The Assault on Academic Integrity Through the Internet and Social Media Michael DiDiego Draft Personal Research Opinion Paper Wilmington University May 18, 2017

Figure 1 The Dewitt-Clinton, One of the Earliest Railroad Carriages Figure 1 The Dewitt-Clinton, One of the Earliest Railroad Carriages (The Dewitt Clinton, 2017)

Prelude The computer with the information age has arrived in the station. Whether we like it or not we may be going down the tracks with it even though our destination may be still unknown. We are all in the mist of the information age.

Do You Know? THE ASSAULT ON ACADEMIC INTEGRITY Data is traveling fast. Specifically, it can travel at data transfer rates of 1 to 10 gigabytes per second (gbps). Just think how quickly we can browse the internet to find a question’s answer. Do you know when such a search by a student is cheating?

The Internet and Social Media presentation modules INTEGRITY PERSPECTIVE (paper pages 6 – 12) ETHICAL DILEMMA (12-15) THE SITES (15-21) SOLUTIONS (21-27)

Integrity Perspective basics VISION OF INTEGRITY ACADEMIC INTEGRITY SITE INTEGRITY DISPLACED

Integrity Perspective Basics EDUCATOR Grading Assessment Checking information (data) Evaluating Data for Results Verifying Data’s Veracity EDUCATOR & SYSTEM PROFESSIONAL Common Concern Integrity of Data Information System & Control Association (ISACA) Share Insight for Solutions Next ---Vision of Integrity

is our primary purpose, and responsiveness to community needs is key” “We are committed to being a university where respect for each other is paramount, integrity guides all our choices, providing educational opportunity is our primary purpose, and responsiveness to community needs is key” (Wilmington University Mission, Vision, & Values, 2017).

Academic integrity site The International Center for Academic Integrity (ICAI) was founded to combat cheating, plagiarism, and academic dishonesty in higher education. Its mission has since expanded to include the cultivation of cultures of integrity in academic communities throughout the world. ICAI offers assessment services, resources, and consultations to its member institutions, and facilitates conversations on academic integrity topics each year at its annual conference. (ICAI, 2016a)

INTEGRITY DISPLACED (ICAI, 2016b)

Ethical Leadership through Cybersecurity How do we deal with the dilemma of compressed time and increasing workloads? Well, for some students they have found the solution. They just maximize the use of their internet (cyber) resources. They google the answer and paste the results. No need then to buy or read the book. This is their shortcut. Not only do they save time but they can get a good grade too. We should recognize that cybersecurity is our job as well as information technology (Hasib, 2015). We should avoid thinking that we can avoid using technological approaches and tools because the traditional methods are enough. We need to recognize that electronic devices in our modern classrooms can negate the effectiveness of even traditional proctoring. A humorous example of electronic cheating in the classroom can be seen on YouTube (Japan Exam Cheating Technology, 2016).

Degree is Recognition of Student Achievement Not Enough to cut, paste & copy To demonstrate ACQUIRED KNOWLEDGE SOLUTION ALIGNMENT OF GOALS, OBJECTIVES AND POLICY OF THE INSTITUTION By Engagement, Convergence & Strategic Leadership Collaboration

Cheat Sites & Social Media Top 8

Student’s Testimonials – Approach on Integrity One site, “No Need to Study,” boast that they have a pool of experienced academic tutors to take classes and complete course work for any student. They even have handy video references that show satisfied clients plugging the cheat sites results. These clients, students, brag how easy it was to pay someone else to take their online classes. One student who previously failed a course stated: but “the quizzes were just way too difficult” so he searched for a solution. “They got it done, and they did really, really well,” he continues. “They absolutely killed my final math and app classes with a 90 percent, and I can definitely tell you I never got a 90 percent before on anything” (Newton, 2015, p2).

Site’s Price & Social Cost Easy A’s for a Price Big Business Poised to be $100 billion industry “No Need to Study” cite offers: Online English Literature Class at Columbia University for $1225.15 RINGER GUARNTEES B OR BETTER (Newton, 2015) DEGREE VALUE DIMINISHED THROUGH CREDIBILITY ISSUE Identity-fraud schemes Pay for grade Do not work At least with traditional degree Assumption you personally went to class (Newton, 2015)

Ensuring Institutional Reputation

Known Academic Strategies Documented Strategy with associated policies and procedures Use a holistic approach to integrate emerging technologies Develop risk assessment and a project plan to address issues such as: Smear Campaign Assault on Institution Reputation Social Media proliferating academic cheating (ISACA, 2010)

Control Objectives for Information and related Technology (COBIT) Enabling a Holistic Approach, Slide 24 (IT Governance Institute, 2012)

Considers Goals for Culture Ethics & Behavior • Organizational ethics, determined by the values by which the enterprise wants to live • Individual ethics, determined by the personal values of each individual in the enterprise and depending to an important extent on external factors such as religion, ethnicity, socioeconomic background, geography and personal experiences

SOCIAL MEDIA AN OLD PROBLEM Even to Martin (1973) over 4 decades ago, the legal and societal environment is the most problematic. Accordingly, he wrote and illustrated (when discussing the control environment): “The outermost layer (in concentric circles of IT security) is by far the most problematical. When the computer and telecommunications revolution has run its full course (and today it is only just beginning), society will be very different. Many contorls will no doubt have evolved, seeking to maximize the benefits and minimize the dangers of a technology of which George Orwell never dreamed.” (Martin, 1973, p. 7))

Your new data center can look like this: ”Stay seamlessly connected with available built-in 4G LTE Wi-Fi.®† Connect up to seven devices to easily access apps, stream music or work on the go, on a signal that’s more powerful than your smartphone” (Chevrolet, 2017). If you choose to connect to a cloud infrastructure platform, you can have a data center more powerful than what existed in 1973.

CONCLUSION Again, in my opinion we need to restore our foundation with a solid builder. Time is needed for a new advocate to protect our integrity: The Dean of the Internet and Social Media.

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