Instructors play a vital role in fostering academic integrity by educating students on its core principles and directing them to appropriate resources and support. Below is a list of practical tips to promote academic integrity in your classroom, along with strategies for designing and managing both in-person and remote assessments, creating your course syllabus, and managing courses effectively.
- Clearly state whether Generative AI tools (e.g., ChatGPT, Grammarly, Quillbot) are permitted in your course. If allowed, specify which tools and in what capacity. Refer to the Academic Integrity Toolkit for sample syllabus statements.
- Define different types of academic offences that may be present in your course and provide examples to help students understand what constitutes a violation.
- Outline specific instructions for assessments, detailing which aids are permitted (if any).
- Explain the risks of using unauthorized tutoring services or aids (e.g., Speed-Up Education, Easy EDU, group chats) and direct students to UofT’s academic support services such as:
- Robert Gillespie Academic Skills Centre
- The RGASC has created student-facing academic integrity modules to promote academic integrity that instructors can import directly into their course’s Quercus page.
- Facilitated Study Groups (FSGs)
- Writing Studio
- Writing at the University of Toronto
- UTM's Library Reference and Research Desk
- Math Learning Centre
- Robert Gillespie Academic Skills Centre
- Encourage students to read the Code of Behaviour on Academic Matters.
- Emphasize that students are responsible for what they submit and that “I didn’t know” is not an excuse.
- Define what constitutes “common knowledge” in your course and provide examples of what does and does not require citation.
- Avoid reusing test/exams and similar assignments over various courses. Inform students that they must obtain permission before resubmitting work previously submitted for another course or assignment.
- Practice final exam protocols during course midterms and tests.
- Require students to store all electronic devices (e.g., cell phones, earphones, smartwatches) in a designated area or a clear, sealable plastic bag
- Clearly explain the consequences of failing to follow these rules.
- Clearly communicate the consequences of failing to follow exam rules.
- Stress that starting an exam early or continuing to write after time is called is considered an academic offence.
Course Assessment and Design
- Clearly delineate when peer collaboration is acceptable. Based on in-class experiences (e.g., labs, group work), students may have the impression that collaboration is permitted when completing equivalent assessments in a remote environment. Always make expectations for assessment completion clear.
- Monitor relevant online resources. Instructors must anticipate that their assessment questions will be posted to third-party websites (e.g. Easy Edu, Chegg, etc.) and shared over social media. Instructors are encouraged to include copyright statements in their syllabi and bring copyright claims against websites hosting their course materials.
- Be mindful of student stress levels and be amenable to accommodations. Students registered with Accessibility Services may require accommodations (e.g., additional time or multiple breaks) that can be challenging to implement in remote assessments. Instructors may contact Accessibility Services in advance (access.utm@utoronto.ca) and request assistance.
- Open-book assessments do not necessarily prevent academic offences, but instead can create the misconception that it is fair to consult resources available online. Instructors must be explicit about what is allowed in assessments and advise students on the risks of engaging with unauthorized aids.
- Adjusting the difficulty of an open-book assessment is not a solution. Academic offences have occurred when questions were both too easy (and “Google-able”) and too hard. On the other hand, increasing the difficulty simply to decrease easy searches may punish students who try to complete the assessment honestly and may drive them to use unauthorized aids, especially if they feel that their peers are also using such aids.
- Randomization and versioning may help to reduce (and to identify) academic offences but can be circumvented. Some cases involved students submitting answers to other versions of assessments, revealing that they had communicated with their peers (e.g., using WhatsApp, Discord, or Reddit) during the assessment period.
- Essay-like questions seem to result in fewer academic offences; however, plagiarism is easier in a remote environment for essay tests. Cases include examples of copied and pasted answers from a variety of sources, including class lecture slides. Please be aware that Turnitin is only integrated with Quercus Assignments and not with Quercus Quizzes.
- Control the time that students have to complete assessments. A too-generous time window creates more opportunity for the assessment to be circulated. A shorter time frame deters unauthorized assistance, as students risk running out of time if they attempt to communicate with others during the assessment.
- Use strategies in Quercus Quiz features to support academic integrity, as appropriate
.For example, break assessments into distinct time-limited parts with no returning to the previous part; this also allows for breaks to be inserted into long tests/exams. For example, two 50-minute sections can be separated by a 10-minute break. Set a time limit for Quercus Quizzes, only allow 1 attempt, and do not let students see their responses until after everyone has completed the quiz.
- Promote a culture of academic integrity from the beginning of the course. Instructors can set expectations around remote assessments and help students understand the importance of academic integrity for their own learning experience. Instructors can remind students about the consequences of committing academic misconduct and ask them to familiarize themselves with the University's academic integrity guidelines. For example, the first question on the test can be a statement on academic integrity or asking students to collaborate on writing a student code of behaviour.
- Consult the Teaching & Learning Collaboration and the UTM Library Quercus team webpages for assistance with remote assessments. Some resources include:
Request an Academic Integrity Information Session
The Academic Integrity Unit (AIU) offers tailored presentation and information sessions that can be geared towards students, instructors and/or administrative staff.
Generative Artificial Intelligence in the Classroom
Visit the Office of the Vice-Provost, Innovations in Undergraduate Education website for direct information regarding ChatGPT and Generative AI in the Classroom.