Instructors often struggle with identifying and responding to student issues with plagiarism and academic integrity. In many cases the problem stems from a lack of understanding of the norms and rules. There are several resources and strategies that instructors can employ to anticipate and prevent problems. It would be a good idea to discuss with your Program Head any particular approaches and actions the School and Program have found effective.

Might your assignments almost encourage plagiarism? Are the topics and format tried and true and therefore have been researched, written about and published a myriad of times or are they fresh, new, not well explored yet? Can you add a new twist such as relating the topic to a particular current event or require that it be written for a unique audience?

One important piece of information for you is that students (and you) are guided by a couple of RRU policies:

All students are required to complete an Academic Integrity mini-course and to score 100% on the quizzes it contains. Each student’s completion is recorded with the Registrar (check with your Program Associate to learn whether or not all your students have completed it). The course takes 45-60 minutes to complete and includes:

Topics
  • Unit 1: Academic Integrity: Definitions and discussion
  • Unit 2: Plagiarism: Definition, examples and importance of documenting sources
  • Unit 3: Demonstrating Academic Integrity: How to get credit for your own work
  • Unit 4: Academic Integrity Checklist: Key points to check
  • Unit 5: Conclusion

After completing the academic integrity mini-course, students will be able to:

  1. Explain the concept of academic integrity and identify five different kinds of academic dishonesty.
  2. Identify the key points of the Royal Roads University's regulations governing discipline for academic and non-academic misconduct and the procedures and penalties associated with violation of these regulations.
  3. Differentiate between what is acceptable use of another’s ideas/words and what is plagiarism.
  4. Identify several reasons why it is essential to document/reference sources of information/ideas.
  5. Recognize three strategies you can use to incorporate another person's ideas/words into their own work.
  6. Identify the elements that are required for a complete reference to a source of information and be familiar with referencing styles.
  7. Identify the usefulness of citation management tools (such as Zotero or Mendeley) and use the Library and the Writing Centre as resources if they have questions about whether you are using or referencing material appropriately.
  8. Understand the importance of seeking help if they have questions regarding any issue associated with academic integrity.

Last modified: Friday, 17 January 2020, 1:36 PM