Academic Integrity

Academic​ ​Integrity

Sometimes “academic integrity” is used as a synonym for “plagiarism.” I think of “integrity” differently. To me, academic integrity is the sum total of behaviors, language, and rituals that allow us to show respect to our peers in the room, our predecessors in this work, and the students whose future experiences in this class will be shaped by your work. The policies below aim to reflect that. Think of each less as a rule to follow and more as a way to express your integrity.

Academic integrity also applies to the teacher-student relationship. That is, I see it as part of my responsibility to help you each and you all develop the skills and ways of thinking and working you’ll need to participate in intellectual life here. More concretely, what that means is I’ll explain why I’m doing what I’m doing the way I’m doing it from time to time. You can also ask, or suggest a way that things could be done differently. Even if the response isn’t always what we want, the college classroom is always a conversation. 

Plagiarism

Part of academic integrity is the recognition of others’ ideas as theirs, and of yours as your own. Copying and using other people’s words and original ideas without acknowledgment or citation is called plagiarism. All of your writing for this course should be your own, and if academic dishonesty is detected, serious consequences ensue: you may fail the project or entire course, and worst-case scenarios can lead to academic probation or expulsion. If you have a question about whether or not something is plagiarism, please ask. Sometimes that kind of conversation is an important first step towards taking an idea that has inspired your thinking and making it your own—something that’s at the core of what we’re trying to do in this class. I take plagiarism and other forms of academic dishonesty seriously. CUNY takes it seriously. And Lehman takes it seriously. Basically: In this class, we’ll learn about and practice ways to draw on others’ ideas, research, artwork, and shared material with integrity extensively this semester. When in doubt, ask. 

Access Statement

Another part of academic integrity is access. I operate under the assumption that all of us learn in varied ways. Part of our work here is examining some ways of “positioning” the identities of our narrating selves while/by describing our own (current, malleable) tendencies, habits, and personal traits. 

Even if you do not have a formally diagnosed disability, in the wake of months and years of technologically-distanced learning environments, I welcome dialogue about what makes you most engaged as a learner—and what sorts of approaches aren’t working as well as they could. 

If you do have a diagnosed disability and are registered with the Office of Student Disability Services, please submit official paperwork to me. It would be great to chat with you directly as well. 

For more information on how to register for formal accommodations, please contact the Office of Student Disability Services, Shuster Hall, Room 238, 718-960-8441. For detailed information on services and resources visit: http://www.lehman.edu/student-disability-services/ or email OSDS at disability.services@lehman.cuny.edu.

Another part of access, to me, is ensuring that students with or without disabilities have an equitable experience here. Lehman offers a number of resources for students to ensure their success. The college wants you to succeed just as much as I do. (A lot!) Below are a few college resources. I’m hopeful this helps you navigate this semester more smoothly. 

I invite you to add to this list over the semester by emailing me resources that have helped you. I’ll add them in.

Deadlines 

Accountability is another form of academic integrity, and one way to show that is to meet deadlines. I strongly encourage you to meet deadlines. I set deadlines so that we can engage with each other’s work. Deadlines also keep writing from being an overwhelming task. Deadlines are at the start of class on the dates listed unless otherwise noted. If you need more time with a formal assignment, let me know before the deadline arrives. I almost always grant brief extensions, usually 24-48 hours. For shorter or ongoing assignments, I will allow some time to get started at the end of most classes. I’ll also often suggest a time limit. This is because you have other things to do! For formal assignments, if you don’t contact me before the deadline, you may still turn in the work, but I will mark it as late. Keep me in the loop about where you’re at, and if we adjust an aspect of the assignment, be accountable for meeting your obligations. The deadlines for formal writing assignments are below and on the schedule. We use MLA format in this course. 

 Participation/Effort

This includes regular, active attendance, effective collaboration with others, demonstrations of resilience, a sense of humor when things get tough, engagement with feedback from your readers, a healthy relationship with deadlines, and a genuine curiosity about the work we have in front of us. Places I look for this include but aren’t limited to: especially helpful peer editing, generous blog and annotation replies, invigorated involvement in workshops and discussions, and otherwise unbridled curiosity and enthusiasm for the work we’re so lucky to be doing in this class. Generally, we can discuss how you’re doing with this aspect of our class during student hours in Week 5 and Week 10, when you’ll have the option to renegotiate your grading contract (from a B to an A, say). I measure this through formative assessments, and you can get a sense of it from my comments on your classwork and homework. It shows up in your grade as pluses and minuses on whatever final end-of-semester grade you successfully contract for. More on grading contracts below.