USU to focus on integrity this week
According to a survey conducted by U.S. News & World Report, 84 percent of college students believe that they need to cheat to get ahead, and 75 percent admit to having cheated on an exam or paper at least once.
Numbers like those that have led Joyce Kinkead, associate vice president for Research at Utah State University, to organize Integrity Matters Week, which will feature events focusing on academic integrity this week.
“We want to make sure that we are communicating our expectations clearly beforehand, rather than just punishing people after the fact,” Kinkead said. “I think a lot of students don’t know that a typical punishment for obvious plagiarism would be a two-year suspension from the university.”
Another point Kinkead stressed was that the issue of integrity applies to everyone on campus.
She noted the occasional conflict of interest case in which a faculty member has money invested in a product he’s researching.
“This is really for everyone on campus. It could involve conflict of interest cases, sexual or workplace harassment, plagiarism or Athletic department concerns in terms of making sure we comply with NCAA guidelines,” Kinkead said.
Kinkead has made a concerted effort to include the student body in Integrity Matters Week. Jim Stephenson, academic vice president of the Associated Students of Utah State University, is leading a panel on “Ethical Issues on Campus.”
He is also involved in a project to simplify the student code at USU, which is more than 100 pages and is not widely read by members of the student body. Stephenson emphasized that the new code will not resemble Brigham Young University’s honor code, but is primarily an attempt to clarify the rules and expectations already in place at USU.
Associate professor Lynn Meeks, director of the university writing program, is leading a presentation designed to help students avoid plagiarism. Participants in Meeks’ presentation will be eligible to win $15 gift certificates to the USU Bookstore.
Meeks said that despite efforts to educate students, plagiarism on campus is still a problem.
“There seems to be a disconnect between what we teach and what some students perceive,” Meeks said. “Maybe we’re not emphasizing the concept of intellectual property enough – the fact that people own ideas, and if you use those ideas without crediting the author, it’s stealing, just like stealing money.”
Meeks added that the great majority of students seems to be doing their work with integrity.
“From my perspective, maybe one-half of 1 percent of students get caught plagiarizing,” she said. “But for those students it is a really big deal. They can be expelled.”
Events for Integrity Matters Week begin Tuesday.