Academic Integrity

Design with Integrity in Mind

Instead of a test, consider alternative assessments such as a project, paper, or other types of assessment.  Vanderbilt University's website on Classroom Assessment Techniques presents ideas that might be helpful in designing assessments.  COLRS staff is also available to assist in thinking about alternative assessments for your courses.

• Include academic integrity statement in course syllabus
• Alternate assessments from term to term or class to class
• Set up discussions to prevent viewing of classmates’ posts before posting
• Write test questions and activities that require unique responses
• Test settings (randomize, question pools, time limits, display questions one at a time, limit question feedback)
• Create scaffolded assignments
• Require presentations as part of an assignment

Plagiarism: Not citing sources, not using quotation marks

• Turnitin can be used in Canvas Assignments to show where students have used the work of others
• TurnItIn can also be used in Harmonize Discussions

Reusing: Submitting the same work for more than one course

• As more faculty at UIS use Turnitin, this can be more easily detected
• Turnitin identifies course and semester, access to paper can be requested by the original instructor

Cheating During Remote Exams

• Respondus LockDown Browser can help, but can be circumvented
• Respondus Monitor is a great option for low-stakes tests that is FREE for students
• Proctoring centers can be used, but will all students receive consistent testing environments? Proctoring sites can vary widely.
• Examity is a live video proctoring option to strengthen test integrity. Students pay a per exam fee (see Examity section below for rates)

Authenticity: Having another student take your exam for you

• How are we ensuring that the student is the one completing the exam?
• How are we authenticating our online students? Canvas requires two-factor authentication.
• Respondus Monitor and Examity can be set up to check for identification cards as another layer of security.
• Ask students to agree to an academic integrity statement before beginning a test (as a first question):

“I verify I am the only one taking the exam and that no one is helping me physically or electronically. I won’t copy the exam in whole or in part. I will refrain from discussing this exam with anyone until after the due date. I will adhere to the academic integrity policy.”

The Internet has perpetuated the age old problem of plagiarism. Turnitin can assist faculty in detecting and preventing plagiarism. It is also an excellent assignment collection, grading, and feedback tool, and can be used as an online collaborative learning tool where students can get feedback from their classmates.

The Turnitin database includes:

• Over 10 Billion Web Pages Crawled & Archived
• Over 70 Million Student Papers
• Over 10,000 Major Newspapers, Magazines & Scholarly Journals
• Thousands Of Books Including Literary Classics
• Printable Reports
• Side-By-Side Comparison

Turnitin provides the ability for faculty to:

• Quickly and conveniently identify how much material in a student’s paper is available on the Internet.
• Deter students who may otherwise be tempted to use sources inappropriately.
• Address the issue of proper citation of sources in a paper.
• Pick up tips for writing assignments that discourage plagiarism and encourage independent thought.

How to Access

Turnitin is integrated into Canvas Assignments when you choose "online" as your submission type. View detailed instructions for creating a TurnItIn assignment.

View this guide to use TurnItIn in your Harmonize Discussion assignments.

Turnitin Resources

• Instructor Guide
• Student Guide

Respondus offers two proctoring solutions, depending on faculty need. Respondus LockDown Browser is a custom browser that locks down the testing environment within Canvas. When enabled for a quiz in Canvas, students cannot print, copy, access other applications, or search the internet during the online exam. (Instructors can still include links to external webpages, spreadsheets, audio or video files, etc. in the exam.) Because LockDown Browser does not prevent students from using secondary devices such as iPads or cell phones, this is best used in a live testing environment, in which the instructor or a designated proctor can monitor students in a classroom or lab setting. LockDown Browser should already be installed in most on-campus classrooms and labs with computers. To confirm that LockDown Browser is installed in a specific room, contact ITS at 217-206-6000 or techsupport@uis.edu.

If a student runs into any issues while using Respondus LockDown Browser, direct them first to the Respondus Student Support guide. If, as a faculty member, you run into any issues, it is recommended that you review the Instructor FAQ first. If issues persist, feel free to reach out to COLRS for troubleshooting assistance.

Respondus Monitor is a fully-automated proctoring solution that builds upon LockDown Browser and is an appropriate proctoring solution for exams for online or remote students who are unable to come to campus to take an exam. Students use a webcam to record themselves during an online exam. Instructors may also choose to have the student's computer screen recorded. Suspicious testing behavior is automatically flagged by the software, and proctoring results are available to the instructor for further review. Respondus Monitor can be used on most devices (Windows, Mac, Chromebook, and iPads), and there’s no need to schedule a proctoring session in advance. Respondus Monitor is free for faculty and students to use and it is integrated with Canvas. Information Technology Services (ITS) provides instructions for students using LockDown Browser and Monitor.

If a student runs into any issues while using Respondus Monitor, direct them first to the Respondus Monitor help page. If, as a faculty member, you run into any issues, it is recommended that you review the Instructor FAQ first. If issues persist, feel free to reach out to COLRS for troubleshooting assistance.

Examity offers students a secure and convenient way to take proctored exams online from anywhere, any time of the day.  Examity is integrated with the learning management system. Faculty and students access Examity directly from the learning management system without the hassle of another username and password. Faculty have the flexibility to select the level of online test security and to tailor the test environment to meet desired exam specifications. Examity is fully ADA-compliant, so all students may take advantage of the service. Faculty can track when students take exams and can review video recordings from any test sessions up to one month after the exam session. Exam sessions can be audited with incident reports provided to the faculty. After faculty set up a Canvas LMS test to be proctored with Examity, students book a time to take the exam and are monitored via a webcam. Examity is only supported for Canvas-based quizzes and tests. Assessments through third-party applications, such as shadow LMS's from textbook publishers, are not compatible with Examity proctoring. 

Just as with many in-person proctoring services, students must pay a fee to the proctor. The cost of taking an exam with Examity varies based on the length of the exam, the level of proctoring required by the instructor, and how soon the exam will take place. Costs listed are per student per exam for exams scheduled at least 24 hours in advance of the proctoring session.

Cancellations or changes within 24 hours of an examination will result in a $5.00 charge per occurrence. Full payment will be required for any no-shows. Set-up time will not be included in the examination time. Prices listed are current as of July 1, 2022.

Examity Resources

• Examity Quick Start Guide for Faculty
• Examity Quick Start Guide for Students

Setting Up an Exam

1. Create your exam in Canvas:
   • A password (pass code) should be added to all exams to prevent students from accessing and taking the exam without the Examity proctor.
   • All exam settings, including availability dates, passwords, due dates, length of exam, moderation settings like extended time, alternate testing time periods should be edited in Canvas and not in Examity.
   • Note: In order for all of the above settings to sync correctly, the exam will need to be assigned to "Everyone." This is the default setting in Canvas, but if you choose to assign an exam to one student, a small group of students, etc., data like the exam window will not sync. You will have to change these exam settings manually in Examity, which will exclude your exam from the nightly report, and future changes will not sync without first notifying the COLRS office.
2. Add the Examity tool to your Canvas Modules. 
   • Click on the + in a module > select External Tool from the drop down menu > click on Examity > select Add Item. 
   • Your exams will be added to Examity through the nightly syncing process. 
   • Note: If you see exam settings that need to be changed, make them Canvas and then wait over night for them to sync to Examity. If any exam settings are changed in Examity rather than Canvas, future changes to the exam will not be synced to Examity any longer.
3. The next day, after your exams have synced to Examity, click on the Examity link in your module and set up your exam using the Examity Quick Start Guide for Faculty. 
4. Search for the "Before Your Exam: Examity Live Proctoring Setup" page in Canvas Commons and add it to your class. It will help your students to access Examity and be prepared for the exam.
5. Set up an Examity automated practice exam for your students to allow them to practice the authentication process and be prepared for exam day. Automated practice exams are free to students and easy to setup and use the same authentication process as live proctored exams.
   • Create your test and add it to your Canvas module. 
     • We recommend asking students if they were able to authenticate without issue or need assistance as the question in the practice exam.
   • Wait overnight for the exam to sync to Examity.
   • Set the exam up in Examity. Change the FairExam® Level to Automated Practice. Please note that this proctoring level will not be recorded or audited. 

For Illinois students who need an in-person proctor but are unable to come to campus, students may visit a local community college, usually for a nominal fee. To locate a testing service in the United States, the U.S. Territories, England, Singapore, Canada, or Puerto Rico, try the National College Testing Association.

In-Person Proctoring Resources

• Checklists for Faculty, Students, and Proctors
• Suggested Approval Process for In-Person Proctoring
• Proctor Request Form

The UIS Testing Center is open to in-person testing by appointment at no charge for UIS students, during the day Monday-Friday, and many evenings until 7:00 PM. The Testing Center also continues to offer remote testing via Zoom. (Students will need a laptop with a webcam to test remotely; Chromebooks and phones are not allowed.) Students can schedule test appointments by emailing testingservices@uis.edu. Current hours are available on the Testing Center website.