Honoring the Code: How Faculty and TAs Can Promote Academic Honesty

Marva Barnett, Director, Teaching Resource Center
Bill McAllister, Faculty Consultant, Teaching Resource Center
Thomas Hall, Chair, Honor Committee

The digital age brings with it digital methods of plagiarism and perhaps a newfound ease in appropriating others’ words and ideas—what Robert Boynton calls the “Napsterization of knowledge.” As scholars, we are responsible for upholding and transmitting the values of academic integrity. Faculty can make a difference by dealing with this issue openly and instituting measures that encourage students to learn rather than borrow.

This session will outline techniques for fostering a classroom atmosphere of intellectual integrity. Participants will compare their understandings of what constitutes cheating. They will then consider both methods for educating students about plagiarism and preventive measures to reduce cheating. This session will also alert participants to web sites, software programs, and services that can assist in discovering plagiarism and cheating.