12/17/2021

Small Acts Towards Academic Integrity

Written by Anastasia Donta

One widespread practice found on college campuses to lure students into purchasing custom prepared papers for a fee is people handing out business cards. This constitutes a serious breach of academic integrity. This also happens at Deree – The American College of Greece, located in Athens, an institution offering undergraduate degrees, with English as the language of instruction.

This had an effect on me both as a student and as part of the ACG’s Student Academic Support Services (SASS).

Similar to other institutions, Deree offers personalized assistance to its students through individual or group peer tutoring sessions. Learning facilitators such as myself aim to help fellow students produce quality academic work that is of their own by fostering the development of their learning style, writing and critical thinking skills.

My involvement urged me to take a conscious choice against contract cheating by deciding to refuse the card when offered to me. In retrospect, it made me feel empowered and caused me to reflect on the value of my studies.

SASS followed up to fight contract cheating with the same weapon. With the help of others at SASS we designed a business card with our logo, contact info and the following message: “Efficiency and Honesty for Free”. 

For the last three years, we have been handing out business cards to other students at the busiest parts of campus on the International Day Against Contract Cheating. This has attracted the interest of students and served as a conversation starter and sets the ground for realizing the importance of Academic Integrity. In our eyes, it sends out the message that we, the students are the owners of our academic achievements.

 Anastasia and SASS are taking a stand against contract cheating. What are you doing to support your students and fight contract cheating service providers? Tell us by tweeting @TweetCAI. 

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!