Research on Academic Integrity

Research on Academic Integrity
By Dr. Ken Hunt

The University of Phoenix, Nevada Campus has been invited to become a member of the Center for Academic Integrity. We will join many prestigious academic institutions from around the nation who wish to identify and describe fundamental principles of academic integrity and the "sustaining practices" that support these principles on a daily basis with a variety of college and university campuses.

The Center for Academic Integrity was founded in 1992 to help colleges and universities develop a viable network for sharing information about academic integrity policies and procedures by providing a forum to identity, affirm, and promote the values of academic integrity among students.

The mission is achieved primarily through the involvement of students, faculty, and administrators from the member institutions who share with peers and colleagues the Center’s collective experience, expertise, and creative energy.

There is no single path to academic integrity and the Center respects and values campus differences in traditions, values, and student and faculty characteristics.

The members of the Center are committed to gathering and sharing information about academic integrity via:

An annual conference, committee reports, and other conference materials; membership mailings; electronic network, and World Wide Web communications; and presentations at conferences of other associations, and on the campuses of member institutions;
Encouraging and supporting research on factors that impact academic integrity;
Developing a "fundamental standard" that defines the level of integrity which should be expected of all students in their academic work;
Helping faculty members in different disciplines develop pedagogues that encourage adherence to his to this fundamental standard; and
Showcasing successful approaches to academic integrity from schools around the country – policies, sanctions, and education/prevention programs.

Some Research Highlights…

Five major research projects conducted by Donald L. McCabe of Rutgers University (founder and first president of The Center for Academic Integrity) have had disturbing, provocative, and challenging results, among them the following:

· On most campuses, over 75% of students admit to some cheating. In surveys conducted in 1990, 1992, and 1995 involving almost 7,000 students on 26 small – to – medium sized campuses, almost 80% of undergraduate respondents reported one or more incidents of cheating.

· Academic honor codes effectively reduce cheating. In surveys conducted in 1990 and 1995 of over 5,000 students on 14 small – to – medium sized campuses, which have strong academic codes, 57% of undergraduate student respondents reported one or more incidents of cheating. Giving students significant voice and responsibility in issues of academic integrity appears to significantly reduce cheating.

· Chronic cheating is also prevalent. On campuses without honor codes, one in five students (one in four on larger campuses) self – reported more than three incidents of explicit cheating on tests and examinations. On honor code campuses, only one in sixteen students reported such levels.

· Faculty are reluctant to report students for cheating. Less than half of 800 faculty surveyed on 16 campuses, in 1992, have ever reported an incident of cheating in their classroom. Student survey data suggests that cheating is the highest in those courses where it is well known that faculty ignore cheating or fail to report it to the authorities.

· Cheating is higher among fraternity and sorority members. 75% of Greeks surveyed in 1993 admit to one or more incidents of test/exam cheating versus 61% of Independents. 42% of Greeks versus 36% of Independents in 1993 reported they were likely to help a friend who asked for help on a test or examination.

· Longitudinal comparison show significant increases in explicit test/examination cheating and prohibited collaboration. The number of students self – reporting instances of prohibited collaboration at nine medium- to- large state universities increased from 11% in 1963 to 49% in 1993. This trend seems to be continuing: between 1990 and 1995, instances of prohibited collaboration at 31 small-to-medium schools increased from 30% to 38%.

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