It’s natural to be concerned about academic integrity when assessing modules online as the usual examination rules and invigilation process is more difficult to apply. Fortunately, however, research indicates that online students are no more likely to cheat on assessments than campus-based students as the same opportunities to cheat exist for both cohorts on homework, take-home assignments, essays, group-work, etc. However, research also shows students are more likely to cheat when they are under pressure, when they have opportunity and when it is unlikely that there will be consequences, if caught.
The following are some recommendations on what you, as an educator, can do to support academic integrity:
- Create an environment conducive to academic integrity
- Make information about academic integrity easy to find in your online module by Including a prominent link from Canvas to institute policies.
- Make sure that information is clear and useful. What does academic integrity mean for your module and assessment? If online assessment is to be “open book”, what does that mean? Explain what are legitimate sources for students to consult during an assessment.
- Discuss academic integrity with students. Encourage them to suggest what it means for your module, assessment, and their professional lives. If they are involved in the co-creation of an honour code, they are more likely to understand it and take it seriously. This helps to create a culture of academic integrity.
- Require students to affirm their academic integrity on each piece of assessment, linking to the honour code and acknowledging their sources (which may include people consulted or legitimate groupwork).
- Form a personal moral connection with students, by sharing your own values and motivations. Students will not want to let you down by cheating, if they feel a personal connection with you. Model academic integrity in your own actions.
- Consider module assessments in the context of academic integrity.
- Reduce motivation to cheat by ensuring your assessment is meaningful and authentic, giving appropriate levels of choice (in topic or form of submission) and control. But don’t overwhelm students who are already under stress with too much choice.
- Assume that your students will access information on the internet and talk to other students, family members, etc. Clarify what you mean by “open book” and who or what are legitimate sources. Redesign your assessment to assess how they can make use of those sources. Encourage students to acknowledge all their sources, not just books and journals, but also people they have consulted.
- Students are used to practicing (for example, consulting past papers). Give opportunities for them to practice any new assessment formats.
- Make use of online tools.
- Use the quiz and assignment features of Canvas, where appropriate, for timing, randomising questions and similarity checking.
- Don’t use question banks from textbooks, these can be easily googled.
- If possible, use online tools to conduct short follow up oral sessions with students, to check understanding and authorship.
- Don’t give the impression that academic integrity is not important because of the unusual situation. Monitor for plagiarism and contract cheating and report issues that arise.
The above recommendations are adapted from advice issued by the Irish Universities Association on Academic Integrity in Online Assessment, which was on based materials shared by Dr Tricia Bertram Gallant, Director, Academic Integrity Office, UC San Diego, in a webinar entitled Going Remote with Integrity, recorded on 20 March 2020.
The following resources may also prove useful:
- Guiding principles for alternative assessments (devised in response to the COVID-19 emergency restrictions) – prepared by Quality and Qualifications Ireland (QQI)
- COVID-19: Initial Guidance for Higher Education Providers on Standards and Quality - guidance from the UK’s QAA aimed at supporting all providers of UK higher education to manage quality and academic standards in these unprecedented times
- Implementing remotely invigilated online exams at scale – an exploration of key lessons and successes of the University of New England's experience in implementing large scale remotely invigilated (proctored) online exams where students use their own computer to do an exam in their own space under supervised conditions
-
Education for and detection of contract cheating in virus times - how we can respond to contract cheating in these challenging times from the Campus Morning Mail an independent Australian newsletter
