Honoring the code: How faculty and TAs can promote academic honesty

Sept. 7, 3 p.m., Newcomb Hall
Commonwealth Room

The digital age brings with it digital methods of plagiarism and perhaps a newfound ease in appropriating others’ words and ideas — what NYU professor Robert Boynton called the ‘Napsterization’ of knowledge in a recent Washington Post article. Marva Barnett, director of the Teaching Resource Center, and Bill McAllister, the center’s faculty consultant, will discuss how faculty and TAs can promote academic honesty in their Sept. 7 presentation, sponsored by the Teaching Resource Center. Faculty can make a difference by dealing with this issue openly and instituting measures that encourage students to learn rather than borrow, they say.

Assuming that scholars are responsible for upholding and transmitting the values of academic integrity, the speakers will outline techniques for fostering a classroom atmosphere that reflects that integrity. Participants will compare their understanding of what constitutes cheating. They will then consider both methods for educating students about plagiarism and preventive measures to reduce cheating. This session will also alert participants to Web sites, software programs and services that can assist in discovering plagiarism and cheating.

For information, call 982-2850.