The Office of Student Conduct held the first NC State Academic Integrity Week from Feb. 22 to Feb. 26 to reinforce the importance of academic integrity amid an increase in violations over the past year. The week included events such as a TikTok challenge, trivia night, lunch-and-learn, a Pack Pledge banner and rock climbing at the Wellness and Recreation Center.

According to an article published by the NC State Division of Academic and Student Affairs, during the 2019-2020 school year, there was a 152% increase in academic integrity violations at NC State. Between March 1 and Dec. 31 of 2020, there were 900 cases of academic misconduct, which is triple the number of cases typically seen in one year.

Laura Griffin, a first-year studying engineering, said she sees the value in Academic Integrity Week due to an increase in academic misconduct and use of online courses.

“With the online courses, you’re not in a classroom with instructors and students around you, so it’s a lot easier to be tempted to do something dishonest,” Griffin said. “So, the University having a whole week dedicated to reminding you is really helpful. It’s sort of like if you were in a classroom.” 

Bradley Davis, associate director of the Office of Student Conduct, led the virtual trivia night where he incorporated important messages about academic integrity with pop culture trivia. He discussed examples of the Code of Student Conduct’s three main categories of academic misconduct: plagiarism, aiding and abetting and cheating. He advised students on how to avoid these violations and encouraged them to promote academic integrity to their peers.

Davis also led the virtual lunch-and-learn event where he showed clips from movies and shows with examples of academic misconduct and had students identify them and discuss what they would do in those situations. He also stressed the importance of students knowing the Code of Student Conduct’s contents and upholding it.

The other events that took place during the week were a TikTok challenge where students submitted videos promoting academic integrity and student success, rock climbing challenges at the Wellness and Recreation Center and a Pack Pledge banner in Talley Student Union, which students signed, representing a commitment to academic integrity.

Inam Ramzan, a first-year studying engineering, thought having Academic Integrity Week was impactful because of the physical reminders it brought to students.

“If you spread awareness, especially with activities, you have physical reminders of why you should commit to academic integrity because cheating could be easy for a lot of classes, but when you actually learn the material, take the tests, take the quizzes and do it on your own, you learn more than you ever would while cheating,” Ramzan said. “And [Academic Integrity Week] is just a good reminder that that’s the case.”

Students can read the Code of Student Conduct, which can be found here, to ensure they are demonstrating academic integrity. For more help, students can reach out to the Office of Student Conduct or see their page on preventing academic misconduct.