Responding to disruptive conduct in learning spaces may feel challenging. The Dean of Students Office, Office of Student Conduct, Office of the Senior Vice President and Provost, and the CELT (Center for Excellence in Learning and Teaching) developed a toolkit to help faculty and staff respond to and manage disruptive behavior. 

Academic misconduct is any action or attempted action that may result in creating an unfair academic advantage for oneself or an unfair academic advantage or disadvantage for any other member or members of the academic community. Such behavior is disparaging to the university and students found responsible for academic misconduct can face a number of disciplinary sanctions such as a disciplinary reprimand, conduct probation, deferred suspension, suspension, or expulsion. Instances of academic misconduct ultimately affect all students and the entire university community by degrading the value of degrees when some are obtained dishonestly, and by impacting the grades of students working honestly.

Examples of academic misconduct include, but are not limited to the following:

Obtaining or use of unauthorized information: It is a violation to obtain or use unauthorized assistance or prohibited materials and texts, tools, or study aids, unapproved use of cell phones, internet, or other electronic devices, unauthorized collaboration or copying on a test or assignment. Other examples may include working with another student on a take-home test or homework when not specifically permitted to do so by the instructor, looking at your notes or other work during an examination when not specifically permitted to do so, unauthorized sharing of questions or answers with another student or students whether in the classroom, via group chat or messages or another internet platform, or where posted by another student at an online academic warehouse (Course Hero, Chegg, Study Blue, etc.).

Misrepresentation, falsification or fabrication of information. It is a violation for students to misrepresent or falsify coursework. Examples of this may include purchasing or downloading for use a paper from a term paper service or online academic warehouse, working jointly on a project and then submitting it as one's own, requesting, hiring, or otherwise encouraging someone to take a course, exam, test, or complete assignments on your behalf or for another student.

Students may not engage in or submit falsified or fabricated course work such as falsifying research, inventing or falsely altering data, citing fictitious references, falsely recording or reporting attendance, hours, or engagement in activities such as internships, externships, field experiences, clinical activities.

It is additionally a violation for students to tamper with or attempt to alter grades, academic records, or an instructor’s evaluation of work by altering materials or documents, tampering with evaluation tools, or other means of interfering.

Plagiarism: Plagiarism is a form of misrepresentation. Students may not present the work, words, theories, data, expressed ideas, or artistry of another person or persons as their own, neither word-for-word nor paraphrasing of another person’s work.  It is a violation for students to reproduce another person's paper, work or artistry, even with modifications, and submit it as their own.  Students may not use another person's work or words (including unpublished material) without appropriate source documentation or citation.

It is a violation for students to submit substantially the same work to satisfy requirements for one course or academic requirement that has been submitted in satisfaction of requirements for another course or academic requirement without permission of the instructor of the course for which the work is being submitted.

Other academic misconduct: Students are prohibited from any action that helps another student engage in academic misconduct. Examples may include providing or selling coursework or materials to another person where this is not permitted or where they plan to use it in an unauthorized manner or otherwise submit it as their own work; unauthorized provision or discussion of exam questions or answers with students that will be taking the same or similar exam; posting coursework created by an instructor without their permission at an online academic warehouse (Course Hero, Chegg, Quizlet, etc.); taking an exam/completing an assignment for someone else; or otherwise seeking to acquire, selling, bribing, paying or accepting payment for unauthorized academic work or assistance that contributes to academic misconduct. 

Students are prohibited from the recording and/or sale or dissemination (including posting) of instructional content without the express permission of the instructor(s) or through an approved accommodation coordinated via Student Accessibility Services.

 

Why Do Students Cheat?

In order to appropriately address cheating and deter if from occurring, it can be helpful to understand why students report making the decision to cheat.

Poor time management. Often, students cite poor time management as a key factor that led to their decision to cheat, and research supports this. Time management has been reported to be particularly difficult during this period of online learning where students may be managing a number of demands including the new dynamics of COVID, caring for child or adult dependents, and work.

Prioritization. Students may report taking shortcuts that include use of online academic warehouses or contacting a friend for work or assignments that they see to be less important for the course, particularly where they reporting having other more significant projects, exams or coursework due simultaneously.

Only path to success. Students often articulate believing that they cannot pass if they don’t cheat. This can certainly be related to insufficient academic preparation, time management, prioritization, completing demands, and organization. 

Impression they will not get caught. Students may be aware of other students using online academic warehouses or interacting with peers that are not caught or reported to Student Conduct. This may contribute to their decision to engage in similar behavior. When faculty share that they are using tools and processes to identify academic misconduct, and discuss the possible serious penalties, this can help to dissuade or impact student decision-making, and may encourage reporting where students find infringing content posted, or are aware of others engaging in dishonest behavior.

Indifference. Research shows that students cheat because they are indifferent to it or they perceive that instructors or institutions are indifferent to it. This can occur when students see others cheat without consequences or when they see instructors giving minimal information about academic integrity or when students perceive that instructors seem indifferent to student learning.

Lack of understanding. There is some evidence that students cheat because they don’t understand what constitutes cheating. This can be for a variety of reasons including academic preparation issues, cultural views on attribution and collaboration, and academic vs professional expectations. Addressing academic misconduct in your course through syllabus statements, reminders, and open conversations with your students can be helpful in making expectations clear.

Our office has created content in Canvas, including a link to the tutorial, discussion posts, a reflection assignment, and a knowledge check that you may consider assigning in your courses. The content can be accessed through the course commons by searching Academic Integrity Tutorial: Office of Student Conduct.

Below are ways you may consider implementing this resource in your course.

  • Imbed the reading link into your Canvas course as a resource for students
  • Assign the reading and facilitate a class or virtual discussion around the content. Questions could include:
    • How would you define academic integrity and why is it important?
    • What is the relationship between academic integrity and ethics in your chosen career field?
    • What are the benefits of doing your academic work honestly? What do you gain personally and professionally?
    • What are the potential consequences of doing your academic work dishonestly, both personally and professionally?
  • Assign the reading and require students to answer, download, and submit the questions found under “What is academic integrity and why is it important?”
  • Assign the reading and require students to complete the knowledge checks (9 total) and submit screenshots or documentation of completion.

Academic misconduct is a violation of the behavior expected of a student in an academic setting as well as a student conduct violation. A student found responsible for academic misconduct is subject to appropriate academic penalty, to be determined by the instructor of the course, as well as sanctions under the university Student Code of Conduct. If an instructor believes that a student has behaved dishonestly in a course, the following steps are recommended:

  1. Contact the student to indicate there are concerns with the coursework; this can be done via email or another appropriate student learning platform.
  2. Provide the student an opportunity to respond and indicate whether they admit or deny responsibility. When engaging with students about suspected misconduct, it may be helpful to share what relevant information supports your suspicion. This provides students an opportunity to respond before a report is filed with the Office of Student Conduct. In these situations, students may experience fear or panic, or be embarrassed or overwhelmed, which could impact how they respond and the information they share. Our website provides a template for how you might approach a conversation with a student about concerns of academic misconduct. 
    • Where students request to meet, instructors can facilitate this as plausible (in-person or virtual), involving the relevant and appropriate instructors for the referral (e.g., teaching assistant for the course and/or supervising faculty.)
    • In cases involving multiple students, it recommended that meetings are with individuals.
  3. If they deny responsibility, do not assign a grade for the assignment or course (leave grade as N for grade processing) until the Office of Student Conduct has shared the student disciplinary conclusions.
  4. If they admit the misconduct, you may assign a grade according to your discretion and what you may have outlined in your syllabus.
  5. Refer the case and information to the Office of Student Conduct via their website reporting form, including related materials such as exams, coursework, reports, websites, external resources, syllabi, summary of the interaction with student(s), and other relevant information, as requested.

In cases involving denial of responsibility, when an outcome is determined by the Office of Student Conduct, both the student and the instructor will be notified of the disciplinary process conclusions.

For questions regarding the process, contact the Office of Student Conduct.

The complete Student Code of Conduct policy and process pertaining to academic misconduct is available as a resource.

Faculty are encouraged to provide information in their syllabus regarding expectations related to coursework completion, academic integrity and the academic/grade consequences for students who complete their work dishonestly. CELT and the Office of Student Conduct have created sample syllabus statements and sample statements regarding the use of artificial intelligence. 

The class will follow Iowa State University’s policy on academic misconduct (5.1 in the Student Code of Conduct). Students are responsible for adhering to university policy and the expectations in the course syllabus and on coursework and exams, and for following directions given by faculty, instructors, and Testing Center regulations related to coursework, assessments, and exams. Anyone suspected of academic misconduct will be reported to the Office of Student Conduct in the Dean of Students Office. Information about academic integrity and the value of completing academic work honestly can be found in the Iowa State University Academic Integrity Tutorial.

Promoting Academic Integrity

  • Discuss the importance of academic integrity early in the semester and connect it with ethical practices in the student’s field of study.
  • Share with students that you plan to hold students accountable for academic misconduct and the steps you are taking to address misconduct in your course.
  • Add reminders to the beginning of exams and assignments with clear instructions on what is and isn’t permissible. Common points of confusion can include working with others, group projects, and permissible resources.
    • Example: Can students utilize outside resources? If they can, consider creating a list of preferred sources and/or prohibited external resources.
    • Example: Can students work together? If so, what does effective and appropriate collaboration look like? It is important to clearly define collaboration.
  • Require students to show their work on problems/solutions and to submit any personal note sheets allowed for exams.
  • Ensure your syllabus contains a statement of academic misconduct. Example statements can be found here.
  • Consider implementing an Academic Integrity Pledge for the course. Example integrity pledges can be found online.

Coursework Design Considerations

Faculty have shared the following ideas with our office to deter cheating and/or make identifying misconduct easier.

  • Use an expanded and scrambled bank of questions, particularly for multiple choice questions.
  • Use a randomization feature; this can be particularly helpful for questions involving numbers and can allow you to uniquely identify a student based on a question or set of questions.
  • For essay-based exams, consider fewer questions with longer answers and allow students to choose from a bank of questions to answer.
  • Water-mark exams and lock-down the PDF to eliminate copy and pasting; any screenshots or photos of the exam would be water marked with the student’s user ID.
  • Research shows that ongoing small assignments, including those that build over time like multiple drafts to a final paper, promote academic integrity.
  • Design assignments that require students to apply their knowledge to “real world” problems or situations; this requires original and creative thinking and gives more purpose to the assignment.
  • Consider alternative ways to assess knowledge such as projects in lieu of an exam, video-recorded reports or exams, etc. 

For more resources on teaching including course delivery, strategies, and assessment and evaluation, please visit CELT.

Faculty and instructors may wish to add specific information in their syllabus related to use of AI content generation. CELT has developed a website with information that may be useful in addressing these concerns, and provides information on potential alternative assignments and assessments. 

Suspected AI-generated coursework referrals will be reviewed similar to any other form of academic misconduct.

A March 30, 2023 article in HigherEdJobs by Dr. Sarah Ruth Jacobs* provide “approaches that faculty can take to protect academic integrity despite” artificial intelligence:

• Openly discuss the ethics of using ChatGPT in a variety of ways. A course policy that specifies allowable uses of the chatbot -- and/or penalties for using it -- can help to manage everyone's expectations. For example, a course might allow for certain uses of ChatGPT, as long as the work includes the chat transcript and an explanation of how the chatbot's output was evaluated, coordinated with other research, and fact-checked.

• Test assignments with ChatGPT. While the chatbot is excellent at summarizing well-established concepts, it is less proficient at complex, novel analysis of individual texts or sections of texts. Entering an assignment prompt into ChatGPT can be a great way for faculty to gauge and then leverage the tool's blind spots. If a student's work does not deeply engage with an assignment, it may not be possible to prove that the work is AI-generated, but the student can still lose significant credit, which should hopefully encourage him or her to do the needed deep work.

• Flip the classroom. Having students do assignments in the classroom creates an opportunity for faculty to assist them, and it also establishes certain baselines for each student's work. When a student's in-class work bears little resemblance to his or her out-of-class work, perhaps a non-punitive, open-minded dialogue will help the student and the faculty member to determine if the student is working in a way that serves his or her best interests (and that is consistent with course expectations).

• Assign more original research, timely issues, hands-on work, or projects requiring personalized/localized knowledge. By asking students to apply course concepts via appropriately challenging original research, faculty can breathe more life into the course material, as well as remove the potential for plagiarism. Additionally, ChatGPT's knowledge ends in September 2021, so asking students to apply concepts to recent events or publications will, at least currently, stump the chatbot.

• Use AI text detection tools with caution. Unlike traditional plagiarism, which usually involves taking exact wording from or lightly rephrasing a source, AI plagiarism is quite often not provable, and faculty members and administrators will perhaps find themselves on the defensive when they are unable to point to any original sources or wording, even when AI detection tools are on their side. Students may have complex reasons for using AI, such as a sense of inadequacy or life circumstances that make completing work on time very difficult. A compassionate approach that seeks to understand and address the root cause of the suspected AI use, rather than a one-size-fits-all lecture or punishment, will most likely hold the highest hope for positive change.

Jacobs, S. 2023, 'Making Courses Resistant to ChatGPT Plagiaris' 30 March, accessed October 2023.

Applicable Policies

Concerning the use of online coursework warehouses, there are a number of campus policies that address the use of these sites. Faculty are encouraged to share this information with their students via their syllabus and during course discussions. Information about submitting referrals for academic misconduct can be found under Report An Incident. 

Investigating Chegg Postings and Submitting to OSC

If faculty believe their content has been posted to Chegg, the faculty member can reach out the Office of Student Conduct to request an honor code investigation. Faculty will need to provide the Office of Student Conduct with a link to each posting. The Honor Code Investigation with Chegg works to remove the infringing content.

Faculty who believe a student has utilized outside sources in the completion of their academic work, such as Chegg, can submit an Academic Misconduct Reporting Form, including supporting information, related to the allegation of misconduct. Student Conduct will follow up with faculty for clarification or additional information where needed.

Plagiarism

Anytime you use someone else's words, themes, ideas, or phrases, you must use appropriate citations and quotation marks. Students are expected to have basic knowledge about how to properly cite sources and use quotation marks.

Is the Use of Online Sources Acceptable?

This really depends on how students are using these resources. If students are using outside resources for academic advantage, to complete their coursework (assignments, quizzes, exams, etc.), and/or to provide unauthorized information to others, they are likely violating policy. As an instructor, it can be helpful to provide clear guidance on what resources are and are not permitted for your class. 

In a community of scholars dedicated to the pursuit of knowledge and truth, conduct that jeopardizes research integrity undermines the advancement of knowledge, erodes public support, wastes resources and may jeopardize safety and health. In addition, federal policies and regulations require, as a condition of eligibility for funding, that the university have policies to investigate research misconduct and, when found, to take corrective action. For these reasons, Iowa State University condemns research misconduct and is committed to addressing allegations and findings of such behavior.

This Research Misconduct policy incorporates definitions and procedures set forth in the Office of Science and Technology's Federal Research Misconduct Policy, as well as the Public Health Services Policies on Research Misconduct, as of 2010. When appropriate, federal policies and regulations, and interpretations of them, will be considered in making determinations under this policy.

For more information, view the full Research Misconduct page.

Iowa State University's Acceptable Use of Information Technology Resources policy (AUP) provides for access to information technology (IT) resources and communications networks within a culture of openness, trust, and integrity. In addition, Iowa State University is committed to protecting itself and its students, faculty, and staff from unethical, illegal, or damaging actions by individuals using these systems.

For more information, visit the full Acceptable Use of Information Technology Resource page.

The Center for Excellence in Learning and Teaching provides a number of helpful resources for faculty on the topic of Academic Integrity and are an excellent resource for course delivery.

Achieving Academic Integrity

Assessing Student Learning