INTEGRITY IN EXAMINATIONS : ISSUES, GUIDELINES AND RECOMMENDATIONS

Babafunso SonaiyaDepartment of Animal Sciences, Obafemi

Awolowo University, Ile-Ife, Nigeria

Presented to the Workshops on Academic Integrity for Nigerian Tertiary Institutions organised by the Anti-Corruption Academy of Nigeria at the ICPC Headquarters, Abuja, 6 – 7 July, 2015

Why Integrity is important in Examination Administration

Let us begin with quotes from the National Policy on Education, 1977.

• “Nigeria’s philosophy of education is based on the integration of the individual into a sound and effective citizen.. inculcating the following values:

1. Respect for the worth and dignity of the individual;2. Faith in man’s ability to make rational decisions;3. Moral and spiritual values in inter-personal and human relations;4. Shared responsibility for the common good of society;5. Respect for the dignity of labour; and6. Promotion of the emotional, physical and psychological health of all,

p.3

NPE higher education aims

1. The acquisition, development and inculcation of the proper value-orientation for the survival of the individual and society;

2. The development of the intellectual capacities of individuals to understand and appreciate their environment;

3. The acquisition of both physical and intellectual skills which will enable individuals to develop into useful members of the community;

4. The acquisition of an objective view of the local and external environments (ibid, p.14).

Last NPE Quote

“The success of any system of education is hinged on proper planning, efficient administration and adequate financing.

Administration includes organization and structure, proprietorship [ownership] and control, inspection and supervision”

(ibid, p.31).

Further Backgrounding

Truth is the foundation of scholarship at the University. The objectives of the University of Nigeria, Nsukka, for example, are:

• To seek truth• To teach truth and• To preserve truth.

Academic integrity is essential for maintaining truth

Issues in Examination Ethics

1. Character– Prominent scandals in governance, business and

social relationships centering on ethics have become all too frequent that the educational system must return to focusing on building character in students.

– It is now necessary for the university to educate students on character and teach ethical principles in the midst of subject matter.

Integrity Training Maths

• One GS course will expose students to about 30 hours of material, 2 Continuous Assessment and 1 Final Exam (i.e 3 exams)

• To graduate, every student must take: 40 courses (in 4 years = 120 exams); 50 courses (in 5 years = 150 exams)

• Obviously, character training is better done via exams as there are far greater opportunities

2. Cheating

Feeling the pressure of meeting personal and family expectations, a few (not most) students all over the world sometimes succumb to the temptation to cheat to get ahead.

Hala Khalaf reported in December 2010 that 34 students have been expelled from Abu Dhabi University since the school started to implement its "campaign on academic integrity" in April 2009.

Teachers have a responsibility to enforce academic guidelines and structure to reinforce academic honesty and integrity among students.

3. Plagiarism

– Indiana University's Writing Tutorial Services department points out that the issue for students is often lack of awareness on proper citation within papers.

– This places responsibility on instructors to educate students on appropriate citation when submitting reports.

– Resources are available that allow teachers to assist students to check their own submissions for plagiarism.

Causes of corruption in examination

1. Teacher-based Causes• Lack of adequate information and transparency

Remember: C = M+D-TA (R.A. Okoduwa, 2015)• Good teaching requires that you both act responsibly and

teach your students how to act responsibly. • There are a number of ethical issues in teaching that impact

on the integrity of the examination. These include, but are not limited to:

• lack of confidentiality, • racial and sexual harassment, • favouritism, exploitation, and conflict of interest.

Teacher-Caused Corruption

• Unethical Grading– Academic staff have very differing perspectives on

what is ethical and what is not with regard to grading. Points of dissension include the necessity of prior communication to students on tests and quizzes and the breakdown of weighted grading criteria, including the percentage of weight assigned to homework and tests and the marks attached to each question in the exams.

Appropriate Teachers’ Conduct

• An antidote to teacher based causes of examination corruption is to develop and promote appropriate teacher’s conduct.

• In acting respectfully toward students, instructors will be teaching them about proper behaviour in society including under stressful situations like the examination.

• Teachers have a responsibility to promote and enforce ethics (e.g. the Matriculation Oath) in the classroom. The way in which this is done will depend, of course, on the teaching situation; however, the following are some general strategies that should be implemented.

Examination Integrity Strategies

• Talk about your expectations to the class. Be explicit about what the students need to cite when writing a paper and the extent to which they can use notes or work with other people on their assignments.

• When writing a syllabus, include a section on examination ethics and how it applies to the course you are teaching and to character development.

• Every time you suspect that a violation of the examination rules and regulations has occurred, you have a responsibility to report it to the appropriate authority.

Causes of Corruption in Examinations

2. Absence of Academic Integrity Structures• Academic integrity requires structure, codes and enforcement. • A visit to the website of some of the oldest universities in

Nigeria turned up the following: • In the first institution, there is a possibility to download:

Applications for Study leave/Sabbatical leave; Scheme of Service separately for Junior and Senior staff; Registry Discourse; 2010-2011 Research Report; but there was no mention of Academic Integrity or Examination Rules even in the Student Affairs web page.

• The second institution had no mention of integrity in the website nor information about examinations.

Absence of Academic Integrity Structures

• The third had a downloadable Students General Handbook which had three pages for Examination Rules and Conduct in the University. The first page had Some Regulations on University Examinations; the second detailed Eligibility [to sit examinations] and the last page focused on Failure to Sit an Examination. This “progressive” website even had Student Services section one of which was an iTranscript request form with appropriate testimonies to its convenience.

• Virtually all our universities, including mine, have Examination Rules and Guidelines; we just don’t have them on the Web where our students inhabit. All of us, as in the examples above, do not address the issue of examination integrity in a creative way.

Some Examples to Learn From• The University of South Carolina , USA, has a “Student Judicial

Affairs and Community Standards and an Academic Integrity Code which states in part:

• Members of the USC community are expected to be honest and forthright …

• When USC confers a degree, it is acknowledging students’ ability to be a honest .. citizen within society.

• To falsify the results of one’s research, to [plagiarise], or to cheat on an examination corrupts the essential process by which knowledge is advanced.

• In failing to uphold academic standards students cheat themselves .. out of learning, degrade the value of their education, and diminish the prestige of the USC education.

USC Example

• The Standards .. list Some Common Forms of Academic Dishonesty such as Plagiarism, Cheating, Unauthorized Collaboration and Falsifying Academic Records. Two examples are given of falsifying academic records, These are:

• Attempting to change, altering, or being an accessory to changing a grade in a grade book, work submitted on a test or a final project, a “supplementary grade report”, or other university academic records; and

• Misrepresentation of official records including academic transcripts, altering exam papers and asking for re-grading, presenting forged medical doctor’s notes, and forged signatures on letters of recommendation.

USC Example 2

Recommendations to avoid academic dishonesty are listed:• Be prepared for exams and assignment due dates – Don’t procrastinate• Avoid sitting next to your friends during an exam• Avoid taking additional materials to exams• Protect your work• Report cheating• Take full advantage of your educational opportunities – Learn the

material• Read the Student Conduct Code. Be aware of what constitutes

academic dishonesty.• Demonstrate your integrity

USC Example 3

Finally, academic integrity resources are listed: • The Writing Centre (which offers tutoring for

writing papers and improving writing skills for students at all levels) – remember Indiana University also has this (see slide 9); and

• The Undergraduate Student Code of Academic Ethics.

Another Example• Imperial College, London has, online, a 4-page paper on

‘Examination and Assessments: Academic Integrity’ with an 18-page ‘Cheating Offences Policy and Procedures’ in Appendix 3.

• The introduction states that “these policy and procedures apply to all students and former students at Imperial College registered for Imperial College or University of London degrees”.

• The section on Plagiarism is to be read in conjunction with the Tariff for Major Cheating Offences at Annex 1 which contained 3 tables with “default” and “moderated” penalties. For all penalties a record must be entered on the student’s file in the Registry.

Imperial College 2• There is a separate section on “Examination Offences”

which lists 10 examples ending with “Other conduct likely to give an unfair advantage to the student”.

• Then comes a section on Procedure for Dealing with Examination Offences which involves the Registry and the Departmental Board of Examiners. There is provision for the Establishment of a Review Panel and an Appeals Panel which completes the internal procedures. If the student is not satisfied, s/he may direct the complaint to the Office of the Independent Adjudicator outside the College.

• A monitoring report on the operation of the procedures is made to Senate by the Academic Registrar annually.

Simon Fraser University

Final example is Simon Fraser University, Canada, which has an Academic Integrity Advisory Committee that publishes a bulletin on “Academic Integrity: tips for managing exams”. This bulletin has 3 sections: Preventing academic dishonesty in exams; Detecting dishonesty during exams; and Handling dishonesty during exams.

Academic Code of EthicsFrom these examples, it is clear that to deal appropriately with examination dishonesty every institution needs an academic code of ethics. “An academic code of ethics is a standard of behavior on campuses that students and faculty enter into together. Typically a code of ethics encompasses academic honesty in various settings and situations--from taking tests to writing papers to representing one's work. Violating the code of ethics has serious repercussions at most institutions” (Katlyn Joy, 2012)

• Significance– An academic code provides a framework for

guiding ethical and moral behavior at the campus among faculty, staff and students. Having a written code that spells out the boundaries of morality and the goals for integrity among the campus population also has a unifying effect. Knowing the type of character and moral development that is expected of the community creates a type of organizational or campus ideal.

• Authority and Enforcement– At many institutions the academic code of ethics

must be read and signed by everyone in the university community, students, administrators and academic staff. To sign the document is to agree to uphold the code of ethics.

– Often within the code of ethics is a section regarding how the code will be upheld and enforced. A section on how those who violate the code will be dealt with may be included as well.

• Identification– Most academic codes of ethics have a preamble. This section

sets a tone and expresses the overall purpose of the code. The preamble may also define the moral goal for the university community as well.

– For instance, the preamble for Howard University begins with the assertion: "Howard University affirms that the central purpose of a university is the pursuit of truth, the discovery of new knowledge through scholarly research, the teaching and overall development of students, and the transmission of knowledge and learning to the world at large."

– In this way a preamble identifies the goals for the institution and the campus community.

• Features– Following a preamble, most codes of ethics detail actions

considered academic dishonesty, including cheating, copying, plagiarism, misrepresentation and not giving proper credit.

– Many codes also cover other violations, such as vandalism, theft or inappropriate or unauthorized uses of school property.

– They may detail behavior such as drinking, illegal substance use, gambling and sexual behaviors--especially harassment or inappropriate behaviors.

– Some codes of ethics detail personal responsibility issues, such as treating others in the community with respect and not lying or committing fraud against the institution or another student or campus member.

• Considerations– Once an academic code of ethics has been violated,

some procedure for enforcing the code has to be enacted.

– The Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania has a section on the Ethics Committee, how it convenes for charges of violation, the rights of the accused, the appeal process and disciplinary system of the school.

– Without any guidelines on what to do in the case of infractions, the code of ethics is merely an ideal for the academic community.

Code of Ethics vs Conduct?• Ethical codes focus on broader issues and are often framed as a

belief statement regarding the organization's mission, its values and expectations for its members.

• A conduct code is designed to translate the ethics code into specific do and don't guidelines and to promote adherence to the code of ethics by providing specific examples of real world applications of the code of ethics.

• The code of ethics is very broad and theoretically can be used to guide decision-making in all areas of member behavior.

• A code of conduct only covers what specific incidents and situations the composers think to put into the code. Should behavior occur which is not covered under the conduct code, members would have to refer to the code of ethics in order to revise the code of conduct to cover the omitted behavior or situation

Discussion• Promoting academic integrity requires action throughout

the institution. These actions can be categorised into the following: – Awareness, Sensitization and Promotion of academic integrity; – Prevention, Detection and Dealing with academic dishonesty.

• Tertiary institutions must ensure that all members from the Chancellor down are aware of their responsibilities towards academic integrity.

• Since about half the members of the governing council are appointed by the proprietor from outside the institution, it is crucial and mandatory that every Council’s members be given proper orientation on their role as regards academic integrity.

Awareness, Sensitization and Promotion of academic integrity

• It is recommended that a joint Council-Senate Academic Integrity Board be established which should be chaired by the Chair or Vice Chair of Council with the University Academic Integrity Officer as the Secretary.

• A skills matrix of the Council members must show their level of competence, knowledge and awareness of academic integrity; and constant effort must be made to improve their skills in academic integrity.

Awareness, Sensitization and Promotion 2

• The University management must include in the University Risk Assessment and Mitigation procedures appropriate sections for academic integrity with clear identification of the principal and secondary risk owners; e.g. Instructor, Head of Department, Dean of Faculty, University Registrar, Deputy Vice Chancellor (academic), etc.

• The University must advertise itself as committed to academic integrity, for example in its request for application into its academic programmes as well as in advertising academic and non-academic staff vacancies as an “academic integrity compliant institution”.

Awareness, Sensitization and Promotion 3

• The University anthem can be of great assistance when properly composed and written.

• Academic integrity orientation must be included in all orientation programmes for all staff and students as well as included in refresher programmes, annual faculty and departmental colloquium, etc.

• Senate must request for academic integrity status reports from the Examination and Records department of the Registry during every Examination or Graduating Results Senate meeting.

Awareness, Sensitization and Promotion 4

• The Academic Planning Committees of the Faculties, Committee of Deans, Development Committee, Senate and Council must include academic integrity issues in all their deliberations and ensure that procedures for prevention, detection and dealing with academic integrity infractions are robust, appropriate to the situation and rigorously implemented.

Prevention

• To lessen examination anxiety among students: – Give continuous assessment greater proportion in the

final grade – Ensure students have a course outline that fully

discloses all assessment procedures and weightings of each assessment in the final grade (that is Transparency),

– Promote the use of a variety of assessment methods (essays, multiple choice, short answers, open book and closed book, term papers, a mixture of oral and written examinations and computer based tests - CBT) to ensure that students’ academic abilities are fully tested.

Prevention 2

• CBT provide considerable flexibility in time table with options for personal choice for each student (but presents the problem of setting multiple exam papers for the Instructors). CBT also addresses this problem and brings versatility in reducing academic dishonesty by allowing re-randomization of questions after each attempt on an exam; – Provide opportunity for spontaneous examinations as

well as repeated attempts by students to improve their understanding of the material and, subsequently, their grades.

Detection

• Detection of examination dishonesty requires physical rigour as well as deployment of technology.

• Instructors must not delegate examination invigilation to non-academic staff, GAs and PG students. The mere presence of a senior professor as invigilator signals that the activity has significance and checks the impulse towards dishonesty.

• Technology can be deployed to not only detect but also to thwart dishonesty. Closed circuit TV, body scanners, touch sensitive screens and fingerprint ID make cheating much harder

Dealing With Dishonesty

• This is greatly facilitated by technology. • Softwares make plagiarism quantifiable and

punishable• Computers make question re-randomization and

individualization of question papers possible especially if the questions are computer graded, making the job of the examiner much easier.

• In CBT, it is much easier to identify students cheating and to sanction them either during grading or at collation of results or at Board of Examiners meeting.

MAY ACADEMIC INTEGRITY FLOURISHTHANK YOU