Academic Integrity: Guide and Resources

This guide provides faculty with practical strategies to promote academic integrity in their courses and clear steps for responding when a potential violation occurs. It focuses on proactive course design, clear communication with students, and consistent processes that support fairness and learning.

Table of Contents

• What is Academic Integrity?
• Designing Courses to Prevent Academic Dishonesty
• Reporting an Academic Integrity Violation
• Additional Resources

What is Academic Integrity?

According to the ASU Student Academic Integrity Policy, students are expected to act with honesty and integrity while completing academic assignments. Academic integrity violations can fall into any of the following broad categories:

• Cheating on an academic evaluation or assignment
• Plagiarism
• Academic deceit, such as fabricating data, information, or documentation
• Aiding others in committing integrity violations or inappropriately collaborating
• Falsifying academic records

Designing Courses to Prevent Academic Dishonesty

Many academic integrity issues can be reduced through intentional course design and clear communication. Creating a classroom culture that values integrity and discussing it explicitly each semester signals its importance to students, helping to establish clear expectations from the outset.

Syllabus and Course Policies

• Include academic integrity language aligned with the ASU Student Honor Code.
• Clearly state expectations for collaboration, citation of sources, and use of generative AI or other tools.
• Explain deadlines, late policies, and consequences for violations.
• Having expectations documented in advance provides important context in the event of a violation.

Course Materials

Use materials that are relevant, well-aligned to course outcomes, and clearly connected to assessments. When students see value and coherence in course content, they are less likely to misuse external sources.

Assessments

Well-designed assessments reduce both the opportunity and the motivation to cheat. When possible, consider the following strategies:

• Use iterative or scaffolded assignments that build toward a final product.
• Include a variety of assessment types rather than relying on one or two high-stakes exams.
• Ask students to explain their reasoning, justify decisions, or reflect on their process.
• Incorporate individualized or randomized elements to limit the sharing of answers.
• Utilize peer review, presentations, or discussions to highlight learning as a process, rather than just a final product.

Some assessment structures can unintentionally increase pressure and raise the risk of academic integrity violations:

• Timed exams may support preparation but can also heighten stress, especially when the stakes are high.
• Heavily weighted assessments can encourage poor decision-making when a single outcome has an outsized impact on a student’s grade.

Course Tools

ASU provides tools that can support academic integrity, including:

• Plagiarism detection and annotation tools
• Proctoring tools, when appropriate
• Canvas quiz settings that reduce opportunities for dishonesty

You can find more Canvas resources in the Canvas Training and Basics TLC Guide.

Course Expectations

Making sure your assignments have clear instructions and explicit standards will help students understand what’s expected of them.  When students understand what is expected and know what success looks like, they are less likely to resort to cheating.

Reporting an Academic Integrity Violation

If you believe one of your students has committed an act of academic dishonesty in your course, follow the process outlined below. If an agreement can’t be reached during this step, continue to the next step to escalate.

1. Communicate with the student
   1. Send an email to the student notifying them of your concern and requesting a meeting. The email should include a response deadline.
   2. Meet with the student face-to-face or via Zoom. Either the instructor or the student may request a third party be present. The Curriculum and Academic Support Manager is available to attend the meeting upon request.
2. Submit evidence to the Arizona State University Academic Affairs Report Form.
   1. Include your syllabus, a copy of the assignment, any related evidence, and a detailed description of the allegation.
3. Violation under review
   1. While the violation is being reviewed, the student should be allowed to participate normally in the class.
   2. The Curriculum and Academic Support Manager reviews the submission and contacts the instructor to discuss.
   3. Unit leadership reviews the incident and confirms that the student violated the Academic Integrity Policy.
   4. If the unit determines that the student violated the Academic Integrity Policy, the Curriculum and Academic Support Manager then submits the Academic Integrity Policy Violation Report Form to The College Academic Integrity Officer (AIO).
   5. The AIO contacts the reporting instructor regarding the incident.
   6. The AIO sends a notification to the student regarding the allegation and sanction, including their right to appeal.
4. Student appeal and committee hearing
   1. The student has 10 business days after the AIO notification to appeal. If the student does not file a timely appeal, the sanction will become final.
   2. If the student files an appeal, they must meet with the Academic Integrity Officer to discuss the next steps.
   3. The AIO schedules a hearing of The College Student Affairs and Grievance Committee.
      • The instructor (or unit representative) is asked to participate in the hearing in order to present the details, including all evidence related to the violation, as well as justification for the sanction.
      • The student is required to participate in the hearing in order to present the details, including any relevant evidence related to their appeal of the allegation and/or sanction.
   4. After the hearing, the committee makes a written recommendation to the Dean.
5. Final determination
   1. The Dean reviews the case and the committee's written recommendation, and then makes a final determination on the appeal.
   2. The AIO notifies all parties involved of the Dean's final determination.
   3. Unless the sanction is suspension or expulsion from the university, the student has no further appeal options.

If you have further questions regarding academic integrity, contact Christy Adams ([email protected]).

Additional Resources

• TLC Guide: Syllabus and Policies for Generative AI
• TLC Guide: Designing Writing Assignments with AI in Mind
• ASU Provost: Academic Integrity