Steps to Reduce Cheating

Dealing with misconduct of any kind is an unpleasant duty for any instructor. It is to your advantage to make cheating as difficult as possible.

Specific guidelines for management of examinations are used during the final examination period to reduce opportunities to cheat. Checking student ID cards and preparing seating plans are effective practices to prevent cheating in examinations. Instructors should adopt the same guidelines whenever feasible in conducting in-class tests and mid-term exams. However, for in-class tests and mid-term exams, the regular classrooms may not meet the requirements of these guidelines, and it may not be practical to schedule alternative venues.

Multiple versions of test papers may make it more difficult for students in neighboring seats to copy from one another. The versions may have the same questions in different orders, or several variations of the same questions.

Collaborative or group work is an area where clear rules can reduce the risk of cheating. If you tell students they can work together on assignments, you should be clear about whether they can also submit a joint or nearly identical result. It is good practice to put such rules in writing and include them with other course materials handed out early in the term.

In the course outline you hand out to students at the beginning of the course, you may remind your students of their commitment to the HKUST Academic Honor Code and of the consequences if they violate the university regulations for student conduct and academic integrity.

The University Academic Honor Code should be reprinted on examination answer books, and you should require your students to sign a declaration of academic integrity on the front cover of the answer books.

Declaration of Academic Integrity
I confirm that I have answered the questions using only materials specifically approved for use in this examination, that all the answers are my own work, and that I have not received any assistance during the examination.

You may also require your students to declare their compliance to the Academic Honor Code in the assignments submitted for your course.