Academic Integrity resource for teaching assistants
As a Teaching Assistant (TA) it can be tricky to know what your responsibilities are if you suspect or observe academic misconduct. This resource is intended to help both TAs and course instructors about the roles and responsibilities teaching assistants play in upholding academic integrity at the University of Calgary.
Teaching assistants are responsible for acting with integrity, maintaining the privacy of all parties involved and reporting any suspected or actual cases of academic misconduct to the course instructor. TAs are not responsible for confronting student(s) who may be allegedly responsible for academic misconduct and nor are they responsible for imposing sanctions (discipline). It is the responsibility of the course instructor to follow the guidelines established by their faculty for responding to allegations of academic misconduct.
Open communication between course instructors and teaching assistants is key. Establishing expectations early in the term, before issues might arise can be very helpful for teaching assistants.
It is important for teaching assistants to know they are not alone when it comes to upholding academic integrity.
This one-page tip sheet is intended as a suggested guideline to help teaching assistants figure out what to do if they encounter or suspect a breach of academic integrity. This handout is not exhaustive and it may not cover all situations. This resource was developed specifically for teaching assistants at the University of Calgary and may not apply to TAs at other institutions.
Here is a link to this free and downloadable .pdf resource: U Have Integrity: Resource for Teaching Assistants.
Here is the text of the .pdf for anyone wanting a quick read:
As a teaching assistant it can be tricky to know what your responsibilities are if you suspect or observe academic misconduct. This resource is intended as a suggested guideline about what to do in such situations in your role as a teaching assistant (TA). This resource may not cover all situations, but in can serve as a starting point.
What to do
- Familiarize yourself with the University of Calgary Student Academic Misconduct Policy and Procedure.
- Familiarize yourself with the resources and services offered by the Student Success Centre about academic integrity.
- Start a conversation with your course instructor at the beginning of the term about what they expect from you in terms of upholding integrity in your role. It is a good idea to do this before you undertake your work so both parties have clear expectations.
- Act as a role model for academic integrity.
- Discuss any alleged or actual breaches of integrity with the course instructor.
- Gather evidence related to the alleged misconduct. Keep detailed notes of the incident, including dates and times, who was involved, etc. Provide this information to the course instructor.
- Remember that learning how to address academic misconduct is part of your training as a teaching assistant, but you are not alone!
What to avoid
- Do not keep the incident a secret (even if the student asks you to). Talk to the course instructor.
- Do not discuss the matter with any other teaching assistants, students, etc.
- Do not confront a student. It is the role of the course instructor to address alleged or actual academic misconduct with the student(s) involved.
- Do not impose any sanctions (punishments) on your own. The course instructor (not the TA) is responsible for following the guidelines established within the faculty about how to address actual or suspected cases of academic misconduct.
- Do not share details (even if they are de-identified) on social media, even in closed or private groups.
Related posts:
- How to Deal with Contract Cheating: A Collection of Resources
- COVID-19, Contract Cheating and Academic Integrity in Online Courses: What you need to know
- Contract cheating: A view from three Calgary post-secondary institutions
- Universities unite against the academic black market
- New book! Plagiarism in Higher Education: Tackling Tough Topics in Academic Integrity
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Sarah Elaine Eaton 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.
Posted by Sarah Elaine Eaton, Ph.D. 
I am always telling my students to find and cite the original sources rather than relying on secondary sources. In the work I do on academic misconduct, the work of William Bowers is often cited as a seminal study in the field. The problem is that Bowers’s original work is hard to get your hands on. I was able to find a copy of his 1966 doctoral dissertation, but the original 1964 book seemed almost impossible to find. The two sources have exactly the same title. Although both texts are based on the same content, it is presented in different ways in both texts.
Like many others, I have been eagerly awaiting the release of the the 
My colleague, Roswita Dressler and I have just had a new paper published. It all started when I was at an academic integrity conference a couple of years back. I was sitting next to a colleague who works in a language other than English (LOTE). The colleague suggested that contract cheating (e.g. essay mills and other forms of outsourced academic work) was a problem of the English-speaking world, asserting that there simply wouldn’t be enough of a market in other languages.
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