As 2022 begins, many people are quoting Taylor Swift when they say they are "feeling '22'". However, just because we are hoping for a great start to the new year, or even just a better year than the one before, these hopes will likely go unrealized if we fail to put in the work. We need smart goals and resolutions to model integrity in our classrooms and campuses? Try adapting some of these:
Join the International Center for Academic Integrity as a member to gain access to resources and materials to promote integrity on your campus. Not sure where to start? Perhaps the McCabe-ICAI Academic Integrity Survey will give you a baseline for your institution. You may also want to join the annual conference - remotely! - in March. There is also additional support through regional consortia.
Add integrity to your inbox. Add Google News alerts to keep on top of educational integrity in the news. Start following some academic integrity practitioners on Twitter - you can even Tweet @TweetCAI with an academic integrity shoutout or follow the ICAI on Instagram (@academicintegritymatters) and Facebook for academic integrity related updates. Check your libraries and open access journals to find journals dedicated to educational integrity and follow them to see when they release new articles. You can also follow publishing ethics and get updates on which journals display predatory practices or are retracting papers.
Check your assignments to make sure they are designed with integrity in mind. Ensure comprehension with an oral component to your exams. Have your students include a statement about how they completed the assignment honestly and following your field's ethical code(s). Be as flexible with your students as you would want an instructor to be with you. You may find reviewing some previous blog posts and webinars useful in planning purposeful and integrity based assessments:
Talk integrity beyond the syllabus. You should plan to bring up your academic integrity expectations before each assignment, but you can go further. Tie academic integrity into ethical practice for students in the field. Help your students develop integrity as a key value that they will always adhere to. Ask them, "What does integrity mean to you?" and hold them to their own standards.
Navigating academic integrity issues can feel like a minefield. Find common ground with your colleagues. You may be able to standardize a practice for academic integrity in the department or college's expectations for collusion. Decide which outside resources are appropriate for coursework. As a group,set requirements for citing sources on assignments beyond just following a citation style. Use this time to ensure that all instructors knows where and how to report any concerns related to academic integrity.
Academic integrity should not remain in the shadows. Let's make 2022 the year of academic integrity and create our own resolutions for ethical and integrity based education.
Thank you for being a member of ICAI. Not a member of ICAI yet? Check out the benefits of membership and consider joining us by visiting our membership page. Be part of something great!