Why do students cheat? How do they cheat? How
has cheating changed since distance education
came into being? Academic integrity is of particular
interest to online education faculty, staff members,
administrators, and students alike. Here we will
explore the history of, and trends in, cheating and
plagiarism in higher education and focus on how it
relates to distance education.
Objective: Discuss faculty beliefs regarding
cheating and online education
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About half the faculty surveyed believe:
◦ Students cheat at least occasionally
◦ Undergraduates cheat more often than grad
students
◦ Opportunities to cheat, to catch cheaters, and to
prevent cheating are similar online or face-toface
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Faculty were more likely to have
concerns about online
(McNabb & Olmstead, 2009)
Objective: Identify a three-pronged approach
to addressing academic integrity: policing
(catching and punishing cheaters), prevention
(designing courses and assignments that
discourage cheating), and virtue (creating
learning communities in which students do
not want to cheat)
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Use technology
Establish clear expectations
Recognize cues in written work
◦ Odd passages
◦ Particularly good/bad writing (compared to the
overall paper)
◦ Outdated information
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Report all suspected instances
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Publish and provide clear access to
guidelines
Rotate/rewrite assignments
Randomize exams
Use a variety of assessments
Proctor when necessary
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Promote original thought and work
Encourage appropriate collaboration
Model academic integrity in own work
Build a culture of integrity
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What are your concerns about academic
integrity? Do you think academic integrity
should be handled differently online? If so,
how?
Objective: Evaluate technology, tools and
techniques designed to detect and deter
cheating and plagiarism

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Use plagiarism checkers (TurnItIn™,
SafeAssign™, SNITCH)
Leverage LMS features (options for
exams, drop boxes, online proctoring,
etc.)
Encourage students to self-check
Reframe the purpose and value of
citation as a "tool for fellow researchers"
(VCU, 2012, para. 6)
Objective: Investigate best practices for
creating communities of integrity on
campuses and within departments
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Share and discuss policies and practices
Get students' input and commitment
Foster collaboration and peer recognition
Explain acceptable collaboration
Encourage critical thinking

How can you promote a “culture of integrity”
online? What can you do to engage learners in
this process?
Objective: Develop classroom techniques to
discourage academic dishonesty
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Provide clear expectations for original
work
Establish clear evaluation criteria and
rubrics
Integrate academic integrity into the
classroom discourse
Provide examples of correct citation
Require the use of current events or local
topics for assignments (Carnegie Mellon,
n.d.)
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American University in Cairo. (n.d.). Promoting academic integrity at AUC. Retrieved from
http://www.aucegypt.edu/academics/integrity/Forms/Documents/BestPracticesFaculty.pdf
Baruch College. (2011). Academic integrity website. Retrieved from
https://www.baruch.cuny.edu/facultyhandbook/AcademicIntegrity.htm
Carnegie Mellon. (n.d.). Plagiarism and the web. Retrieved from
http://www.cmu.edu/teaching/solveproblem/strat-cheating/plagiarism.html
East Carolina University. (2010). Fostering academic integrity in distance education. Retrieved
from http://www.ecu.edu/cs-acad/eai/FosteringIntegrity.cfm
Fellguth, J. (2007). Cyber cheating. Retrieved from
http://www.hartnell.edu/library/interlit/cybercheating.htm
McNabb, L., & Olmstead, A. (2009). Communities of integrity in online courses: Faculty
member beliefs and strategies. Journal of Online Learning and Teaching, 5(2), 208-221.
Retrieved from http://jolt.merlot.org/vol5no2/mcnabb_0609.htm
Niezgoda, s., & Way, T. (2006). SNITCH: A software tool for detecting cut and paste plagiarism.
SIGCSE Technical Symposium, March 1-5, 2006, Houston, TX. Retrieved from
http://www.csc.villanova.edu/~tway/publications/niezgodaSIGCSE06.pdf
University of Phoenix. (2009, August 4). Maintaining academic integrity online at University of
Phoenix. Retrieved from http://www.phoenix.edu/colleges_divisions/office-of-thepresident/articles/maintaining-academic-integrity-online.html
Virginia Commonwealth University (VCU). (2012). SafeAssign: Policing v prevention. Retrieved
from http://uc.vcu.edu/learning-support/writing-center/safeassign/safeassign-policing-vprevention/
Western Interstate Commission for Higher Education (WICHE). (2009). Best practice strategies
to promote academic integrity in online education. Retrieved from
http://wcet.wiche.edu/wcet/docs/cigs/studentauthentication/BestPractices.pdf