Students urged to embrace integrity

by John Morris

Students at the University of Waterloo should work, study and play — and do it all with integrity for their own good and for the good of the institution.

That's the central message of an ambitious collaborative initiative — featuring banners, posters, magnets and videos — intended to forge a culture of integrity among students and other members of the community in all aspects of their lives on campus.

The ongoing program, launched last fall by Waterloo's Office of Academic Integrity in collaboration with a mix of academic support units and input from student leaders and faculty, seeks to raise awareness about what is expected of students in the wide-ranging area of integrity in the classroom, at work and in residence.

It tackles a troubling perception that some of today's students don't yet have a clear idea of the meaning of integrity, with its values of honesty, trust, fairness, respect and responsibility.

"It's important to emphasize that integrity is everyone’s business at Waterloo, not just students," says Bruce Mitchell, associate provost, resources. In addition to students, key participants in the initiative are faculty members, teaching assistants and staff.

"Our main job on the academic integrity front is to inform and educate the students so they understand our expectations," he says. "We cannot assume that every student arrives here with the same knowledge of the proper use of citations, paraphrasing and so on."

Mitchell, who heads the Office of Academic Integrity, says that integrity is not limited to academics alone, but includes every aspect of a student's university experience.

With the help of Creative Services, four posters have been produced, each with an accompanying video, to present students in typical settings in a campus community - academics, athletics, workplace and residence.

The videos can be viewed by the QR code or by following the URL on the poster.

As part of the program, first-year undergraduate students also receive fact sheets on academic integrity. They can learn about five commonly misunderstood offences: excessive collaboration; plagiarism; unauthorized use of previous term's assignments, tests and solutions; use of another student's previous assignment, test and solution; and theft of another student's intellectual property.

They can also take online academic integrity tutorials and verify the integrity of their essays by using citationmachine.net, a citation generator that helps them avoid plagiarism.

Professors are also expected to outline their expectations on proper conduct in the classroom, including whether students are permitted to engage in research projects with their classmates in this age of Facebook friends.

Together with colleague Faye Schultz of the academic integrity office, Mitchell consulted extensively with representatives from Athletics and Recreation, Federation of Students, Health Services, Housing and Residences, Student Success Office and Student Life Office.

"Our goal was to develop a consistent message for academic integrity with a common tag line which could be promoted across the campus," Mitchell says. "We needed a broad appeal in all areas of campus life to reach the students."

The campaign's chief goal is to raise awareness of how the five values of integrity - honesty, trust, fairness, respect and responsibility - should define the community at Waterloo.

As well, it aims to encourage campus units to develop complementary messages that reinforce the importance of integrity in all aspects of life at Waterloo.

For example, Athletics and Recreation unveiled a Student Athlete Mission Statement and Values poster, which links to one of the four posters about integrity at Waterloo. Other areas, such as co-op education, housing and the library, are expected to offer similar integrity-related posters.

The Office of Academic Integrity offers tools on how best to achieve academic excellence.

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Sweet Dreams for startup, and other notes

The Sweet Dreams Tea Shop has become an institution in the University Shops Plaza since it was established by Waterloo alumni in 1999. Now, this student-focused business is lending a hand to a new university startup, Gainsters Mobile Loyalty, to deliver a high-tech spin on loyalty stamp cards.

Gainsters Mobile Loyalty has created an app that allows customers to scan QR codes on their smartphones, or use their email address and a PIN number at a dedicated tablet to collect or redeem reward points. They are beta testing the digital loyalty program at Sweet Dreams as well as Delica, a San Francisco-based eatery.

Digital stamp cards are "more convenient, engaging, and environmentally-friendly than the old paper cards," explains Gainsters co-founder and Math and Business double-degree student Helena Hua Cao (right, photographed while adding the Gainsters touch on the tea shop's windows).

The digital stamp card program was launched on Monday, January 2 with a special promotion. "Anyone who signs up at gainsters.com before Friday the 13th can get a chance to win free bubble tea for the entire month of February."

The annual Grade 10 Family Night for university-bound high-schoolers and their parents will be held next Thursday, January 12, in the Humanities Theatre. The annual event, organized by Marketing and Undergraduate Recruitment, helps students understand what they can do in high school to prepare for applying to any of Ontario’s universities.

“It’s never too early to start planning for university,” says Amelia Burton, Waterloo’s manager of liaison. “Grade 10 Family Night will help parents and high school students learn about the wide range of academic programs available, the admissions process, as well as different ways to help pay for university.”

Topics include the university application process, financing a post-secondary education, and choosing the right program for future success. Current university students will talk about what they wish they knew about university while still in high school. This year's keynote speaker is Dr. Toni Serafini of St. Jerome's University.

Participants can register to attend or watch a live webcast of the event, which gets underway at 6:30 p.m.

Three of the latest inductees into the Order of Canada have a Waterloo connection. Named as an Officer of the Order of Canada "for his contributions to Canadian literature" was celebrated children's author and Waterloo alumnus Tim Wynne-Jones (BA '74). Tom Jenkins, chair of university spinoff success story Open Text Corporation, was also named an Officer of the Order of Canada "for his innovative contributions to the development of the high technology industry in Canada", and the Honourable Kevin G. Lynch, former Clerk of the Privy Council and current member of this university's Board of Governors, was similarly awarded "for his contributions as a senior public servant, notably as head of Canada’s public service, and as a business leader and volunteer." The announcement of the newest appointments, 66 in all, was made December 30, with the induction ceremony to be held at a later date.

An expert in civil society peacebuilding, Professor Reina Neufeldt (right) will be joining the Peace and Conflict Studies (PACS) Department at the University of Waterloo, based at Conrad Grebel University College, beginning July 1, 2012. Neufeldt comes to Conrad Grebel from American University in Washington D.C. where her research focuses on the intersection of identity, social change, ethics, and peace processes. Her dissertation examined Mennonite identity maintenance and change during three periods of conflict in the 20th century. She received her PhD in International Relations in 2005, and holds an MA in Social Psychology.

“In her new role as Assistant Professor of Peace and Conflict Studies, Reina will bring an outstanding portfolio of teaching, research, and service expertise to the PACS program,” stated President Susan Schultz Huxman. “She is well-positioned to articulate the identity, mission and values of Conrad Grebel University College in the wider community.”

“Professor Neufeldt adds several important dimensions to Grebel's PACS program,” explained Jim Pankratz, Dean at Conrad Grebel. “She has taught graduate students in the themes, methods and analytical perspectives that are foundational in peace studies. She has done significant research on Mennonite peace-building. And her south-east Asia field experience complements the diverse international experience of other Grebel faculty. She will be one of the core faculty members who will shape the new Master of Peace and Conflict Studies (MPACS) program and provide inspiration to the innovative Mennonite Savings and Credit Union Centre for Peace Advancement in the years ahead. We are very pleased to welcome her to this significant role at Grebel and the University of Waterloo. “

Neufeldt is “delighted to join the PACS team and to help launch the MPACS program. The Peace and Conflict Studies undergraduate program at Conrad Grebel was an early pioneer in the field, and I believe MPACS builds on this superb foundation and breaks new, exciting ground.”

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