Advocate Online

Yes, those who are truly committed to student achievement do promote academic integrity
Amy Rieger *

Educators promote academic integrity through their everyday examples of professionalism. Coming to the classroom prepared, keeping up with the latest scholarship, and actively striving to become a better teacher are parts of the process.

Professors illustrate their dedication by attending workshops and discussing with each other issues of teaching and learning, as well as "hot button" topics.

With the advent of the Internet, for example, it has become easier for students to "circumvent" the integrity issue. In response, professors are developing clear, comprehensive guidelines for assignments to help prevent abuses, or are changing assignments from class to class and term to term to make reusing assignments more difficult.

Challenging students to think critically, and, ultimately, holding them accountable for their own work is the key. Many educators are developing "contracts" their students must sign, pledging to hold themselves to the highest level of academic integrity.

Finally, those who work with faculty organizations like the NEA also promote academic integrity. Questioning arbitrary mandates that circumvent issues of academic freedom, for instance, is part of the important process in promoting and protecting academia.

Certainly, there are some who don't do enough, either within themselves professionally or the classroom, to promote academic integrity. But these individuals are in the minority. Most of us who truly care about our students and the profession will continue to work to promote academic integrity. The future depends on it!

*Amy Rieger is an assistant professor of history at Brevard Community College on Florida's Space Coast. She is an active member of the college's United Faculty of Florida chapter. You can E-mail her at: RiegerA@brevard.cc.fl.us

No, and this is a difficult and troubling issue that the academy should confront.
Peter Dlugos *

Integrity involves strictly adhering to a set of values, particularly in the face of adversity and personal cost. In the academy, integrity involves honesty, fairness, and responsibility, among other values.

To the extent that we tolerate—and even accept—our students' irresponsibility, incompetence, and academic dishonesty, we subvert our raison d'etre: real learning and growth.

Too many professors punish plagiarism and similar offenses too mildly. The message is then clear: Honesty isn't that important. But how can one learn without honest effort?

Many professors also provide students with opportunities to cheat by reusing the same assignments and exams semester after semester. In some cases, this may be just sheer laziness, but given heavy teaching loads and large classes, the practice may be excusable. Fostering academic integrity takes time and energy, and requires the cooperation and support of deans and administrators.

The problem is partly cultural. Most students see education as only instrumentally valuable, not intrinsically valuable. Financial success takes priority over learning, and so honesty and responsibility are often displaced by competing values: ambition, fame, vanity, comfort, excitement, and so on.

Professors face competing values as well: magnanimity, compassion, and popularity, to name a few. We want to help our students succeed, and our administrators want us to decrease student attrition. But real success and achievement in higher education cannot be had without academic integrity. Professors can align our personal missions as educators with the values of academic integrity and inspire our students by example.

*Peter Dlugos is an assistant professor of philosophy at Bergen Community College and an NEA higher education member. He invites your comments. You can E-mail him at: pdlugos@bergen.cc.nj.us