(Credit: Roger Farias)
Academic integrity is essential when submitting work, emphasizing authorship, ethics, and honesty. Fanshawe students must complete a quiz each semester with modules and videos aimed at preventing offenses like plagiarism. The use of artificial intelligence in classrooms, assignments, or research could pose challenges if not used properly. 1069 The X spoke with students and the department manager overseeing this policy to explore what academic integrity means and effective strategies for the school community.
Hear what some Fanshawe students have to say:
For her part, Yasmeen Kaur, a Broadcasting-Radio and Media Production student, said academic integrity is handled differently in Canada than in India. ”In my country, exams are traditional—students study all semester and take a final paper-based test,” she said. “We don’t have digital tests, but in Canada, quizzes and assignments are monitored for academic integrity.”
(Credit: Roger Farias)
She shared an experience where her professor suspected she hadn’t completed an assignment on her own. “I did an assignment, but then the professor thought that someone else did that for me, which was totally wrong because I did it by myself,” she remarked. “The teacher did a Zoom meeting where I shared my screen and I did the whole assignment again. Then, she got to know that it was I did it by myself. Some professors assume that you cheated, but you did not.”
Kaur believes academic integrity is important but questions the need for frequent quizzes on the subject. “I don’t think it´s necessary to do an online quiz every single term because we all know about it,” she added. “Maybe one quiz per program or a mid-program refresher would be better. I don’t think anyone’s going to remember some random questions. We are student and we have to follow the rules.”
(Credit: Roger Farias)
On this matter, Samantha Harrison, Academic Integrity Manager at Fanshawe College said: “That is always a topic that comes up, and the module reminds students of the importance of academic integrity and completing work honestly. “It’s required annually to refresh their knowledge on ethical conduct and proper citation. The approach varies across academic schools. Employees complete similar courses about health, safety or workplace respect, and it is important to prepare students for future training in the workforce.”
When asked what the student offense numbers are compared to last semester, Harrison said that the Academic Integrity Committee meets each term, and she is gathering statistics from the fall term for the upcoming winter meeting, next week. She noted that academic offenses have not risen despite concerns about artificial intelligence. The number of offenses remains stable, with most being first-time warnings, as the policy focuses on restorative education to prevent repeat offenses.
(Credit: Roger Farias)
According to Harrison, if one student shares their completed assignment with a peer, and the peer copies some of their ideas and submits them as their own, both students could face academic offenses. The student who copied the work would be guilty of plagiarism, and the student who shared it could be charged with assisting in an academic offense. Harrison pointed out that students often think they’re just helping their friends, but they should instead refer them back to the faculty member.
She encourages to students go to the Library Learning Commons website; they can find several tools there to avoid offenses. “If you are a student who English is your second language, and you use a translation tool, Turnitin.com might read the translation tool as being artificially intelligence-generated work; you cannot use it if your faculty member has not allowed. “Ask the right questions to your professor when completing assignments.”
(Credit: Roger Farias)
Fanshawe College has approved Microsoft Copilot for students instead of ChatGPT, as it doesn’t store user data. This decision aligns with industry partners’ desire for graduates who can effectively use artificial intelligence tools. Students’ use of AI will be determined by their professors, who will decide on its limited, partial, or full capacity in assignments. The official AI policy, available on the Fanshawe Library webpage, guides how AI tools like Copilot can be used. The college recognizes AI’s growing role and is working to ensure students understand how to use it properly. The official AI documents are available in the bottom right-hand corner at https://fanshawec.libguides.com/academicintegrity/faculty
