Course-Specific Expectations & Online Exams
For Instructors Using Turnitin
UPDATED Suggested Academic Integrity Language for All Syllabi:
“Syracuse University’s Academic Integrity Policy reflects the high value that we, as a university community, place on honesty in academic work. The policy holds students accountable for the integrity of all work they submit and for upholding course-specific, as well as university-wide, academic integrity expectations. The policy governs citation and use of sources, the integrity of work submitted in exams and assignments, and truthfulness in all academic matters, including course attendance and participation. The policy also prohibits students from: 1) submitting the same work in more than one class without receiving advance written authorization from both instructors and, 2) using websites that charge fees or require uploading of course materials to obtain exam solutions or assignments completed by others and present the work as their own. Under the policy, instructors who seek to penalize a student for a suspected violation must first report the violation to the Center for Learning and Student Success (CLASS). Students may not drop or withdraw from courses in which they face a suspected violation. Instructors must wait to assign a final course grade until a suspected violation is reviewed and upheld or overturned. Upholding Academic Integrity includes abiding by instructors’ individual course expectations, which may include the protection of their intellectual property. Students should not upload, distribute, or otherwise share instructors’ course materials without permission. Students found in violation of the policy are subject to grade sanctions determined by the course instructor and non-grade sanctions determined by the School or College where the course is offered, as described in the Violation and Sanction Classification Rubric. Students are required to read an online summary of the University’s academic integrity expectations and provide an electronic signature agreeing to abide by them twice a year during pre-term check-in on MySlice.”
Adding Course-Specific Expectations – Including Online Exams
Add any expectations that are specific to your course after the standard academic integrity syllabus language above. For example, you may wish to:
- Include a statement about expectations that apply to assessments that occur online, e.g. “All academic integrity expectations that apply to in-person quizzes and exams also apply to online quizzes and exams. In this course, all work submitted for quizzes and exams must be yours alone. Discussing or communicating about quiz or exam questions with anyone during the quiz or exam period violates academic integrity expectations for this course.”
- Describe expectations you have for any group or collaborative work, e.g. “In this course, students will be assigned to a group for a final oral presentation assignment. Each student is expected to contribute to development of the content of the oral presentation and to take part in the presentation to the class. Specific guidelines for assessment of group oral presentations will be communicated using a rubric. Students in each group will complete the rubric and evaluate the contributions of each group member.”
- Warn students of the potential risk of using websites that charge fees or require uploading of course materials to obtain exam or homework solutions, e.g. “Using websites that charge fees or require uploading of course material (e.g. Chegg, Course Hero) to obtain exam solutions or assignments completed by others and present the work as your own violates academic integrity expectations in this course.”
- Exercise the option to levy a grade sanction of course failure for any violation, including violations classified as Level 1, e.g. “The Violation and Sanction Classification Rubric establishes recommended guidelines for the determination of grade penalties by faculty and instructors, while also giving them discretion to select the grade penalty they believe most suitable, including course failure, regardless of violation level. Any established violation in this course may result in course failure regardless of violation level.”
Guidelines, Syllabus Statement, and Consent Forms for Instructors Who Use Turnitin:
In order to comply with University policies and federal and state law, including privacy and intellectual property law, instructors who plan to use the software program Turnitin for detection of potential plagiarism should use one of the two following submission methods:
- Students submit their own papers or other assignments directly to Turnitin via Blackboard so that both student and instructor can view the results; OR
- Students sign a statement giving consent for submission of their papers to Turnitin.
Instructors who use Turnitin should also include a syllabus statement informing students that they plan to use Turnitin and describing how they will use it. The example below is designed for courses in which the instructor allows students to submit their papers to Turnitin before the instructor does so. Instructors should tailor their syllabus statement to specify how they will use Turnitin in each course.
“This class will use the plagiarism detection and prevention system Turnitin. You will have the option to submit your papers to Turnitin to check that all sources you use have been properly acknowledged and cited before you submit the paper to me. I will also submit all papers you write for this class to Turnitin, which compares submitted documents against documents on the Internet and against student papers submitted to Turnitin at SU and at other colleges and universities. I will take your knowledge of the subject matter of this course and your writing level and style into account in interpreting the originality report. Keep in mind that all papers you submit for this class will become part of the Turnitin.com reference database solely for the purpose of detecting plagiarism of such papers.”
* The consent statement may be distributed via paper, Blackboard, or Qualtrics. (Information about free faculty and staff access to Qualtrics surveys is available on Answers) It should be signed and dated and should include language authorizing the instructor to submit student papers or assignments “to the plagiarism detection and prevention system Turnitin.” The consent statement should make clear that submitted student work will be compared to other student papers as well as to Internet documents and will become part of the Turnitin.com reference database, for example:
“By signing below, I give permission for the submission of all work I turn in for [COURSE NAME] to the plagiarism detection and prevention system Turnitin, which compares submitted documents against documents on the Internet and against student papers submitted to Turnitin at SU and at other colleges and universities. I understand that all assignments submitted for this class will become part of the Turnitin.com reference database solely for the purpose of detecting plagiarism of such papers.”
For more information about Turnitin for teachers and students, see turnitin.com.
If you need assistance using Turnitin, email the Help Desk at help@syr.edu, or call 315-443–2677.