East Georgia State College’s Athletic Departments Effective Practice in Preventing and Detecting Academic Fraud
Adopted by President’s Cabinet 10-25-16
The East Georgia State College Athletic Department takes academic integrity seriously and we believe we have developed a strong protocol for preventing academic fraud, along with raising student/athlete awareness and consciousness of the relationship integrity has to the validity of assessment, deterring behavior, and minimizing opportunities for dishonesty.
Effective Practice-Prevention
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- The first step in preventing dishonesty is raising student/athlete consciousness.
- Provide Students with written and visual information outlining expectations, policies, procedures and consequences of plagiarism and cheating (Outlined in the EGSC Student/Athlete Handbook and Presented at the Student/Athlete Orientation).
- Include student code of conduct, student/athlete handbook, and have student/athletes sign handbook at athletic orientation.
- Reiterate expectations to student/athletes at orientation by having EGSC Student Conduct Director to speak with all teams about academic integrity, including what constitutes academic integrity violation and what the penalties for such violations are. (Power Point Presentation at the Student/Athlete Orientation).
- The Vice President for Academic Affairs speaks to student/athletes at orientation about expectations, and what is expected of them in the classroom.
- Vice President for Information Technology will reference at the student/athlete orientation the EGSC Campus Computer & Network Usage Policy and the EGSC Acceptable Use Policy, along with detailing permissible and non-permissible utilization of EGSC accounts.
- Require Students to sign a declaration in the Student/Athlete Handbook that all work is original to the student, authentic, and free of plagiarism.
Practices to Actively Prevent Academic Fraud
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- A practice during initial team meetings (student/athlete orientation) and at the middle and end of each semester of having EGSC counselors/student conduct representatives remind students about academic integrity.
- ACE Director/Faculty provide information and tutorials of how to reference and acknowledge sources and resources. (Student Handbook)
- ACE Director/Tutors and Faculty explain to students the measures used to identify plagiarism and cheating. (Presented at Student/Athlete Orientation)
Athletic Department Safeguards
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- Head Coaches/Athletic Director at EGSC should be the only Athletic Staff communicating with faculty regarding student/athlete academic progress.
- A protocol by the ACE Center that does not allow EGSC tutors to assist student/athletes on take home exams or take home graded assignments.
- A requirement that all EGSC tutors, prior to working with student/athletes, undergo thorough training that covers EGSC student handbook policies regarding academic integrity.
Actively Detecting and Exploring Suspicions
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- Regularly scheduled meetings by an oversight committee of faculty and administrators, appointed by the VP for Academic Affairs that monitor’s student/athlete grade and enrollment patterns, bringing any unusual patterns to the Academic Affairs office for follow-up.
- A policy under which faculty athletic representative (Vice President for Academic Affairs/Student-Athlete Advisor) personally contacts any professor submitting a grade change request for an athlete to confirm that the change is legitimate and was not requested by the athletic department or any other outside individual or group.
The Athletic Department at East Georgia State College clearly understands that there will never be a catch-all system to eliminate academic fraud; however we must remain proactive in reviewing our policies and procedures for educating our student/athletes on academic fraud and monitoring our program to reduce the likelihood of systematic academic misconduct.
