growing number of websites purporting to provide homework help to students. These sites have a reputation for helping students cheat and for building their knowledge base from content contributed by students. Content may include exams, quizzes, lecture notes, homework assignments, etc. Because faculty and instructors own the rights to their course materials in most cases, only they can request takedown of their specific materials found on most of these sites. These types of sites are technically compliant with the law, but don’t offer a way to block content on a broader level, e.g., such as by course name.

Georgia State University Legal Affairs has provided takedown instructions for several sites. Download the PDFs by selecting the link below.

As a reminder, the following Student Code of Conduct Statement regarding sharing or posting course materials including audio recordings of lectures was approved by the Georgia State University Senate on August 21, 2020:

The selling, sharing, publishing, presenting, or distributing of instructor-prepared course lecture notes, videos, audio recordings, or any other instructor-produced materials from any course for any commercial purpose is strictly prohibited unless explicit written permission is granted in advance by the course instructor. This includes posting any materials on websites such as Chegg, Course Hero, OneClass, Stuvia, StuDocu and other similar sites. Unauthorized sale or commercial distribution of such material is a violation of the instructor’s intellectual property and the privacy rights of students attending the class, and is prohibited.

This student-oriented video explains the importance of academic integrity for student success. It does NOT include the embedded quiz – for that version, please see the dropdown section below this one.

The link to add in your syllabus is:
https://vimeo.com/486904319/26bcd7dd2f

This version of the video requires students to log in to Mediaspace with their campus ID and password to view the video and complete the embedded quiz.

Direct link: https://mediaspace.gsu.edu/media/Academic+Honesty+Ethics+and+Integrity+-+Quiz/1_qte94uxn

Sample Statement

Academic dishonesty is a serious violation of the trust upon which the success of our University depends. Cheating and plagiarism can not only result in a poor grade and penalties from the University, but it can cause your mentors and peers to mistrust you and could keep you from developing the habits to make you a successful student and a successful worker in your future career. The University’s policy on academic honesty is published in the Student Handbook, https://deanofstudents.gsu.edu/files/2019/07/Academic-Honesty-Policy.pdf, and includes dishonest actions such as cheating, plagiarism and facilitating academic dishonesty. Please be aware that violations of this policy will result in a grade of “F” for the assignment or the course. If you have any questions about the policy or are unsure if something you’re about to do counts as academic dishonesty, please come to my office hours and we can discuss it.

Recommendations

• Let your students know that violations of the academic honesty policy that end up their records appear on background checks if an employer contacts the university. Consider including this statement: “If you are found responsible for violating the Academic Honesty Policy, this could become a part of your permanent academic record that may become available to future employers.”
• Make it explicitly clear in your syllabus that sharing information/cheating via group messaging apps such as GroupMe or Slack is a violation of the Academic Honesty Policy.
• Respondus Lockdown Browser Options – Be clear on your syllabus about the importance of the testing environment. Include ways a student can express concerns such as needing accommodations due to the technology before the assignment.
• When using proctoring services, be clear with students how an external proctoring company (such as ProctorU) determines suspicions of academic honesty and what students can expect when they do.
• Consider Using Turnitin, available through iCollege.  Make students aware of the plagiarism detection software and how you plan to use it in your class. Turnitin allows students to view the originality score helps them to better understand plagiarism.  When you allow unlimited submissions, students have the opportunity to make changes to their original document.

1) The following statement was approved by the GSU Faculty Affairs Committee (8/21/2020) regarding students posting, selling, or sharing information:

The selling, sharing, publishing, presenting, or distributing of instructor-prepared course lecture notes, videos, audio recordings, or any other instructor-produced materials from any course for any commercial purpose is strictly prohibited unless explicit written permission is granted in advance by the course instructor. This includes posting any materials on websites such as Chegg, Course Hero, OneClass, Stuvia, StuDocu and other similar sites. Unauthorized sale or commercial distribution of such material is a violation of the instructor’s intellectual property and the privacy rights of students attending the class, and is prohibited.

2) Cheating or plagiarizing may seem like easy short-term solutions when you haven’t studied or aren’t prepared for an assignment, but will hurt you in the long-term because you aren’t learning what you need to know and are negatively impacting your personal integrity and future course or job performance.  If you cheat or plagiarize you will receive an “F” for the assignment and have your name submitted to the appropriate Department Chair or Dean. Absolutely no cell phones maybe be used during quizzes or exams. You may not access any other browser windows during online quizzes or exams. Sharing quiz or text answers via group messaging apps is considered cheating. Please read the GSU Student Code of Conduct.  All members of the university are responsible for abiding by the GSU tenets on Academic Honesty.  Lack of knowledge of this policy is NOT an acceptable defense to any violation of academic honesty.  All members of the Georgia State community are expected to report violations of these standards of academic conduct to the appropriate authorities.  The procedures for such reporting are on file in the offices of the deans of each college, the dean of students, and the provost.  Please read the University Policy on Academic Honesty, page 23, (https://deanofstudents.gsu.edu/files/2021/02/Academic-Honesty-Polidy.pdf.

3) To learn and grow intellectually you need to take responsibility for your own work and be aware and honest as you complete your assignments. Taking ideas or words from others — plagiarizing — is dishonest and will result in a failing grade on the paper or assignment and possibly other disciplinary actions.  If you are unsure about what constitutes plagiarism, ask me or consult the University Policy on Academic Honesty, page 23, (https://deanofstudents.gsu.edu/files/2021/02/Academic-Honesty-Polidy.pdf.

Download these statements and recommendations by selecting the link below (PDF opens in new window).

Students Cheat. How Much Does It Matter? As the pandemic continues, the debate grows louder.

Beckie Supiano
Oct. 21, 2020

Summary

In interviews with faculty around the United States, the author discusses academic integrity and dishonesty during the pressures of the COVID-19 pandemic, different approaches faculty have taken, risk factors for academic dishonesty, and potential approaches and models.

7 Ways to Assess Students Online and Minimize Cheating

Flower Darby
Sept. 24, 2020

Summary:

The author, a long-time instructor and instructional designer, provides seven recommendations to both meaningfully assess student learning and foster academic integrity.

Academic Integrity Online (On-Demand Webinar)

The Chronicle of Higher Education
Recorded March 18, 2021

Summary

Amid the many challenges presented by higher ed, one of the biggest is the issue of academic integrity in online learning. How prevalent have cheating and plagiarism been during the pandemic? And what can colleges do to ensure students’ work is honest and fair?

To find out, The Chronicle brought bring together an expert panel for a discussion of academic integrity as it stands now. Subject addressed included:

• What practices and policies should colleges use to build a culture of academic integrity online?
• How can faculty members set fair expectations and rules early in a course without being overly focused on “catching cheaters”?
• What role should online proctoring play?

Click the button to watch on demand.

Integrity Matters: A Blog of the International Center for Academic Integrity

International Center for Academic Integrity (ICAI)

Summary:

This blog of the ICAI includes helpful insights from faculty and other academic professionals on issues related to academic integrity, including the prevention of academic dishonesty, insights on academic integrity during the COVID-19 pandemic, and how to promote and manage academic integrity at colleges and universities.