Learning, Teaching and Leadership

It’s that time of the year again, when contract cheating and unethical tutoring companies hand out flyers to students as they enter classrooms and leave them all over campus – littered in classrooms, strewn on benches, tacked to bulletin boards, and so on. Historically, it has been difficult for some schools to have these advertisements removed because the companies behind them have claimed censorship and threatened legal action against the institution. However, there is reason for hope, especially if your school as a Statement on Free Expression. Let me explain.

Although the original Chicago statement – and others that were modelled on it – were created to support freedom of expression, there is a small but important detail about the limitations of free speech on campus that is relevant to academic integrity. In the original version of the Chicago Principles of Freedom of Expression, it states:

“The freedom to debate and discuss the merits of competing ideas does not, of course, mean that individuals may say whatever they wish, wherever they wish. The University may restrict expression that violates the law, that falsely defames a specific individual, that constitutes a genuine threat or harassment, that unjustifiably invades substantial privacy or confidentiality interests, or that is otherwise directly incompatible with the functioning of the University.” (Chicago Principles of Freedom of Expression, p. 2, emphasis added.)

I am not a lawyer, but I am a policy scholar. (You can find out more about my academic work on higher education policy here, here, and here, for example.) When examining policy, the devil is in the details, as they say. In this case, there is an argument to be made that when contract cheating companies and unethical tutoring businesses advertise on our campuses, they are acting in a manner that is directly incompatible with the functioning of the university. As such, the institution has a right to remove advertisements from campus that promote academic misconduct.

Every school that has developed its own statement of free expression based on the Chicago principles may have this important detail included that gives it leverage to curtail the blatant advertising of contract cheating services the school, including those in Canada. For example, in 2019, the Alberta government mandated that all post-secondary institutions in the province develop a statement to affirm freedom of expression that aligned with the Chicago Principles on Free Speech. Like all higher education institutions in the province of Alberta, the University of Calgary followed the government mandate, making a formal public announcement on December 16, 2019 that it had published its Statement on Free Expression. Our institutional Statement on Free Expression is publicly available. For quick reference, here is the .pdf statement: https://www.ucalgary.ca/provost/sites/default/files/StatementonFreeExpression.pdf 

The University of Calgary statement includes this sentence: “Free expression is subject to limitations imposed by law and, on our campuses, by University policies and procedures related to the functioning of the University.”

I brought this detail to the attention of our Provost at the time, Dr. Dru Marshall, pointing out that this could give the university leverage to reasonably remove advertisements for contract cheating services.  The Provost agreed and informed me that she would instruct Caretaking to have the advertisements on campus removed on this basis. We currently have an Interim Provost, Dr. Penny Werthner and I recently brought this information to her attention and she responded that she too, would take action.

Any post-secondary institution that has a Statement on Free Expression based on the Chicago principles, may be in a position to mandate the removal of advertisements that promote academic misconduct. Of course, this would need the agreement of the Provost or equivalent. I am sure that some lawyers could debate the nuances of some of this language and its implications. As I said, I am not a lawyer, but it would seem to me that in the case of Alberta at least, given that the provincial government mandated that every post-secondary institution in the province develop its own Statement on Free Expression based on the Chicago principles, and that universities and colleges across North America have widely adopted such statements that would have no doubt been scrutinized by lawyers ad nauseam, this is a policy loophole that could actually work in favour of the institution. There is a strong argument to be made that removal of advertisements that promote academic misconduct is not censorship, because communications that interfere with the functioning of the university (and that includes communications that promote academic misconduct) can reasonably be removed. This is not censorship; it is protecting the integrity of the institution.

If you live in jurisdiction that does not have legislation prohibiting the supply or advertisement of contract cheating services, but your school has a statement on free expression based on the Chicago principles, here are 5 things you can do:

• Share this blog post with your Provost / Vice-President Academic (or equivalent). Let them consider how the school’s statement can help to promote academic integrity.
• Ask the Provost (or equivalent) to instruct the head of caretaking that custodial should be instructed to remove the flyers and other advertisements that litter the classrooms and other areas of campus.
• Ask the Provost to inform the others on the executive leadership team (e.g., vice provost of student affairs, vice provost of teaching and learning, and so on) and deans to share this information with others in their respective units.
• Request that this information be shared at the next meeting of the University Senate (or in Alberta, the General Faculties Council) to ensure it is widely communicated.
• Ask how you can help. If your school has an academic committee or task force, offer to join and actively contribute to the ongoing work of upholding academic integrity at your own institution.

Institutions can take action against contract cheating. The annual International Day of Action Against Contract Cheating is fast approaching. It’s on October 19 this year. If your school hasn’t already signed up, you can still do so. Widespread removal of contract cheating advertisements could be a campus-wide event that students, staff, and administrators all participate in on that day, and every day.

_______________________________

Share or Tweet this: Contract Cheating and Freedom of Expression: How the Chicago Principles Can Help You Promote Academic Integrity on Your Campus – https://drsaraheaton.wordpress.com/2022/10/04/contract-cheating-and-freedom-of-expression-how-the-chicago-principles-can-help-you-promote-academic-integrity-on-your-campus/

This blog has had over 3 million views thanks to readers like you. If you enjoyed this post, please “like” it or share it on social media. Thanks!

Sarah Elaine Eaton, PhD, is a faculty member in the Werklund School of Education, and the Educational Leader in Residence, Academic Integrity, University of Calgary, Canada. Opinions are my own and do not represent those of the University of Calgary.