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In 1999-2000, a nationwide assessment
of academic integrity on college campuses was conducted.
Respondents included large, medium and small public
and private institutions. The results of the assessment
were informative and surprising. Almost half of the
undergraduates completing the survey reported that they
had engaged in unauthorized collaboration one or more
times since starting college. Nearly 40% had copied
a few sentences without footnoting, or falsified laboratory
or research data. Only 25% of respondents thought that
unauthorized collaboration, receiving substantial impermissible
help on assignments, or falsifying data were serious
matters.
On the faculty side, the survey results
showed that “teaching faculty” were not
engaged in promoting academic integrity. Faculty spoke
about it less in their classrooms, included less information
about it on their syllabi, and brought fewer cases of
suspected dishonesty to the judicial officer.
In the face of these data, campuses
began to mobilize more cohesively and intensively to
address the issues and to improve the state of academic
integrity. Many colleges and universities have formed
academic integrity councils to play a major role in
addressing academic integrity (Duke University,2007). The University of Arizona established an Academic Integrity
Advisory Council (AIAC) in 2007. The purpose of the AIAC is to promote honesty and integrity and create a culture of honesty at UA.
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