Ten Prin=
ciples of
Academic Integrity
By Donald L= . Mc Cabe and Gary Pavela
1. Affirm the importance of academic integrity.=
Institutions
of higher education are dedicated to the pursuit of truth. Faculty members =
need
to affirm that the pursuit of truth is grounded in certain core values,
including diligence, civility and honesty
2. Foster a love of learning.
A
commitment to academic integrity is reinforced by high academic
standards. Most students will thrive in an atmosphere where academic =
work
is seen as challenging, relevant, useful and fair.
3. Treat students as ends in themselves,
Faculty members should treat their
students as ends in themselves—deserving individual attention and
consideration. Students will generally reciprocate by respecting the =
best
values of their teachers, including a commitment to academic integrity.
4. Promote an environment of trust in the classroom= .
Most students are mature adults, and
value an environment free of arbitrary rules and trivial assignments, where
trust is earned, and given.
5. Encourage student responsibility for academic integrity.
With proper guidance, students can =
be
given significant responsibility to help protect and promote the highest
standards of academic integrity. Students want to work in communities=
where
competition is fair, integrity is respected, and cheating is punished.
They understand that one of the greatest inducements to engaging in academic
dishonesty is the perception that academic dishonesty is rampant.
6. Clarify expectations for students.
Faculty members have primary
responsibility for designing and cultivating the educational environment and
experience. They must clarify their expectations in advance regarding
honesty in academic work, including the nature and scope of student collabo=
ration.
Most students want such guidance, and welcome it in course syllabi,
carefully reviewed by their teachers in class.
7. Develop fair and relevant forms of assessment.
Students expect their academic work=
to be
fairly and fully assessed. Faculty members should use—and
continuously revise—forms of assessment that require active and creat=
ive
thought, and promote learning opportunities for students.
8. Reduce opportunities to engage in academic disho=
nesty.
Prevention is a critical line of de=
fense
against academic dishonesty. Students should not be tempted or induce=
d to
engage in acts of academic dishonesty by ambiguous policies, undefined or
unrealistic standards for collaboration, inadequate classroom management, or
poor examination security.
9. Challenge academic dishonesty when it occurs.
Students observe how faculty members
behave, and what values they embrace. Faculty members who ignore or
trivialize academic dishonesty send the message that the core values of
academic life, and community life in general, are not worthy any significant
effort to enforce.
10. Help define and support campus-wide academic integrity standards.
Acts of academic dishonesty by indi=
vidual
students can occur across artificial divisions of departments and schools.
Although faculty members should be the primary role modes for academic
integrity, responsibility for defining, promoting, and protecting academic
integrity must be a community-wide concern—not only to identify repeat
offenders, and apply consistent due process procedures, but to affirm the
shared values that make colleges and universities true communities.