Jennifer N. Buchanan, Ph.D.
Assistant Vice President for Faculty Development and Advancement

Purpose
• Show how survey information gathered from FSU students informed the development of the
Academic Honor Policy, which affects all student academic work (even yours!)
• Discuss how you can prevent academic dishonesty in your class

Purpose continued
• Familiarize you with the operation of the
Academic Honor Policy and the Grade Appeals process

Academic Integrity Survey
• FSU mirrors other universities
• Faculty and teaching assistants as primary sources of information
• Students and faculty disagree on what constitutes
“serious” cheating
• Hope to do survey again in 2013 - 14

Ways Undergraduates
Reported Cheating
• Sharing assignments (65%)
• Unauthorized collaboration (41%)
• Copying a few sentences from internet without citation (39%)

Ways Undergraduates
Reported Cheating continued
• Copying a few sentences from written source without citation (38%)
• Helping someone cheat on test (10%)

Faculty-Student
Opinion Differences
• Students rated the severity of penalties as higher (60% high/very high) than did faculty
(15% high/very high)
• Students rated faculty members’ understanding of the policy as higher (77% high/very high) than did faculty (25% high/very high)

Honor Code Assumptions
• Strong majority of students (56%) disagree that they should be responsible for monitoring others
• Unlikely to report fellow students (80%)
• Even less likely to report friends

Conclusions and Themes
• Cheating happens
• Students assume you know more than you do about academic integrity
• Students look to you for cues about whether cheating will be tolerated

Conclusions and Themes continued
• Students will hesitate to inform
• Prevention is important
• Our involvement is critical

Preventing Plagiarism
• Mutual respect between student and instructor and confident verbal reinforcement
• Syllabus: http://facsenate.fsu.edu
• Teaching meaning of plagiarism, esp. paraphrasing versus quoting
• “Turn-it-in.com,” “SafeAssign” and other resources – make available

Preventing Cheating
• Making cheating more difficult
• Following through (learn policy)
• Have a plan for test-time (verify independently)
• Emphasize “Complicity” charge
• Confident verbal reinforcement

Academic Honor Policy
Instructors play central role
Procedural Notes (check for prior record)

Florida State University
Academic Honor Policy
(AHP)

Charges
• Plagiarism
• Cheating
• Unauthorized group work
• Fabrication, falsification, & misrepresentation

Charges continued
• Multiple Submission
• Abuse of academic materials
• Complicity in academic dishonesty
• Attempting to commit an offense

Graduate Student Issues
• Prelims, comps, thesis or dissertation treated as egregious and sent to Step 2
• Charging decision made by committee comprised of department chair, outside member, and faculty member appointed by dean

Academic Honor Policy By Semester
(Since New Policy in Fall 2005)
200
180
173
160
146
140
120
122 124
100 91
103 102
95 94
80
60
73
65
77
67
58
74
77
40
18
20
0
Fall 2005 Summer
2006
17
8
31
40
Spring
2007
Fall 2007 Summer
2008
Spring
2009
Fall 2009 Summer
2010
31
26
18
Spring
2011
Fall 2011 Summer
2012
Spring
2013
* Through August 1, 2013

Academic Honor Policy By Academic Year
(Since New Policy Effective Fall 2005)
350
294
300 279
239
250
236
208
200
161
156 157
150
100
46
50
0
2002-03
76 80
2004-05 2006-07
Academic Year
2008-09 2010-11 2012-13*
*Through August 1, 2013

Cases and Outcomes
F in the course
19%
Disciplinary Probation
2%
ACE Consultation
3%
Suspension
2%
2012-2013
Academic Year
Sanctions
Reprimand - 0%
Revocation of Degree - 0%
Conduct Probation - 0%
None - 0%
SRR Ethics Class - 0%
Dismissal - 0%
Educational Activities - 0%
Reduced grade for the course
8%
F on the assignment
58% Reduced grade for the assignment
12%
Through August 1, 2013

Grade Appeals System
• Also involves integrity
• Emphasizes centrality of instructor judgment in grading process
• Grade must be imposed in an arbitrary, capricious, or discriminatory manner to be overturned

Grade Appeals System continued
• Starts with evaluation (grading) standards expressed in syllabus
• Minimize exposure through consistency

Grade Appeals System

Resources in your Department
• Your supervising faculty member should always be informed about any allegations that arise in your class.
• Your department chair should also be informed by either your supervising faculty member or by you.
• Either of them can inform you of typical penalties in the department and can sit in when you meet with students.

University Resources
Office of Faculty Development and Advancement: http://fda.fsu.edu under Academics – Academic Honor
Policy, Grade Appeals System, annual Important Policies and Procedures Memo, or at 850-644-6876 .
Students should be referred to the Associate Dean of
Students 644-2428 .

University Resources continued
Important Policies and Procedures memo contains important information for instructors.
ODL resources at: http://distance.fsu.edu/instructors