WHEREAS there is a consensus among national experts in the field of academic integrity that cheating is pervasive at American colleges and universities;

WHEREAS there are numerous factors that contribute to this crisis of academic dishonesty at the college level, including: the predominance of cheating in secondary schools; a lack of preparedness and familiarity with requirements of academic integrity, particularly regarding plagiarism; increased access to electronic materials and the corresponding difficulty of detecting inappropriate use of such materials; increased stress, including pressure to excel; student perceptions of unfairness in grading and academic requirements; and inconsistent handling of academic integrity violations;

WHEREAS colleges and universities that have responded to this crisis invariably determine it necessary to develop a comprehensive educational approach, addressing the multiple causal factors and involving both the faculty/administration and students to create both formal and informal cultures of academic honesty;

WHEREAS to create a formal culture of academic honesty it is crucial to make
academic integrity an educational component of the first-year curriculum, in the classroom and/or through academic co-curricular offerings;

WHEREAS as part of an educational response to inadvertent academic
dishonesty, innovative educational responses (e.g., small, group, interactive
classes) might be utilized;

THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED that the Provost in collaboration with the
University Faculty create an initiative to draw upon internal and external expertise to develop approaches to creating a climate of academic integrity on campus and to propose the steps and resources necessary to accomplish such a goal.

Provost Response