While ensuring academic integrity is always a concern, the move to fully or partially online teaching and the increased reliance on online exams and assignments that have come with it have led many to revisit the discussion of how the issue is best approached. To get a sense of just how topical the matter is, one needs to look no further than the coverage it is receiving beyond the forums where such discussions tend to occur. This week, the San Francisco Chronicle addressed the issue, and articles have recently appeared in both Forbes and the Washington Post. The upside is that there is an array of sources to give you a broad perspective on the issue’s complexities.
A great place to start for a look at how some faculty and institutions have approached the problem is Beckie Supiano’s article in the Chronicle of Higher Education. The piece provides a glimpse into specific approaches faculty and administrators have taken and how everything from subject area to class size impacts their efficacy.
Nearly every discussion of academic integrity will mention how you can virtually proctor your online exams. To get a better understanding of how this works and the problems it solves, as well as presents, see 7 Things You Should Know About Remote Proctoring from our friends at Educause. Likewise, the University of Minnesota provides a useful discussion of the various use cases for using these tools in the best way.
Fortunately, there is no shortage of useful information for those who prefer to use tools they may already have. Our colleagues at Faculty Focus provide several suggestions tailored to reduce possible infractions in the online environment. Further, Doug Lederman offers valuable insights into “small, scalable changes that will enhance academic integrity.” Finally, an experienced online instructor and learning designer provides advice in the Chronicle of Higher Education on how she minimizes academic integrity issues in her courses while employing Universal Design for Learning principles.
