Center for Academic Integrity
Featured School - Quinnipiac University

Quinnipiac University

Institutional Demographics

  • Founded in 1929
  • Private, co-educational, non-sectarian institution
  • 4,700 Undergraduate and 2,000 graduate students (2002)
  • School of Business is AACSB accredited

History of the Academic Integrity Policy

Over a three-year period, a committee of faculty and staff worked to create Quinnipiac University's Academic Integrity Policy. During those three years, frequent feedback was elicited from faculty, staff, students, and administrators in order to create a policy that balanced the autonomy of the faculty with the consistency and fairness desired by the students.

After multiple revisions, the policy was approved in the spring of 2002. All members of the Quinnipiac community were educated about the policy in the spring of 2002, and the policy went into effect in the fall of 2003.

The Academic Integrity Policy Site

Highlights of the Academic Integrity Policy

  1. The policy is academic in nature, but incorporated integrity throughout the community as a culture.
  2. The policy clearly defines expectations of all community members, violations of the policy, and judicial procedures.
  3. Education is emphasized over "catching" students. Faculty can determine if a violation is unintentional and minor, allowing the student to be educated rather than sanctioned.
  4. Student participation is present on the Academic Integrity Board.
  5. Program is overseen by the Director of Academic Integrity, who serves as a resource for the community and optimizes consistency of the policy.

Programming Issues and Ideas

During the 2002-2003 academic year, the following events occurred:

  1. Guest speaker, Elizabeth Kiss, at the annual Stiernotte lecture for philosophy entitled "What are We, Chumps?". This was followed by a student essay contest.
  2. Signing of posters entitled "Integrity in Academics Leads to Integrity in Life" by Quinnipiac University community members
  3. Integrating integrity into already existing programs such as:
    1. The "Learning Center" for increased education of plagiarism
    2. The "Writing Across the Curriculum" program to emphasize how writing with this program throughout the semester decreases the students' desire to plagiarize (and creates better writers)
  4. Advertising contest for the Quinnipiac University student newspaper, "The Chronicle."
      
  5. Incorporating integrity into assignments for a variety of classes. For example:
    1. Media students creating video vignettes regarding academic integrity
    2. Sociology student assessing the Academic Integrity program/policy

Contact Information

Catherine Meriano
Director of Academic Integrity
Quinnipiac University
275 Mount Carmel Ave.
Hamden, CT 06518-1905
integrity@quinnipiac.edu