Fall 2005

Dear

I am writing to you about something we will honor in our class every day, something you should honor in each of your classes every day: academic integrity.  American Heritage Dictionary defines the term as the “steadfast adherence to a strict moral or ethical code.”  It is that code of integrity, and our honoring of it—both on my part as a faculty member and on your part as students—that is an essential part of any true educational experience.

What difference does academic integrity make in your life?  Consider these examples for a moment.  How comfortable would you feel being operated on by a surgeon, the only one who can perform the surgery, who you knew cheated his/her way through medical school?  How comfortable would you be crossing the Bay Bridge, the Harry Nice Bridge, or the Woodrow Wilson Bridge if you knew it had been designed by an engineer who cheated in structural design in order to pass the class?  How much would you trust your real estate transactions or tax returns to a professional who copied exam answers from another student to get his/her license?

Or, here’s something to ponder for a moment or two: cheating and plagiarism are nothing more than means to buy knowledge from a secondary source.  Should we “pay” for knowledge that is “bought on credit,” borrowed without any plans to pay back the owner? That’s what academic integrity ensures—that the knowledge you learn and produce in the classroom is genuine, not bought or stolen.  Your degree says you earned your knowledge legitimately, that what you take into the community is honest and valued.

Our world changes when we lose trust in those we expect to uphold honor and values, and our world changes when we become the people others lose trust in.  So what difference does it make when you or I violate the principles of academic integrity in an English course?  For me, the answer is that integrity is important in this course precisely because it is important in all aspects of life.  If we do not apply integrity in the small things—if we justify plagiarism, cheating, or sloppy work in our classes, especially those we don’t consider all that important—then how will we resist doing the same in areas that really do matter, where money, professional advancement, personal relationships, or esteem might be at stake?

Personal integrity is not a quality people are born to naturally.  It is a quality of character that we need to nurture, about which we make conscientious choices, and this requires practice, much as we would practice the piano to strengthen the quality of our playing, or in how we would practice our profession to ensure advancement and recognition of doing our job well.  We can only be people of integrity if we practice it every day, in every aspect of our lives, significant or seemingly minor.

So, what does that “practice” involve for each of us in this course?  We can break down our practice into four major categories to see how major a role integrity plays in the success of our class.  Remember that many of the actions in each category are shared equally, are not mutually exclusive of one party or the other, though in every case, each of us must take ownership of our own behaviors and choices.

Planning Ahead, Not Just an Hour Before: Preparation for Class

The principles of academic integrity require that I come to class having done the things necessary to make the class a worthwhile educational experience for you.  As such, I will:

• read, or reread the assigned text(s) before each class;
• prepare the class with current materials and not simply rely on notes I have used in the past to get me through lectures or discussions;
• plan each class session so that it will be worth your while to attend.

In the same vein, the principles of academic integrity also place a responsibility on you to do the things necessary to make meaningful contributions to the class.  As such, you will need to:

• read the assigned text(s) before coming to class rather than rely on others to have done so for you;
• clarify anything you are unsure of, such as looking up terms you don’t understand;
• formulate questions about the material so you can ask them in class;

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• actively think about the issues raised in the reading, not just gloss over them as if they are insignificant.

Making Time Fly: Integrity in Class

The principles of academic integrity require that I take you seriously and treat you with respect, and that means that I will:

• attend all class sessions unless I am simply unable to do so;
• come to class on time and use class time well to fulfill the objectives of the course;
• do my best to answer your questions, acknowledge when I don’t know something, and try to find answers for you when I can’t give them myself;
• both encourage you and give you an equal opportunity to participate in class activities and discussions;
• respect the views you express and not allow others to ridicule or demean you or your ideas;
• clarify when I am expressing an opinion and not impose my views or an agenda on the class.

In the same vein, the principles of academic integrity also place a responsibility on you to take both me and your peers seriously and to treat us with respect.  To that end, you will:

• attend all class sessions unless you are simply unable to do so, and that you will have reasons, not excuses, when you can not attend;
• come to class on time and not leave early;
• make good use of class time by being prepared and engaged;
• ask questions about things you do not understand;
• participate in class discussions in ways that reflect a shared effort by all members of the class to develop understanding and insight;
• respect other students’ ideas by not making fun of them or their ideas and by not holding conversations or engaging in behaviors that distract them or me from the class discussions.

Demonstrating What We Learn: Examinations and Written Assignments

The principles of academic integrity require that I:

• do my best to prepare you for exams and assignments, during class and/or through office hours and arranged meetings;
• develop exam questions and devise written assignments that will provide a meaningful measure not only of the course content but also of your ability to express and defend intelligent judgments about that content;
• provide a clear description of written assignments so that you know what is expected of you and what the grading criteria are;
• monitor coursework so that honest students are not disadvantaged by any student(s) who might choose to cheat;
• give careful considerations to your exam responses and written assignments when evaluating them and assigning them grades;
• confront you if I suspect that you have plagiarized or in any other way not ethically completed your own work.

Likewise, the principles of academic integrity require that you:

• come to class having done your best to prepare for exams and assignments, including asking me for help if needed;
• make full use of the time available for completion of exams and written assignments, whether during class or as assigned on the syllabus;
• accept your limitations and not try to get around them by using cheat sheets, copying, or inappropriately seeking help from your peers, or by allowing them to unethically copy from you;
• start your research and other writing early enough to ensure you have time to do your best work;

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• hand in writing assignments on the dates they are due and ensure that you have done those assignments specifically for this course, not borrowed from someone else or recycled from another course;
• seek appropriate from others in proofreading or in helping clarify your ideas, not merely expecting them to do the work for you;
• give full and proper credit to your sources using MLA (Modern Language Association) or APA (American Psychological Association), if appropriate, guidelines.

Gold, Silver, or Bronze: Awarding the Final Grade

With regard to your grade, the principles of academic integrity require that, before I assign the final grade, I carefully weigh all of your grades in the course and consider other factors that might affect the grade, as itemized in the syllabus. 

Equally important, the principles of academic integrity require that, if you suspect I have made a mistake in computing the grade, you take responsibility and come to me as soon as possible prepared to show justification of a different grade that will enable me to reconsider and correct any honest error I have made.

In these four areas of responsibilities, I will do my best to live up to my expectations, and I will expect you to do the same.  Moreover, I will follow the guidelines outlined in the CSM Student Handbook, under the section titled “Student Code of Conduct,” to report any cases of confirmed cheating or plagiarism.  When

you visit this section of your handbook, you will understand that CSM is as concerned with academic integrity as I am, and procedures are set in place to deal with these issues and protect both student and faculty rights in the process. 

You and I have a mutual responsibility to uphold academic integrity, and to that end, we do not act as caregivers, covering for one another for those expectations we might choose to not live up to.  Nor are we therapists to one another, for this class is about language and its effective use, not about all of the other issues in our lives that we often allow to get in our way.  If we learn from this class how to appreciate diverse ideas and manage time well in the completion of assignments and communicate effectively to a given audience, we will naturally understand how to take care of ourselves and not expect others to do so for us or to make exceptions for us. 

Finally, we uphold academic integrity by giving it seriousness.  If you become aware that someone in the class is not acting responsibly, say something to that person and, if necessary, tell me.  Failure on any of our parts to do what we can to make the educational process a safe and honest one diminishes our opportunity to live in a community of responsible, moral, and ethical citizens.  Thus, we will practice academic integrity both as individual learners and academic professionals this semester, and every semester, and to that end we will find an essential success in our lives.

Respectfully,

Languages and Literature

College of Southern Maryland

This letter is adopted by the Department of Languages and Literature of the College of Southern Maryland from “A Letter to My Students” with permission of its author, Bill Taylor, Professor of Political Science at Oakton Community College, Des Plaines, IL.