In the last year, changes to the Academic Integrity Policy have clarified the standards for the Syracuse University community, but for many, there is still more to be done.

The academic integrity policy was updated in 2011 to include three new revisions, said Margaret Usdansky, director of the Academic Integrity Office.

The changes consisted of adding a category for academic negligence, a clearer definition of standard sanctions for undergraduate and graduate students who have committed acts of academic negligence or dishonesty, and simplifying the hearing and appeals process for students, she said.

While it is still too soon to adequately gauge the effect of the three new revisions, the Academic Integrity Office has received feedback that the changes have simplified the policy for both students and faculty, Usdansky said.

“Having presumptive penalties is helpful in terms of setting clear guidelines for everyone,” she said. “There will inevitably be variation depending on the nature of the alleged offense, the decisions made by both the student and the faculty member, but I think having clear, presumptive penalties helps people understand what the expectations are.”

There has been a general increase in the number of reported violations since 2006 when the Academic Integrity Office was first created. There were 161 reported violations in the 2011-12 year as compared to 127 in 2006-07, according to data from the Academic Integrity Office’s website.

Usdansky said it is not yet clear whether this trend is due to the 2011 revisions.

Distinguishing between academic dishonesty and academic negligence works as a buffer for students who may not have even realized they were plagiarizing, said Carolyn Da Cunha, a student member of the Academic Integrity Board.

“I think it has helped a lot of students who have not intentionally committed plagiarism, and it has kind of safeguarded them from being put in a position where you are given an academic integrity violation that’s going to be on your transcript for the rest of your academic career,” said Da Cunha, a junior sociology and policy studies major.

Usdansky said she believes the addition of the negligence violation has been well received among students and faculty.

“In general, I think students and faculty appreciate the negligence warning,” she said. “It’s not considered a disciplinary action; it’s a warning.”

Usdansky said one of the most important things for students to realize about the policy is that while it is in effect for the entire university, it is up to each individual college to administer it.

She said any hearings for Academic Integrity violations take place in the college in which the violation occurred, not the student’s home college. Usdansky said she recommends that students who do face hearings take the time to seek advice from Academic Integrity officers.

While Da Cunha said the 2011 revisions have been beneficial to students, she said she believes students need to have a greater awareness of the Academic Integrity Policy and the repercussions for violating it. She added that though students need to be proactive in knowing and understanding the policy, some responsibility also falls on professors.

“Professors graze over it because they think students know it, but they don’t actually know it,” Da Cunha said.

She said it’s important that a precedent regarding the expectations of the policy is set for students early on.

In an effort to make the policy even clearer, Usdansky said the Academic Integrity Office is working on integrating more specific information regarding what students facing violation processes need to know on the office’s website.

Jesse Feitel, chair of Student Association’s Academic Affairs Committee and a member of the Academic Integrity Board, said SA is working to make the Academic Integrity Policy become a larger part of students’ transition to campus. It’s an ongoing process, Feitel said, and SA hopes to implement it for the incoming freshman class.

He said he urges students who want to know more about the process to read the policy on the Academic Integrity Office’s website.

Said Feitel: “It’s not the most exciting handbook or policy readings, but it is important.”

Published on November 27, 2012 at 11:20 pm

Contact Michelle: mlsczpan@syr.edu