August 2004

TO:  Members of the Teaching Staff

FROM:  David E. Shulenburger, Provost

SUBJECT:  Academic Misconduct

Academic misconduct damages the integrity of the educational process and is a serious problem at the University of Kansas and elsewhere.  Some years ago, a random sample of 1250 KU students revealed that 23% admitted giving answers to other students during an exam, 22% admitted they copied answers from another student’s exam paper, and 22% admitted plagiarism.  The same survey found that 50% of our students agreed with the statement, “It is relatively easy to get away with academic dishonesty at KU.”  The problem of academic misconduct demands our action.

I am writing to summarize the University Senate Rules and Regulations (USRR) that deal with academic misconduct, to notify you of some recent changes in those rules, and to ask for your assistance in dealing with academic misconduct.

USSR 2.6.1 provides the following definition of student academic misconduct.

Academic misconduct by a student shall include, but not be limited to, disruption of classes; threatening an instructor or fellow student in an academic setting, giving or receiving of unauthorized aid on examinations or in the preparation of notebooks, themes, reports or other assignments; knowingly misrepresenting the source of any academic work; unauthorized change of grades; unauthorized use of University approvals or forging of signatures; falsification of research results, plagiarizing of another’s work; violation of regulations or ethical codes for the treatment of human and animal subjects; or otherwise acting dishonestly in research.

USRR 2.6.2 describes the process that is to be followed in treating work as unsatisfactory if it is a product of academic misconduct.  Please note that 2.6.2 was amended during the 2003-2004 academic year to ensure that department chairs are consulted in decisions related to academic misconduct on the part of a student:

After consultation with the department chairperson, an instructor may, with due notice to the student, treat as unsatisfactory (1) any student work that is the product of academic misconduct or (2) a student’s performance for a course when there are severe or repeated instances of academic misconduct as defined in Section 2.6.1.  If an instructor deems other sanctions for academic misconduct by a student to be advisable, or if a student wishes to protest a grade based upon work judged by an instructor to be the product of academic misconduct, or if a faculty member is charged with academic misconduct in connection with the assignment of a grade or otherwise, the case shall be reported to the Dean of the College or School in which the course is offered and processed in accord with applicable procedures.

USSR 2.6.5 outlines the sanctions that may be imposed for instances of academic misconduct; 2.6.6 was recently revised and expanded.  It requires that all sanctions of Reduction of Grade for a Specific Work, Reduction of Grade for the Course, Disciplinary Probation, Suspension from a Specific Course, Suspension, and Expulsion that are applied by the College and the Schools or their designated departments and instructors be communicated to the Office of the Provost.  The Academic Policies and Procedures Committee recommended this change in order to facilitate gathering data about academic misconduct and to help in enforcement of the course repeat policy.  The complete text of the USRR on academic misconduct is available at http://www.ku.edu/~unigov/usrr.html#art2sect6.

In order to help discourage academic dishonesty, I ask that you do the following:

1.  Make clear to students the standards to which they are expected to adhere, including your “rules for the preparation of classroom assignments, collateral reading notebooks, or other outside work, in order that students may not through ignorance, subject themselves to the charge of Academic Misconduct.”  (University Senate Rules and Regulations 2.6.4)

2.      Become more alert to the various forms of academic misconduct.  With large classes, close attention may be more difficult, but we will make little progress so long as 50% of our students believe that it is easy to cheat.  Many cases of misconduct can be avoided with such common sense strategies as scrambled test questions, planned seating arrangements, retention of answer sheets or not allowing students to take books or notes to exams.  The responsibility to be honest rests with the students, but there are reasonable ways that instructors can make cheating very difficult.

The University of Kansas subscribes to the digital plagiarism detection program, Turnitin.com, that allows instructors to check student papers by digital means for possible plagiarism.  This company does not provide a software program, but rather provides web access to a comprehensive database of materials using Document Source Analysis technology.  Digital versions of text are checked against the database for matches.  Faculty users have found the program to be both effective in determining appropriate use of sources in student papers and effective as a deterrent to plagiarism. You can learn how to use the program by scheduling an individual orientation or a departmental workshop; contact the KU Writing Center, 864-2399.  If you decide to use Turnitin.com, we ask that you inform students in advance so that the process runs smoothly and fairly.  The Writing Center can provide additional information, including language for you to include in your syllabus or other handouts.  

3.  When you find cases of academic misconduct, file charges through your department or school process and in accordance with the USRR.  Experience shows that many instructors are satisfied with the mildest penalty, i.e., treating as unsatisfactory work they know to result from academic misconduct.  I ask that all instructors become familiar with their unit processes for dealing with academic misconduct and urge that any instances be punished with the appropriate degree of severity.

Integrity, fairness and trust must characterize the University.  Thus, in asking that we focus on academic integrity, I rely on our shared values to ensure that we accord trust where it has been earned and that we strive always to be fair in evaluating our students.