Academic Integrity in a Digital Age

When it comes to promoting academic integrity, teachers, lecturers, professors and researchers are instrumental. Strategies to ensure the culture is developed include: a discussion on standards of academic scholarship, intellectual property, and copyright to the students. In this case one can refer to University prospectus. As educators when delivering lessons there are times one uses cartoons, text from other researchers and pictures. As a lecturer make sure that you acknowledge sources of your lecture notes. Before punishing students about plagiarism you have to educate students about plagiarism, paraphrasing and proper referencing, take them through the process of referencing and putting text in their own, words.

3.3.1 Creating a culture of Integrity

As discussed in section 1.3 Universities that adhere to academic integrity cheating is minimal. In these Universities, community members have the courage to implement academic integrity values. A University can create integrity culture through having honours codes, commitments and committees focused on the mission of integrity, and having university wide communication that embraces fundamental values of honesty, trust, fairness, respect, and responsibility.  In such academic institutions all community members are said to be integrated in university wide development.

University lecturers are the primary persons in ensuring University community implement integrity values. Students take most of the time in Universities than in the other social communities.  In this case one can attribute the reduction of academic dishonest to be related to curriculum, instruction, and assessment that orients students toward task-mastery goals (Task-mastery goals in Universities measure ones development of understanding and competence) and not simply performance goals (showing competence through high test scores and grades). In any case cheating violates core values of trust and fairness. It can be said that for one to achieve integrity four components work together: community, core values, commitment, and the curriculum.

Community

It is a common phenomena to find once a student is punished in any form, community members start asking the Universities not to punish. There are cases where parents do not want their children to be punished at all. Also, there are times influential people give order to teachers not to punish children. Can such University exhibit integrity values? It is necessary for the Universities to maximise the synergy and power of the University community working together to create and sustain authentic dialogue that advances academic integrity.

In order for Universities to advance academic integrity there is a need to create the integrity committee. This committee to implement its duties will need to do studies related to the state of academic dishonesty from time to time. The committee members are to be the pioneers in creating awareness of and enforcing decision made related to academic dishonesty in the University. On the whole the committee will be the organising force that engages the University community in a series of strategic processes in ensuring academic integrity is restored and maintained in the University. The integrity University committee in engaging community members needs to keep in mind core values to be implemented and have to have courage to ensure that these values are upheld.

Core values

Core values of integrity are common. The issue then is about its implementation in academia. It is common to find University logo written some values they believe. In many cases, none of the University disfavours honest, trust, fairness, respect, and responsibility. Because lack of these it means chaos in the University, thus having a University integrity committee without having fundamental values to be realised it is chaos in the University.

It is common to find Universities having University development plans. Sometimes the University development plans are top down. For addressing academic integrity University committee need to analyse findings related to prevalence of dishonest cases in relation to core values. One can say the core values support Universities and the community in creating strategic plans to deal with dishonest cases comprehensively. The University committee also forms mission statement of the core values. A focus on core values, such as respect, trust, and responsibility, highlights the fact that cheating is not merely a personal choice affecting oneself but also a social prob­lem affecting others. Left unaddressed, it undermines the trust and integrity that bind students and educators together as a community.

There are chances that students will or will not adhere to academic integrity standards in the University. In most cases, students will support academic in­tegrity policies, including penalties for cheating, when they recognize that these policies protect fairness in grading and assessment. Linking academic integrity to the University's core values helps the University community make a moral claim regarding cheating, namely, that it destroys trust and is unfair to all those who are not cheating.

Commitment

Without commitment it is difficult to implement strategic plans on academic integrity. It is possible that Universities and colleges that do not commit to academic integrity are likely performing poorly. In these Universities teachers and other University committee members do not work together in ensuring their children develop and grow and achieve with integrity.

Curriculum

It is common to hear that this course is so difficult without entering with some sort of material in the examinations it is likely to fail. In this case curriculum and its implementation have a role to play in promoting academic integrity. In this case, then lecturers have to integrate academic integrity, values in their course outlines, course delivery, course syllabi, assessment, and Curriculum has a major role to play in reducing cheating in Universities. In so doing the lecturer should show clearly what is expected of the course, and when setting course evaluation test have to be in line with what is expected.  It is important that each student knows what is required in the cause. Early understanding of the demand of the cause makes learners aware of what is required and plan time accordingly. In marking academic work prepare a marking scheme that will guide marking.

Strategies that encourage academic integrity include:

• Defining academic integrity and academic dishonesty: discussions on cheating, plagiarism and other forms of dishonest have to be made clear to students on the nature and importance of academic integrity as a core value of scholarly work.
• Dissemination of information on academic integrity: Not many institutions make information available to students as such fails to know what is required of them.
• Punishment associated with academic dishonesty need to be made clear to students.
• Do not recycle test examination papers from semester to semester
• During examinations if possible students sit in rows
• Do not allow mobile phones and iPods
• Use photo and other identity to identify eligible students
• Use fingerprints for eligibility in examination.
• Catch and punish those who do cheat.