The LMS includes tools that assist instructors in deterring and detecting plagiarism. This is essential to upholding the KYSU Online/Global’s policies and safeguarding the quality and results of the school’s degree programs. Even so, the use of plagiarism detection software alone is not enough. Instructors in online courses have an active, and perhaps more influential, role in promoting a culture of academic integrity among the students.

When instructors introduce writing assignments in their weekly announcements or other communication with students, they should remind students that all their work will be scanned for plagiarism. This allows students to contact the instructor to discuss strategies for engaging secondary sources and citing them in a way that avoids plagiarism. Instructors might find that performance anxiety, inexperience, or cross-cultural differences can influence students' research and engagement with sources. By reminding students to be vigilant in avoiding plagiarism, the instructor invites opportunities for academic engagement with students.

Instructors know that the results of automated plagiarism detection software in the LMS are not definitive. The software’s scores and reports require an instructor’s interpretation and professional judgment. For example, it is not uncommon for these platforms to return a score above 30% on the average paper; every correctly formatted and cited quotation of a source will be flagged, contributing to the overall plagiarism score returned for the file. Instructors should carefully evaluate these results. Should further action be required, based on the instructor’s professional judgment about the plagiarism detection report, the instructor should consult with their supervisor to navigate the relevant Academic Conduct policies and procedures.

The bottom line is that online instructors can help deter plagiarism by reminding students of the expectations and that their work will be scanned by software.

See the document, KYSU Online Academic Code of Conduct, and the document, KYSU Online Policy on the Use of Artificial Intelligence (AI), for more information.

Online faculty will participate in discussion assignments by actively interacting with the students and content. This should take several forms for optimal effect, including responding in the forum to specific student posts, pointing out strong arguments, tactfully correcting incorrect information, asking follow-up questions to promote conversation, and perhaps pointing students to additional resources on the given subject, such as embedding a video link, journal article, blog, etc.

Regarding regular and substantive interaction (RSI), faculty are encouraged to comment two (2) to three (3) times in each graded discussion forum and collaborative learning assignment. These comments can be concise or more expansive but should be instructional. Such comments could highlight thoughts from students' posts that are especially strong in content or reasoning. Additionally, they could spur the discussion deeper or redirect it as needed. It is recommended that the instructor not always respond to the same students, which can create perceptions of an inequitable classroom atmosphere.

At the end of each week, when there is such an activity, faculty are encouraged to post a summary within the forum to the class, providing feedback on themes they observed in the students' posts, strengths and weaknesses, redirection, and corrections where the discussion may have drifted. This is yet another teaching moment to stress the objectives of the assignment.

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