When we talk about academic integrity in universities, we often focus on preventing plagiarism and cheating. But what if our very approach to enforcing these standards is unintentionally creating barriers for some of our most vulnerable students?
My recent research explores how current academic integrity policies and practices can negatively affect neurodivergent students—those with conditions like ADHD, dyslexia, Autism, and other learning differences. Our existing systems, structures, and policies can further marginalize students with cognitive differences.
The Problem with One-Size-Fits-All
Neurodivergent students face unique challenges that can be misunderstood or ignored. A dyslexic student who struggles with citation formatting isn’t necessarily being dishonest. They may be dealing with cognitive processing differences that make these tasks genuinely difficult. A student with ADHD who has trouble managing deadlines and tracking sources is not necessarily lazy or unethical. They may be navigating executive function challenges that affect time management and organization. Yet our policies frequently treat these struggles as potential misconduct rather than as differences that deserve support.
Yet our policies frequently treat these struggles as potential misconduct rather than as differences that deserve support.
The Technology Paradox for Neurodivergent Students
Technology presents a particularly thorny paradox. On one hand, AI tools such as ChatGPT and text-to-speech software can be academic lifelines for neurodivergent students, helping them organize thoughts, overcome writer’s block, and express ideas more clearly. These tools can genuinely level the playing field.
On the other hand, the same technologies designed to catch cheating—especially AI detection software—appear to disproportionately flag neurodivergent students’ work. Autistic students or those with ADHD may be at higher risk of false positives from these detection tools, potentially facing misconduct accusations even when they have done their own work. This creates an impossible situation: the tools that help are the same ones that might get students in trouble.
Moving Toward Epistemic Plurality
So what’s the solution? Epistemic plurality, or recognizing that there are multiple valid ways of knowing and expressing knowledge. Rather than demanding everyone demonstrate learning in the exact same way, we should design assessments that allow for different cognitive styles and approaches.
This means:
Rethinking assessment design to offer multiple ways for students to demonstrate knowledge
Moving away from surveillance technologies like remote proctoring that create anxiety and accessibility barriers
Building trust rather than suspicion into our academic cultures
Designing universally, so accessibility is built in from the start rather than added as an afterthought
What This Means for the Future
In the postplagiarism era, where AI and technology are seamlessly integrated into education, we move beyond viewing academic integrity purely as rule-compliance. Instead, we focus on authentic and meaningful learning and ethical engagement with knowledge.
This does not mean abandoning standards. It means recognizing that diverse minds may meet those standards through different pathways. A student who uses AI to help structure an essay outline isn’t necessarily cheating. They may be using assistive technology in much the same way another student might use spell-check or a calculator.
Call to Action
My review of existing research showed something troubling: we have remarkably little data about how neurodivergent students experience academic integrity policies. The studies that exist are small, limited to English-speaking countries, and often overlook the voices of neurodivergent individuals themselves.
We need larger-scale research, global perspectives, and most importantly, we need neurodivergent students to be co-researchers and co-authors in work about them. “Nothing about us without us” is not just a slogan, but a call to action for creating inclusive academic environments.
Key Messages
Academic integrity should support learning, not create additional barriers for students who already face challenges. By reimagining our approaches through a lens of neurodiversity and inclusion, we can create educational environments where all students can thrive while maintaining academic standards.
Academic integrity includes and extends beyond student conduct; it means that everyone in the learning system acts with integrity to support student learning. Ultimately, there can be no integrity without equity.
Read the whole article here: Eaton, S. E. (2025). Neurodiversity and academic integrity: Toward epistemic plurality in a postplagiarism era. Teaching in Higher Education. https://doi.org/10.1080/13562517.2025.2583456
Sarah Elaine Eaton, PhD, is a Professor and Research Chair in the Werklund School of Education at the University of Calgary, Canada. Opinions are my own and do not represent those of my employer.
The first time I heard about decriminalizing the language and processes we use to address cases of plagiarism and other forms of academic misconduct; I was riveted. It was at an academic integrity conference in Richmond, Virginia and the lead presenter was Dr. James Earl Orr, who presented together with students on how a developmental and supportive approach to academic misconduct case management can help lead students towards academic success while still holding them responsible for their behaviour. James Earl Orr, writing together with Karita Orr, published an excellent article on using restorative practices to resolve academic integrity violations.
When I was writing the University of Calgary’s academic integrity Handbook for Academic Staff and Teaching Assistants, I took the opportunity to apply what I had learned from listening to Dr. Orr at conferences and reading his work by including a section on how to decriminalize the language we use to talk about academic misconduct.
Academic integrity violations are rarely criminal in nature and yet, much of the language we use when addressing plagiarism and academic cheating is legalistic, setting the stage for criminalizing student behaviour. One step towards taking a more learner-centred approach to misconduct is to decriminalize the language we use to talk about breaches of academic integrity.
Front cover of the Student Academic Integrity Faculty Handbook, published by the Taylor Institute for Teaching and Learning at the University of Calgary
“We know that words matter and the language we use is important. A full list of terms related to academic misconduct is available in our policy. It should be noted that the terms “academic integrity” and “academic misconduct” are not interchangeable.
Academic integrity is about acting ethically in teaching, learning and research contexts. We do not report, investigate or manage cases of academic integrity. We report, investigate and manage cases of academic misconduct.
Academic misconduct is what happens when individuals do not act with integrity. This is currently the language used in our policy and procedures. When speaking and writing about academic misconduct, we can use the terms “breaches of integrity or “violations of integrity” as synonyms for academic misconduct.
At the University of Calgary we take a proactive approach to academic integrity, including in the language we use and in keeping the focus on teaching, learning and fairness to students. In our conversations with students and others, it can be helpful to use the language of integrity that focuses on education and support” (Eaton, 2022, p. 13).
See the table below, which is also an expert from our handbook (with a few minor updates):
The language of academic integrity
Preferred language
Language to avoid
Explanation
Hold responsible
Guilt Guilty
The words “guilt” and “guilty” do not appear anywhere in our polices or procedures. We do not find students guilty of academic misconduct, but instead we hold them responsible for their behaviours.
Sanctions Consequence Outcome
Punish Punishment
When disciplinary actions are taken in response to academic misconduct, we do not use the terms “punish” or “punishment” in our institutional documents. We opt instead for “sanctions”, “discipline,” “consequences” or “outcome” which can include educational responses depending on the misconduct.
Hearing
Trial
The University of Calgary does not conduct trials related to academic misconduct. In other countries, various forms of academic misconduct can be considered an offense under the criminal code and students may be required to attend a criminal trial. That is not the case at the University of Calgary or anywhere in Canada. In the case of an appeal, a hearing might occur. In rare cases, an appeal case might escalate to an externally reviewed case in court, but these proceedings are not administered by the university itself.
When I talk about taking a postplagiarism approach to academic integrity I am talking about disrupting historically adversarial and antagonistic approaches to misconduct that pit students against their teachers. It is time to move past crime-and-punishment approaches to student misconduct where students are the villains and teachers are the heroes. When we talk about postplagiarism we talk about social justice and student success as being intertwined, and we focus on students as stewards of the future, who will be best equipped for an increasingly complex world when they understand the importance of ethical decision-making, both in theory and in practice.
Postplagiarism does not mean anything goes, and nor does it mean that we turn a blind eye to misconduct. Postplagiarism is about finding socially just ways to address misconduct include relationally, restoration, and the preservation of dignity and human rights. When we decriminalize language related to student misconduct, we are taking a step towards dignity and student success.
Our University of Calgary’s academic integrity Handbook for Academic Staff and Teaching Assistants is an open access handbook with a Creative Commons license. This means you can share and adapt the material, providing the original work is properly attributed.
If this is helpful to you, please share this with others.
Eaton, S. E. (2023). Postplagiarism: Transdisciplinary ethics and integrity in the age of artificial intelligence and neurotechnology. International Journal for Educational Integrity, 19(1), 1–10. https://doi.org/10.1007/s40979-023-00144-1
Eaton, S. E. (2025). Global Trends in Education: Artificial Intelligence, Postplagiarism, and Future-focused Learning for 2025 and Beyond – 2024–2025 Werklund Distinguished Research Lecture. International Journal for Educational Integrity, 21(1), 12. https://doi.org/10.1007/s40979-025-00187-6
Orr, J. E., & Hall, J. (2018). Student-led case adjudication: Promoting student learning through peer-to-peer engagement. 25th Annual International Center for Academic Integrity (ICAI) Conference, Richmond, VA.
Orr, J. E., & Orr, K. (2023). Restoring honor and integrity through integrating restorative practices in academic integrity with student leaders. Journal of Academic Ethics, 21, 55–70. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10805-021-09437-x
Orr, J. E., & Orren, S. (2018, March 4). The Development & Implementation of a Campus Academic Integrity Education Program. 25th Annual International Center for Academic Integrity (ICAI) Conference, Richmond, VA.
Sarah Elaine Eaton, PhD, is a Professor and Research Chair in the Werklund School of Education at the University of Calgary, Canada. Opinions are my own and do not represent those of my employer.
I started my Bachelor of Arts (Honours) degree 37 years ago this September. (Gosh, that’s a long time ago!) Looking back, I was sooo excited to be a university student… and also terrified. I was the first person in my immediate family to attend university. Now, as a professor, I am committed to helping to create pathways to success for students from equity-deserving groups, those who may be from marginalized or underrepresented groups. Part of this includes academic integrity for these students, who may genuinely have no idea when they start their first year of college what is expected of them.
First-generation college students (also called “first in family” students) are those whose parents did not complete a four-year college degree. These students face unique challenges that some folks in higher education may not fully appreciate. As faculty members, we have both an opportunity and responsibility to create more inclusive and supportive learning environments for these students.
Understanding the Barriers
First-generation students often navigate college without the cultural capital and informal knowledge that their peers may take for granted. They may be unfamiliar with academic norms, unsure about when and how to seek help, or struggling to balance college demands with family obligations and work responsibilities. These students may also experience heightened anxiety about whether they belong in academic spaces.
The principles I have advocated for in academic integrity work apply directly here. Existing systems in higher education can create barriers for students who don’t arrive with certain forms of privilege. As I have argued elsewhere, there can be no integrity without equity (Eaton, 2022). When we fail to address systemic barriers, we perpetuate conditions that disadvantage particular student groups.
Practical Strategies for Faculty
These strategies may work for many different student, not just first gen ones, but I would argue that we can be especially attentive to first generation students by taking the following into account:
Make the Implicit Explicit
Academic culture is filled with unspoken rules and expectations. What seems obvious to those of us who have spent years in higher education may be completely foreign to first-generation students. As I have learned from my work on equity and academic integrity, “if the system is invisible to you, that is because it was created for you” (Eaton, 2022, p. 6).
Provide detailed rubrics and examples of successful work: Create comprehensive rubrics that clearly articulate expectations for each level of performance. Include examples of student work that demonstrate different quality levels, with annotations explaining what makes each example effective or ineffective. Consider providing both excellent examples and common mistakes to help students understand the full range of expectations.
Explain the purpose behind assignments, not just the requirements: Help students understand the learning objectives and real-world applications of their coursework. For instance, explain how a research paper develops critical thinking skills, information literacy, and written communication abilities that transfer to professional contexts. This contextual understanding helps students engage more meaningfully with their learning.
Use plain language in syllabi and course materials: Avoid unnecessary jargon and academic terminology that may be unfamiliar to first-generation students. When discipline-specific terms are essential, define them clearly. Review your syllabus annually to identify language that might be confusing or intimidating to newcomers to higher education.
Clarify expectations for participation, email communication, and office hour visits: Explicitly teach students how to write professional emails, including appropriate subject lines, greetings, and tone. Explain what constitutes meaningful class participation beyond simply speaking up. Describe what happens during office hours and provide specific examples of productive topics for discussion.
Build Genuine Relationships
Connection matters. First-generation students benefit tremendously from feeling that faculty care about them as individuals. This mirrors what we know from academic integrity research: students are less likely to engage in misconduct when they believe their instructors care about them (Eaton, 2022).
Learn students’ names and use them regularly: Make a conscious effort to learn and use student names from the first week of class. Consider using name tents, seating charts, or other strategies to help with this process. Using names creates a sense of belonging and demonstrates that you see students as individuals rather than anonymous faces in a crowd.
Share your own educational journey when appropriate: If you were a first-generation student yourself, consider sharing relevant aspects of your experience. Even if you weren’t, you can share challenges you faced and how you overcame them. This vulnerability helps normalize struggle and shows students that difficulty doesn’t indicate inadequacy.
Create opportunities for peer interaction and collaboration: Design activities that help students connect with one another, such as think-pair-share exercises, small group discussions, or collaborative projects. These connections can provide crucial academic and social support throughout their college experience.
Be approachable and normalize help-seeking behavior: Explicitly tell students that asking questions is a sign of engagement, not weakness. Share examples of productive questions from past students. Make yourself available through multiple channels and respond to student inquiries promptly and warmly.
Schedule regular check-ins, particularly with students who seem to be struggling: Proactively reach out to students who have missed classes, submitted late work, or seem disengaged. A simple email expressing concern and offering support can make a significant difference. Consider mid-semester individual conferences with all students to discuss their progress and address any concerns.
Address Financial and Time Pressures
Many first-generation students work multiple jobs or have family caregiving responsibilities. Our course design should acknowledge these realities without compromising academic rigor. In some research that I did with a graduate student on mental wellbeing and academic integrity, we found that students experiencing stress may be more vulnerable to academic misconduct (Eaton & Turner, 2020), making supportive course design even more crucial.
Avoid requiring expensive textbooks when alternatives exist: Explore open educational resources (OERs), library reserves, or older editions of textbooks. If expensive materials are necessary, provide information about rental options, used book sources, or financial aid resources that might help students afford them.
Consider the timing of assignment due dates and major exams: Avoid scheduling major assignments during times when students are likely to face additional stressors, such as midterms week or right before holidays when many students increase their work hours. Provide advance notice of all major assignments and deadlines.
Offer multiple pathways to demonstrate learning: Design assessments that allow students to showcase their knowledge in different ways. This might include options for oral presentations instead of written papers, creative projects alongside traditional exams, or multiple smaller assignments rather than a few high-stakes evaluations.
Build flexibility into attendance policies when appropriate: While maintaining reasonable expectations, consider policies that account for the realities of students who may face transportation issues, work conflicts, or family emergencies. Provide clear guidelines about how to communicate absences and make up missed work.
Connect students with campus resources for emergency financial assistance: Learn about your institution’s emergency funding programs and don’t hesitate to refer students who are struggling financially. Many students are unaware these resources exist or feel uncomfortable accessing them without encouragement from faculty.
Provide Proactive Academic Support
Don’t wait for students to ask for help. The cultural norm of self-advocacy may not be familiar to first-generation students, and they may interpret struggling as evidence that they don’t belong. As research on academic integrity and mental health during COVID-19 has shown, students may experience significant anxiety about academic expectations and performance (Eaton & Turner, 2020).
Introduce campus support services early and repeatedly: Don’t just mention writing support and student success workshops once in your syllabus. Regularly remind students about these resources and explain specifically how they can help with course assignments. Consider inviting representatives from student services to visit your class.
Provide feedback throughout the semester, not just at the end: Offer low-stakes opportunities for students to receive feedback on their work before major assignments are due. This might include draft submissions, peer review sessions, or brief conferences about work in progress.
Connect students with tutoring, writing centers, and peer support programs: Make specific referrals rather than general suggestions. For example, “Based on your draft, I think working with the writing center on thesis development would be helpful. Here’s how to make an appointment, and I recommend mentioning that you’re working on argument structure.”
Offer study strategies and time management guidance: Many first-generation students have never been taught effective study techniques. Provide concrete strategies for reading academic texts, taking notes, preparing for exams, and managing large projects over time.
Explain how to read and interpret feedback on assignments: Students may not understand how to use your comments to improve their work. Consider providing examples of how to revise based on feedback or scheduling brief meetings to discuss your comments on major assignments.
Challenge Deficit Thinking
Resist viewing first-generation students through a deficit lens. Instead, recognize the strengths, resilience, and diverse perspectives they bring to your classroom. This aligns with advocacy for decolonizing academic practices and embracing multiple ways of knowing (Eaton, 2022).
Value different forms of knowledge and experience: Acknowledge that students bring valuable perspectives from their work, family, and community experiences. Create opportunities for students to connect course content to their lived experiences and cultural backgrounds.
Incorporate diverse voices and perspectives in your curriculum: Include authors, researchers, and case studies that reflect diverse backgrounds and experiences. This helps all students see themselves reflected in the curriculum while exposing everyone to broader perspectives.
Create assignments that allow students to draw on their backgrounds: Design projects that invite students to explore topics relevant to their communities or to apply course concepts to contexts they know well. This validates their experiences while helping them see the relevance of academic content.
Resist conflating struggle with inability: Normalize the learning process and help students understand that confusion and difficulty are natural parts of intellectual growth. Share examples of how struggle leads to deeper understanding.
Advocate for institutional changes that support student success: Use your voice in departmental and institutional committees to push for policies and practices that better serve first-generation students. This might include advocating for more flexible scheduling, expanded financial aid, or improved support services.
Practice Cultural Humility
Acknowledge that our own educational experiences may differ significantly from those of our students. Be willing to learn about their perspectives and challenges.
Ask students about their needs rather than making assumptions: Use anonymous surveys or informal check-ins to understand what your students are experiencing. Their insights can help you adjust your teaching to better meet their needs.
Be open to feedback about your teaching practices: Create opportunities for students to provide honest feedback about what’s working and what isn’t. Consider mid-semester evaluations or regular pulse checks to gauge student understanding and engagement.
Recognize the limits of your own knowledge and experience: Be honest about what you don’t know about first-generation student experiences and commit to learning more. Attend professional development sessions, read relevant research, and seek out colleagues who have expertise in this area.
Collaborate with student affairs professionals who specialize in first-generation student support: Build relationships with staff in student success centers, counseling services, and first-generation student programs. They can provide valuable insights and serve as resources for your students.
Beyond Individual Action
Individual faculty efforts are essential, but systemic change is equally important. As I have argued in my work on equity in academic integrity, we must advocate for institutional transformation and systemic change (Eaton, 2022).
Within your department and institution, push for professional development focused on supporting first-generation students, policies that address food insecurity and housing instability, expanded financial aid and emergency funding programs, mentoring programs connecting students with faculty, staff, and successful peers, and recognition systems that value inclusive teaching practices.
The Mental Health Connection
There are connections between academic stress and mental health concerns (Eaton & Turner, 2020). For first-generation students, this stress may be compounded by family pressures, financial worries, and feelings of not belonging. Our rapid review of literature during COVID-19 found that students experienced “amplification of students’ anxiety and stress during the pandemic, especially for matters relating to academic integrity” (Eaton & Turner, 2020, p. 37).
Faculty should be attentive to signs of student distress and prepared to connect students with appropriate campus resources. Creating supportive classroom environments can help mitigate some of these stressors. When students feel valued and supported, they are more likely to seek help when needed rather than struggling in isolation.
A Personal Commitment
Supporting first-generation students requires ongoing commitment to equity and inclusion. It means examining our own practices and assumptions, being willing to change course when needed, and advocating for students both inside and outside our classrooms.
The work of creating equitable educational environments is never finished. As I have written elsewhere, “A commitment to allyship is a life’s work, demonstrated throughout our daily ethical practice as educators, leaders, researchers, and human beings” (Eaton, 2022, p. 6). When we commit to supporting first-generation students, we strengthen our entire academic community and move closer to the ideals of fairness and inclusion that should guide higher education.
As educators, we have the power to significantly impact student success. The question is how we use that power to dismantle existing barriers or to create pathways for all students to thrive.
References
Eaton, S. E. (2022). New priorities for academic integrity: equity, diversity, inclusion, decolonization and Indigenization. International Journal for Educational Integrity, 18(10), 1-12. https://doi.org/10.1007/s40979-022-00105-0
Eaton, S. E., & Turner, K. L. (2020). Exploring academic integrity and mental health during COVID-19: Rapid review. Journal of Contemporary Education Theory & Research, 4(1), 35-41. http://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.4256825
Sarah Elaine Eaton, PhD, is a Professor and Research Chair in the Werklund School of Education at the University of Calgary, Canada. Opinions are my own and do not represent those of my employer.
I am trying out SSRN. I feel like this is something I should have known about long ago. Last year, one of the doctoral students whom I supervise, Myke Healy, posted a paper about academic integrity in secondary schools on SSRN. (It’s a really good ready, by the way.)
On my recent travels, I was listening to Malcolm Gladwell’s podcast, Revisionist History. In one of episodes (I forget which one exactly), Gladwell raves about SSRN. I mean, gushes.
I thought to myself, “Well, it seems the universe is asking me to pay attention to SSRN.” So, I did.
I got working on a paper that had been sort of lingering for a couple of years. (Yes, a couple of years. Good work takes time!) I unpacked the ideas, developed the argument, referenced people whose contributions influenced and shaped my thinking and got it formatted.
So, I’ve now posted my first paper on SSRN: Eaton, S. E. (2025). A Wraparound Approach to Academic Integrity: Centering Students in the Postplagiarism Era (April 20, 2025). SSRN. https://doi.org/http://dx.doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.5223911
I’m not really sure what happens next. There doesn’t really seem to be a place for folks to comment on the paper, though you can download it and add it to your library. I guess the next step is to submit it to a journal and go from there.
If you use SSRN and have tips on how to make the most of it, feel free to share. I’m learning as I go and I’m all ears.
Sarah Elaine Eaton, PhD, is a Professor and Research Chair in the Werklund School of Education at the University of Calgary, Canada. Opinions are my own and do not represent those of my employer.
Starting the year with a brief reflection inspired by the OECD Social and Emotional Skills for Better Lives report:
How can we, as educators, create systems and circumstances to help students thrive? How do we create opportunities for them? If there are doors that have been closed to them, how do we open those doors?
Or better yet, how do we break down the walls that hold up those doors in the first place?
These are some big questions I am contemplating for this year. How about you?
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Sarah Elaine Eaton, PhD, is a Professor and Research Chair in the Werklund School of Education at the University of Calgary, Canada. Opinions are my own and do not represent those of my employer.
Posted by Sarah Elaine Eaton, Ph.D. 
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