Perceptions versus Reality

ACADEMIC INTEGRITY IN DISTANCE EDUCATION

ACADEMIC INTEGRITY IN DISTANCE EDUCATION:An Overview of the QuestionsAs online programs grow across the country,

major questions regarding the ease of cheating in online courses arise. How can we ensure the academic integrity of online courses? Are online courses perceived as “easier” in which to cheat, than those offered in a traditional classroom setting? Do these perceptions differ from instructors and students? What kinds of cheating are perceived to be the most prevalent? What is the history of Washington State University’s Distance Degree programs with regard to this issue? Does this issue differ in any substantial manner from WSU’s campus experience with Academic Integrity issues?

ACADEMIC INTEGRITY IN DISTANCE EDUCATION:Perceptions vs. Reality Q. Are online courses perceived as “easier” in which to cheat, than those offered in a traditional classroom setting?

Speculation exists concerning the lack of face-to-face interaction in the online format. Some believe this contributes more to academic dishonesty among students in these courses (Rowe, 2004; Wang, 2008). Some researchers disagree. Grijalva, Kerkvliet, and Nowell, (2006) found academic dishonesty in online courses to be the same as in traditional courses. (Spaulding, 2009).

(Perceptions of Academic Honesty in Online vs. Face-to-Face Classrooms, by Michael J. Spaulding. Journal of Interactive Online Learning; www.ncolr.org/jiol ;Volume 8, Number 3, Winter 2009)

ACADEMIC INTEGRITY IN DISTANCE EDUCATION Perceptions vs. Reality In a survey conducted by Michael Spaulding at the University of Tennessee

(Journal of Interactive Online Learning; www.ncolr.org/jiol; Volume 8, Number 3, Winter 2009. ISSN: 1541-4914), data was gathered in a comparison of online students and faculty versus traditional classroom students and faculty and published in Spaulding’s article, Perceptions of Academic Honesty in Online vs. Face-to-Face Classrooms.

Contrary to the perceptions of many who work with online courses, Spaulding found the results of his survey showed “no significant differences in students’ perception of the academic integrity of their own behavior or other students’ behavior based on course type (face-to-face or online). These findings support those of Grijalva et al. (2006) who found that academic dishonesty was the same in online and traditional classrooms. However, they do conflict with the theory of academic dishonesty being more prevalent in online courses than traditional courses due to ease of accessibility of resources (Carnevale, 1999; Kennedy et. al., 2000; Wang, 2008).” (Spaulding, 2009)

(Perceptions of Academic Honesty in Online vs. Face-to-Face Classrooms, by Michael J. Spaulding. Journal of Interactive Online Learning; www.ncolr.org/jiol ;Volume 8, Number 3, Winter 2009)

ACADEMIC INTEGRITY IN DISTANCE EDUCATION What kinds of cheating are most prevalent?• Students planned in advance and then copied from another

person’s paper or received unauthorized aid from another person during an examination.

• Students used unauthorized materials or devices during an examination or any other form of academic evaluation and grading; for example, used signals, notes, books, or calculators during an examination when the instructor has not approved their use.

• Students prepared work for another student to submit for academic evaluation.

• Students copied sentences, phrases, paragraphs, tables, figures or data directly or in slightly modified form from a book, article, or other academic source without using quotation marks or giving proper acknowledgment to the original author or source.

• Students copied information from Internet websites and submitted it as their own work.

(Perceptions of Academic Honesty in Online vs. Face-to-Face Classrooms, by Michael J. Spaulding. Journal of Interactive Online Learning; www.ncolr.org/jiol ;Volume 8, Number 3, Winter 2009)

ACADEMIC INTEGRITY IN DISTANCE EDUCATION WSU Campus Disciplinary SanctionsOn the WSU campus the majority of issues dealt with by the Office of Student Conduct

are behavior related. In 2008 they dealt with 1500 cases, of which a small cluster were related to academic dishonesty.

The official sanction for campus classroom cases regarding plagiarism and other forms of cheating at WSU are as follows:

1. The instructor notifies the student and meets with them to discuss the charge and the evidence.

2. If the student admits to the charges, the instructor assigns an outcome in keeping with the published course policies, and files a report with the Office of Student Conduct.

3. If the student refutes the charges or is unable to meet with instructor, the instructor files the report with the Office of Student Conduct and the student is informed they have 21 days from the filing to request a review of the charges.

4. An academic integrity board reviews the charge and the evidence and makes a formal decision. The student is notified.

5. Upon a first offense, the student is required to attend a workshop, in addition to any sanctions required by the instructor. A hold is placed on the student’s account until the workshop is completed.

6. If it is the student’s second offense, the student must appear before a Student Conduct Hearing Board with a recommendation the student be dismissed from the University.

Typical undergraduate campuses tend to rely on the VAIL (Virtual Academic Integrity Laboratory) tutor as a means of testing students on their knowledge of cheating. I found this program boring and unproductive. The sound was cheesy: a snare drum announcing the different ideas the program was designed to communicate. It was strictly two dimensional graphics and a lot of print to read through. At the end is a true/false quiz. Students self-report their scores.

• Here is a link to the VAIL online tutor. http://www-apps.umuc.edu/vailtutor/

• Some schools also require a student paper or essay as a part of the sanction process. I will read you an example from WSU’s campus workshop.

• Q. What do you think students learn from this workshop?

ACADEMIC INTEGRITY IN DISTANCE EDUCATIONTypical Sanction Tools

• Prior to 2004 few cases of academic dishonesty by DDP students reported to the Office of Student Conduct.

• In 2004 we had an average of 6 cases of plagiarism annually. These cases were handled by the WSU Office of Student Conduct, using the same sanctions as provided to undergraduate campus students, aged 18-24.

• In 2009 we had 25 cases of academic dishonesty reported to the Office of Student Conduct.

• In 2008 I was asked research plagiarism and develop a sanction appropriate for distance degree students.

• I reviewed the regulations and sanctions at a range of institutions, from comprehensive four year public schools, to small liberal arts colleges and ivy league schools.

• Regulations ranged from college by college regulations within the University to an overall university regulation pertaining to all students regardless of the College offering the major.

• Sanctions ran the gamut from outright expulsion for a first offense to written warnings with no teeth.

ACADEMIC INTEGRITY IN DISTANCE EDUCATIONDDP Program History & Statistics

ACADEMIC INTEGRITY IN DISTANCE EDUCATIONDDP Academic Integrity Sanction Process

ACADEMIC INTEGRITY IN DISTANCE EDUCATIONDDP Academic Integrity Sanction Process

• A ten page research paper on plagiarism is required

• Students may choose any citation method they prefer but they must follow it to the letter.

• They must address the following points in the paper:

1) What is plagiarism? 2) Is it a narrowly defined issue or wider and deeper than you expected? In other words, is plagiarism as an issue confined to academia? If not, what other areas of society may be impacted by plagiarism? Define plagiarism. I am not looking for a simplistic definition ‘nor do I want to see a cut and paste answer from a web site.

3) Provide examples of at least two other academic institutions and how they address plagiarism that is different from the way WSU addresses this issue. Compare and contrast with WSU’s policies. Do not cut and paste rules and regulations. Develop the comparison. Contrast the differences.

4) Visit Rutgers University Libraries website and view their video: What is Plagiarism? http://library.camden.rutgers.edu/EducationalModule/Plagiarism/

(Copyright 2008 Jaqueline Almdale, Washington State University)

ACADEMIC INTEGRITY IN DISTANCE EDUCATIONDDP Academic Integrity Sanction Tool

5) Include discussion of the Rutgers video and what issues or ideas the video covered that you felt were especially helpful. Also visit the CBS News website and view the CBS News Reports titled, “Ohio U. Student Left in Greece after Alleged Plagiarism. http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2008/08/14/politics/uwire/main4351671.shtml?source=search_story and “Technology sniffs Out Student Plagiarism.” http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2007/03/17/tech/main2580771.shtml?source=search_story.6) Compare and contrast what you learned in the Rutgers video with what you saw in the CBS News videos/stories. 7) Have you had experiences in common with anything you saw in either video. Rules against cheating and plagiarism exist in academia more so than any other venue for deep and longstanding reasons. 8) What are those reasons? 9) What are the academic ideals safeguarded with regulations and penalties for plagiarism? 10) How big a deal is plagiarism—individually, within your immediate academic community, and in overall society? 11) Do other societies have differing perspectives regarding this issue?

(Copyright 2008 Jaqueline Almdale, Washington State University)

ACADEMIC INTEGRITY IN DISTANCE EDUCATIONDDP Academic Integrity Sanction Tool

ACADEMIC INTEGRITY IN DISTANCE EDUCATIONDDP Academic Integrity Sanction Tool12.) Are there economic and legal penalties involved in plagiarism and its

sanctions? Provide at least three examples of the kinds of penalties and sanctions you’ve uncovered. 13) What have you learned from this experience? 14) What are the short and long term possible consequences when someone is busted for plagiarism? 15) How has this experience affected you personally and what have you learned that surprised you? 16) How will you benefit from this experience in the future? 17) Be sure you cover the difference between citation and attribution; copyright laws, public domain, and fair use. 18) Mention a minimum of three citation methods other than the one you chose to write this paper and an interesting fact about each style. 19) You may use no more than five internet resources, including the two listed above and WSU’s plagiarism web site at http://www.wsulibs.wsu.edu/plagiarism/policy.html 20) You must also use at least three primary hard copy book, journal, newspaper, or magazine resources. I mean hard copy—not lifted from a facsimile on a web site. 21) Wikipedia will not be accepted as a resource and neither will personal conversations with other students or blogs. Your citation method will be reviewed very carefully and your resources will be checked and verified! Spelling, punctuation, rhetoric and grammar count, and you will graded on them.

(Copyright 2008 Jaqueline Almdale, Washington State University)

ACADEMIC INTEGRITY IN DISTANCE EDUCATIONOutcomesSince instituting this DDP plagiarism assignment in 2008:

• 10 students from fall 2009 are currently in process

• 11 students have passed the assignment

• 4 have failed it. Of these, one was dismissed from the University for plagiarizing this assignment. Two were allowed to re-write the paper and re-submit it. One was asked to sit out for one year and in the interim, take an Asset test at the local community college and enroll for the remedial English and writing courses suggested by the Asset score. It was also suggested the student seek testing for a learning disability and file the report with WSU’s Office of Student Disability Services. Upon successful completion of the above items, this student could continue with their education at WSU.

• 6 students did not respond to my email and chose not to enroll further with WSU.

• Of all these students two admitted to outright cheating. They did so because they knew their writing skills were poor and it was their last class before graduation!

• Why didn’t anyone teach me this information before?

• I have been writing my papers this same way for five years and no one ever said anything until this class!

• Where was I supposed to learn this information?

• I thought this assignment was so unfair until I received your feedback. I had no idea how much I didn’t know!

• This should be a required class for everyone.

ACADEMIC INTEGRITY IN DISTANCE EDUCATIONWHAT OUR STUDENTS SAY:

ACADEMIC INTEGRITY IN DISTANCE EDUCATION• Questions and Comments

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