1. Fostering Academic Integrity in Online Courses
Advice for Faculty
Fostering Academic Integrity in Online Courses
Larry MacPhee, CTEL
Joyce Kincannon, CTEL
Wally Nolan, CTEL

2. 3 General Questions Is cheating inevitable? Why do students cheat?
Why is it my problem?

3. Why do they do it? Easy to get away with Insufficient time
A friend needed help
Passing grade is vital
Everyone else is doing it
Nobody cares if I cheat
Course is too hard
Teacher is unfair
Course is useless.

4. Is this my problem? Credibility is at stake
of the Instructor
of the Course
of the Program
of the Institution
Student morale is at stake.

5. 5 Course Design Elements
Syllabus Design
Content Delivery
Student-Instructor Relationship
Assessment Design
Monitoring Tools

6. 1. Syllabus Design Clearly define course objectives
Define inappropriate behavior
Specify consequences
Link to institutional policies
Warn students of monitoring tools
Discuss relevance of course
Establish deadlines
Clearly define course policies.

7. 2. Content Delivery Change assignments each semester
Know your audience
Required vs. supplemental info
Tell students what is important
Design assignments for the web.
Link to resource pages
Keep audio & video clips short
Avoid PowerPoint
Use student prompts
Lean and rich, not flashy and fluffy
Offline learning is ok.

8. 3. Good Communication Offer frequent reminders
Respond promptly to questions
Build a respectful relationship
Encourage student collaboration
Monitor student communication
Moderate discussions.

9. 4. Assessment Design Randomize questions and answers
Use large question banks, multiple versions
Set short time windows for objective tests
Proctor objective tests in labs
Thwart paper mills like “SchoolSucks.com”
Spread points across many assignments
Consider use of “honor statements”
Assume student access to all resources
Investigate suspicious activity.

10. 5. Monitoring Tools Enroll a “mole” in your class discussions
Look for same wrong answer patterns
Check test start and end times
Check test takers’ IP addresses
Interview suspects sequentially
Track student scores during the course
Look at grade distributions over semesters
Use comparison tools like “TurnItIn.com”

11. Google, Encarta, WiFi, IM, cell phones, OCR
New Technologies
Google, Encarta, WiFi, IM, cell phones, OCR

12. Additional Resources Software Secure
Duke University’s Center for Academic Integrity
Designing Online Courses to Discourage Dishonesty by Barbara Christe
30 seconds to a Darwin Biography (courtesy Encarta.com)