Academic integrity for faculty

Academic integrity and resources for faculty

Both your professional reputation and the reputation of ASU can only be maintained by upholding the highest academic integrity standards in your classrooms and labs. The following tabs will guide you in reporting a violation, provide resources and answer frequently asked questions.

Academic integrity reporting instructions

See academic integrity reporting instructions flow chart.

Instructor observes or learns of an academic integrity violation.
Instructor communicates with the student, meets face-to-face or on Zoom to discuss the alleged violation.
You should be very clear regarding what the violation is and make a good faith effort to answer the student's questions related to the charge. If the student requests to meet regarding the matter, you should make a good faith effort to accommodate that request.
Acceptable correspondence with students can be done in person, on the phone or using Zoom or other similar platforms.
You should also inform the student that withdrawing from the class will not absolve them of responsibility for this alleged violation.
The burden of proof needed is: “The student more likely than not committed the academic integrity violation.”
If after getting student feedback you decide that no violation occurred, you may stop here and no reporting is required.
If it has not already occurred, notify the student (email, face-to-face, Zoom, telephone) that you are reporting them to the Academic Integrity Office.
Submit your details, evidence and narrative to the Academic Integrity Office using the reporting portal found on the academic integrity homepage. Report all violations as soon as your communications with the student(s) are complete. Please do not hold violations until the end of the semester.
The Academic Integrity Office will adjudicate the case per university policy/procedures.
During this process, instructors may need to communicate with the Academic Integrity Officer and/or participate in a student-requested appeal hearing.
While the violation is being processed, the student should be allowed to participate normally in the class.
Once the case is complete the Academic Integrity Office will communicate the outcome and notify the instructor to apply the sanction or, if appropriate, the Academic Integrity Office will apply the sanction.
If semester grades are due before a violation is fully adjudicated submit an incomplete for the student’s grade and notify the student of the incomplete and why it is being submitted. Once the violation is complete, the AIO will contact the instructor to calculate and submit the grade with the sanction applied.
Violation closed.

If you have questions you may contact the Watts College Academic Integrity Officers, Senior Associate Dean Joanna Lucio and Jennifer Bevins.

Faculty FAQ

How do I submit an academic integrity violation?

The preferred method for submitting academic integrity violations is to use the ASU Reporting Portal. If for some reason you are unable to use the portal, you should submit your alleged violation to the Academic Integrity Officer.

Do I have to report all academic integrity violations?

Yes, if you observe or determine that it is more likely than not that the student committed an academic integrity violation, you must report it to the Academic Integrity Office. Following this protocol ensures that the student receives the appropriate due process and that any sanctions applied are consistent and consideration for multiple offenses has been reviewed.

Will the Academic Integrity Office determine the student’s sanction?

No. The instructor reporting the violation will provide a recommended sanction at the time of reporting. However, the instructor and Academic Integrity Officer will work together to determine an appropriate sanction if the need arises or the faculty member requests assistance. For second offense academic integrity violations the Academic Integrity Office will be more active in helping to decide the appropriate sanction.

How much of my time is reporting an academic integrity violation going to take?

The time it takes to report a violation will vary from student to student. While it is difficult to put a definitive time on the reporting process, the Academic Integrity Office's goal is to support the faculty by providing a process that is both efficient and effective for instructors. Once you have communicated the violation, supplied your collected evidence and discussed any details with the Academic Integrity Officer, your role is finished, unless the student requests a hearing appeal.

What will happen to the academic integrity violation once I have reported it to the Academic Integrity Office?

If there are any follow-up questions to your report, the Academic Integrity Officer will contact you for clarification. Additionally, the Academic Integrity Officer may contact you to discuss your recommended or other possible sanctions. If the student requests an academic integrity appeal hearing, you will be contacted about participating in that event.

What if I suspect academic dishonesty is occurring, but don’t think I can necessarily prove it?

In the scenario where you suspect academic dishonesty but can’t necessarily determine it more likely than not occurred, we encourage you to communicate to the student(s) your concerns. Provide the student the opportunity for feedback and encourage them to review the ASU academic integrity policies. Ultimately, any communication, assignments, warnings, reprimands or face-to-face meetings that increase a student’s academic integrity intelligence are encouraged.

Lastly, the Academic Integrity Office can also investigate academic dishonesty concerns on your behalf. Please contact the Academic Integrity Officer to further discuss issues such as this.

Do we have any system in place to help students learn more about academic integrity and the consequences of multiple violations after their first offense?

Yes. All students who are sanctioned with a first offense academic integrity violation are required to complete the Watts College Academic Integrity Remediation Course in Canvas. As always, the Academic Integrity Office also encourages instructors to regularly communicate, educate and remind students regarding academic integrity expectations within their course.

Will I be required to state my case to a hearing appeal board?

You will only be required to state your case to a hearing appeal board if the student submits a hearing appeal request form within 10 business days after the student notification of sanction letter is sent to them.

What do I do if I have an academic integrity issue, but I’m concerned for my safety?

If you have an immediate concern for your safety you should call 911. If you have a concern but it is not an emergency, you should call the ASU Police Department non-emergency phone number at 480-965-3456 and they can help determine the best course of action. Additionally, for non-emergency situations you may call and consult with the Academic Integrity Officer 480-965-9344. Finally, instructors are encouraged to contact the employee assistance office when/if there is a need to utilize ASU’s free counseling services.

What should I put in my syllabus about academic integrity and copyright policy?

Below is the Watts College Academic Integrity statement that is provided by the college on all syllabi.

Academic Integrity

Academic honesty is expected of all students in all examinations, papers, laboratory work, academic transactions and records. All submissions by a student are expected to be the original work product of the submitting student. Material that violates this requirement in any way, or that constitutes any form of dishonesty, cheating, fabrication, the facilitation of academic dishonesty, and/or plagiarism, may result in the student receiving sanctions that include, but are not limited to, appropriate grade penalties, course failure (indicated on the transcript as a grade of ‘E’), course failure due to academic dishonesty (indicated on the transcript as a grade of ‘XE’), loss of registration privileges, disqualification, suspension and dismissal from the university. Please see the official ASU Policy on Cheating and Plagiarism (Policy Statement 08-02) for more details about the consequences of academic dishonesty.

Review this tutorial on Academic Integrity. Anyone in violation of these policies is subject to sanctions.

Electronic Review of Written Submissions

To ensure compliance with academic integrity policies, written submissions will be submitted to SafeAssign, TurnItIn, or a similar plagiarism detection program. Submission of any writing assignment in the course to the professor constitutes consent by the student for the instructor to upload the paper to check against any anti-plagiarism database.

Avoiding Plagiarism

Some students truly do not understand what plagiarism is, and therefore plagiarize unwittingly or unintentionally. But ignorance is not an excuse for unethical academic conduct. To avoid plagiarism, review this tutorial on Plagiarism Awareness and this reference on Avoiding Plagiarism. Moreover, read the following rules that apply regardless of the citation form or style you may be using:

Direct Quotations – Whenever you directly quote someone else, you must provide a citation to the source of the material from which you are quoting. Moreover, you must put the material in quotation marks or otherwise set it off in an indented quote so the reader knows what words are yours and what words are quoted. It is unacceptable to use the words of others and only partially quote the original source. This is true even if you provide citation to the source both in text and in your references section!
Paraphrasing/Indirect Quotations – Whenever you indirectly quote someone else (i.e., you paraphrase the work of another), you must provide a citation to the source of the material from which you are paraphrasing. Simply changing the structure of a sentence, or a few words in a sentence so that the sentence you write is not an exact quote from the original source does not mean a citation is not needed. This is because the idea you are expressing is not your own, but rather someone else’s.
Using Other’s Ideas – Even if you compose an entire paragraph of writing in your own words (i.e., neither quoted nor paraphrased), if the idea you are expressing in that paragraph is not your own, original idea, you must provide a citation to the source from which you obtained this idea.
Collaborative Work – If you collaborate on any work with someone else and fail to acknowledge that collaboration, you are guilty of plagiarism. If you have received permission from you professor to collaborate on some assignment, be sure that all of the contributor's names appear on the submission.
Altering or Revising Another’s Work – If you alter or revise the work done by someone and submit that work as your own, you have plagiarized. Similarly, if you allow someone else to alter or revise work that you have done and then allow that person to submit it as his or her own work, you are both guilty of plagiarism. Work that is not entirely your own must be credited by citation, both in text and in your references page.
Altering or Revising Your Own Prior Work – You should also be aware that reusing or revising your own work that was prepared for another class or another professor, and not bringing it to the attention of the professor to whom you are submitting the revised work is also academic dishonesty. If, for example, you have two classes that require a term paper, and you can write one paper that meets the requirements of both classes, you may not submit that paper to both professors unless you get permission to do so in advance from both professors. Similarly, if you wrote a paper several semesters ago that can be revised and submitted in satisfaction of a paper requirement for a course in which you are currently enrolled, doing so is academic dishonesty unless you get the advanced permission of your professor to do so. The reason this is dishonest is that it is not an original work prepared in satisfaction for the requirements on the course you are currently taking. Contact your instructor for written approval if you are seeking an exception for unique cases.

What do I do if my copyrighted course materials are found online and I suspect they are involved with an academic integrity violation?

You should copy the URL of each item and send that to the Academic Integrity Office with the course prefix and number and a description of what is being provided at each URL (eg exam #1, question 2). The AIO will then request the item(s) be taken down and also the time/date, first and last name and contact information for the individual who posted that material online. Once the information is received, the AIO will provide it to you and you can submit an academic integrity violation through our portal, if appropriate.

What do I do if I’m concerned that my copyrighted course materials are being uploaded to the Internet but the material doesn’t have anything to do with an academic integrity violation?

If you discover course materials on the Internet, you may request they be removed by using use this form and sending it to the e-mail address found on the website that handles copyright takedown requests (see below for common websites). Alternately, you can copy the URL of each item and send that to Jennifer Bevins in the Academic Integrity Office. You must include the course prefix and number related to the material and a description of what is being provided at each URL (eg exam #1, question 1, etc). The AIO will then prepare a takedown request and submit it to the appropriate location.

Common locations to find copyrighted material:

Chegg.com by e-mail, copyrightagent@chegg.com

Coursehero.com: here

Github.com here or by e-mail here: copyright@github.com

Other questions: contact Joanna Lucio and/or Jennifer Bevins, Academic Integrity Officers