In this talk, I explain the nuances of academic expectations and academic integrity in the U.S. context for international students studying abroad in America. Emphasis is placed on resources available at universities and strategies students can employ to meet American academic standards and avoid issues relating to academic dishonesty.

1. Understanding Academic Expectations
and Academic Integrity
Josh Gellers, PhD
US-Sri Lanka Fulbright Commission
27 July 2017

2. USSLFC Pre-Departure Orientation 2
UNDERSTANDING
ACADEMIC
EXPECTATIONS
Source: thefederalistpapers.org

3. Academic Expectations
• Sink or swim?
– Instructors will not micromanage you
• Available services
– Tutoring, peer review, writing labs, mental health
• Time management
– Balance competing interests like school, fitness,
health, social activities, and travel
• Rule of thumb
– Twice as long out of class as you spend in class
USSLFC Pre-Departure Orientation 3

4. Exercise: Time Management
• Read the scenario below:
– It’s Friday afternoon. You are done with school for
the week, but you have a midterm exam on Monday
morning at 8am. You haven’t studied much yet. You
and some friends decided weeks ago to take a trip
this weekend that will bring you back to campus on
Sunday night. You can bring your laptop and
textbook with you if you want. What do you do? How
do you manage your time?
• Write down how you would address the
situation
• Share your strategies!
USSLFC Pre-Departure Orientation 4

5. Academic Expectations: Strategies
• Keep up with the pace of class
• Attend office hours and don’t only talk
about course materials
• Use a digital or paper planner to organize
your academic and social obligations
• Don’t be afraid to seek help or advice from
services offered on campus
• Make friends in class, exchange contact
info, and work together in study groups
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6. ACADEMIC INTEGRITY
USSLFC Pre-Departure Orientation 6
Photo by Adam Gregor/Shutterstock

7. Academic Integrity
• Course Content:
– You do not get to opt out of course material you find challenging
or personally offensive
• Claiming One’s Own Work:
– Every assignment you submit or test you take must be entirely
your own work, and must include proper citations when using
outside sources
• Violations of Academic Integrity:
– Include “cheating; fabricating and falsifying information or
citations; submitting the same work for credit in more than one
course; plagiarizing; providing another student with access to
one’s own work to submit under this person’s name or signature;
destroying, stealing or making inaccessible library or other
academic resource material; and helping or attempting to help
another person commit an act of academic dishonesty.” (UNF
2017-18 Catalog)
USSLFC Pre-Departure Orientation 7

8. Academic Integrity: Consequences
• Usually at the discretion of faculty:
– Referral to the appropriate support service
(Counseling, Advising, other assistance)
– Assignment of a grade reduction on an academic
exercise
– Assignment of a final letter grade/reduction for
the course
– Assignment of an unforgivable 'F' for the course
– Recommendation of temporary or permanent loss
of use of a University facility, suspension from a
College, Department, or program, expulsion from
the University, or referral to Student Affairs
USSLFC Pre-Departure Orientation 8

9. Academic Integrity: Options
• Accept the instructor’s punishment
• Try to plead with instructor for a lesser
punishment
• Schedule a meeting with the department
chair or dean of the college to appeal the
decision and offer an explanation in writing
• Utilize the university’s student honor court
USSLFC Pre-Departure Orientation 9

10. Exercise: Academic Integrity
• Read each of the situations below and write down
whether or not the action constitutes a violation of
academic integrity:
– 1) You look at your friend’s test during an exam and copy
the answers on your sheet
– 2) You submit the same paper for 2 different classes
without asking either instructor first
– 3) Your friend lets you copy her lab report from last year
and you submit it for credit
– 4) You read a book from the library and then throw it away
so no one else can use it
– 5) You take photos of an exam with your phone and send
them to a friend who will take the same test later that day
USSLFC Pre-Departure Orientation 10

11. Academic Integrity: Strategies
• Always submit your own, original work and do not
submit the same assignment for more than one
class
• Properly cite your sources and quote any phrases
or passages that are not your own words
• Keep your eyes on your own paper during tests
• Do not help anyone commit academic dishonesty
• Alert your instructor if you become aware of any
violations of academic integrity
• Review your university’s policies on academic
integrity and familiarize yourself with the options
for students
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12. THANK YOU!
QUESTIONS?
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