Promoting Academic Integrity in Your Course

Academic integrity is influenced not only by student choices, but also by how assignments and assessments are designed. Course design that makes student thinking visible can reduce opportunities for misunderstanding or misconduct while providing better evidence of student learning.

For policies, reporting procedures, and guidance on responding to suspected violations, see our guide on Understanding and Addressing Academic Dishonesty.

Table of Contents

• Why Do Students Cheat?
• Talk About Academic Integrity
• Set Clear Expectations
• Support Students Before Problems Arise
• Design Assessments that Reveal Student Learning
• Connect Course Materials to Assessments
• Use Course Tools Thoughtfully
• Generative AI and Academic Integrity
• Additional Resources

Why Do Students Cheat?

Students may engage in academic dishonesty for many different reasons. Understanding some of these factors can help instructors identify opportunities to support students and reduce the likelihood of misconduct. Common factors include:

• Pressure to achieve. Grades, scholarships, graduate school admission, and other expectations can create pressure that leads some students to make poor decisions.
• Lack of preparedness. Students who are struggling with course material or managing their time may turn to shortcuts when they feel unable to complete an assignment successfully.
• Perceived peer norms. Students may be more likely to justify academic dishonesty if they believe their classmates are doing the same thing.
• Unclear expectations. Students may not always understand what kinds of collaboration, outside assistance, resource use, or AI use are permitted.
• Opportunity. Assessments that rely heavily on easily searchable answers or generic responses may make inappropriate outside assistance easier to use.

Faculty cannot eliminate every factor that contributes to academic dishonesty, but thoughtful course and assessment design can help address several of them.

Talk About Academic Integrity

Academic integrity should not exclusively appear as a policy or warning in the syllabus. Talk with students about what integrity means within your discipline and why it matters beyond earning a grade.

In the sciences, these conversations can connect academic integrity to responsible research practices, accurate reporting and interpretation of results, appropriate attribution of others' work, reproducibility, and professional ethics. Helping students understand these connections can frame academic integrity as part of becoming a scientist rather than simply a set of classroom rules.

Set Clear Expectations

Students should understand what is and is not permitted before beginning an assignment or assessment. Clearly communicate expectations for:

• Collaboration with classmates
• Use of notes and outside resources
• Generative AI
• Citation and attribution
• Reusing previous work
• Assistance from other people or tools

Include important academic integrity expectations in your syllabus, but reinforce them where they matter most. Assignment and assessment instructions should clearly identify which resources and forms of assistance students may use, rather than relying solely on a general course policy.

Clear assignment instructions and rubrics can also help students understand what successful work looks like before they begin.

Support Students Before Problems Arise

Students may be more likely to make poor decisions when they feel unprepared, overwhelmed, or uncertain about expectations. Course design can help address some of these pressures before they become academic integrity problems.

Provide clear instructions, opportunities to practice, and timely feedback so students can identify gaps in their understanding before high-stakes assessments. When appropriate, connect students with tutoring, academic support, office hours, or other resources that can help them succeed.

Design Assessments that Reveal Student Learning

Rather than focusing primarily on detecting academic dishonesty after it occurs, consider whether your assessments provide meaningful evidence of what students know and can do.

Depending on your learning outcomes, strategies may include:

• Provide clear instructions and rubrics that define expectations and criteria for success.
• Use frequent, low-stakes knowledge checks to provide multiple opportunities for students to demonstrate understanding.
• Ask students to apply concepts to course-specific problems, data, case studies, or examples.
• Break larger assignments into iterative components (drafts, checkpoints, etc.) to make the learning process visible.
• Use a variety of assessment types rather than relying primarily on one or two heavily weighted exams or assignments.
• Ask students to explain their reasoning, justify decisions, or reflect on their process.
• Incorporate discussions, presentations, peer review, or small-group activities when they support the learning outcomes.
• Use individualized or randomized assessment elements when appropriate to reduce opportunities for sharing answers.

There is no single assessment format that prevents academic dishonesty. Exams, written assignments, discussions, projects, and other approaches can all be appropriate depending on what students are expected to learn. The goal is to choose assessments that align with your learning outcomes and provide meaningful evidence of student thinking.

Be mindful of how assessment structure can affect student behavior as well. A course grade that depends heavily on only one or two high-stakes assessments can increase pressure on students. When appropriate, distributing assessment across multiple opportunities can provide a more complete picture of learning while reducing the consequences of a single poor performance.

Connect Course Materials to Assessments

Students are more likely to see value in course activities when the relationship between what they are learning and how they are being assessed is clear.

Choose readings, lectures, activities, and other course materials that support your learning outcomes and prepare students for the work they will be asked to complete. Explicitly connecting course content to assessments can help students understand why the work matters and where to focus their effort.

Use Course Tools Thoughtfully

Technology can support academic integrity, but it works best as part of a broader assessment strategy rather than as a substitute for thoughtful course design.

Depending on the assessment, instructors may use:

• Canvas quiz settings that limit opportunities for sharing answers
• Plagiarism detection tools
• Proctoring tools when appropriate

Choose tools based on the goals and structure of the assessment rather than assuming that every assessment requires the same level of restriction.

Generative AI and Academic Integrity

Expectations for generative AI should be treated like other expectations for completing coursework. Clearly communicate when AI use is permitted, what kinds of assistance are appropriate, and whether or how students should disclose its use.

Students remain responsible for the accuracy and quality of the work they submit, including citations, factual claims, and other information produced with AI assistance.

For more guidance on assessment design and establishing expectations for AI use, see our guides on Generative AI.

Additional Resources

• TLC Guide: Academic Integrity: Guide and Resources
• TLC Guide: Teaching and Assessment in the Age of AI
• Office of the Provost: Academic Integrity | Faculty resources
• Library Guide: Citing Generative AI Models