USC’s Office of Academic Integrity (OAI) celebrated the launching of their new program during Monday’s destressing workshop in the Student Union’s newly-opened Sustainability Hub, where clinical instructor Olivia Wills discussed the effects of internalized pressure on students’ academic choices.
Academic Integrity Week will go through October 6. Students and instructors will learn how to detect and report academic dishonesty, examine student well-being and contribute to a culture of “integrity, excellence, and accountability,” according to OAI.
Per the Northern Illinois University Academic Integrity Tutorial, anxiety surrounding academic performance can sacrifice integrity. During Monday’s kickoff event, Wills, who specializes in psychology and behavioral sciences, spoke to students and faculty about how stress relates to academic dishonesty. According to Wills, attending USC poses an expectation to succeed academically, financially and socially.
“Students set high standards and put so much pressure on themselves that it doesn’t seem feasible that “[they] could fail,” Wills said in her speech. She iterated that when students feel that it isn’t feasible to go into a test without being the “most prepared,” they could feel urged to take a shortcut.
“The other thing about stress is that it can lead to rigidity, and so, rigidity is where we fail to see the full view around us, " Wills continued. “We’re looking at one sliver, and that one sliver is telling us that ‘I need that A, I need to pass this class.”
Some graduate students shared their thoughts after attending the event regarding how it enabled them to realize they’re not alone.
“I really like these kinds of sessions,” said Sina Ilkhani, a graduate student studying chemistry. “I can join with other people and also better myself in different aspects like pressure and how to connect with others.”
Jia Khan, another graduate student studying chemistry, said, “I just want to be more open on the ways to manage stress effectively, especially as graduate students where I know many students may suffer from the imposter syndrome, where they question their credibility and their skills.”
Studies conducted by the International Center for Academic Integrity reveal that more than 60% of university students admit to cheating in some form.
Kelly Greco, a clinical associate professor of psychiatry and behavioral sciences at USC, shared insight on how stress may contribute to the reliance on plagiarism to complete assignments.
When students get stressed out, they begin to have “rigid thinking,” according to Greco. Students hone in on their fear of failing and running out of time, and “if the panic and anxiety and stress is high, then we risk making decisions that may not benefit us,” she said.
Greco offered pieces of advice on managing academic rigor and stress.
She recommended creating a daily structure that includes appointments, classes and meetings, and other stress relieving activities. To combat worrying about unconsciously spending too much time on a break, Greco advised that students “set a timer on your phone to go off to prompt you to go back to the task.”
According to Greco, students often compare themselves to other students who are able to sit down and study for long periods of time and as a result, they put themselves down, which exacerbates their stress.
“We’re our worst critic,” said Greco. “We’re very hard on ourselves. And that negative self-talk can really impact our performance and the decisions that we make.”
In her kickoff speech, Wills expressed that by managing “our inner critic,” students may be able to end up in a place where they wouldn’t have to seek out those “shortcuts.”
According to Greco, by focusing more on “our strengths, our choices, our options, our resources,” students can feel more empowered to make decisions that benefit their wellbeing rather than act out of panic. Specifically, she said that taking advantage of moments of peak energy and motivation can help students establish a personal schedule that allows them to properly prepare.
Aside from Monday’s event, the OAI will host six more occasions around campus in accordance with Academic Integrity Week. More information can be found on the OAI’s webpage.
Academic Integrity Events
- Information Literacy Instruction Librarian Ariana Varela will teach attendees how to practice media literacy in the John McKay Center October 3 from 11 to 12 p.m.
- Librarians Jennifer Silverman and Michaela Ullmann will define plagiarism and how to avoid it October 4 from 10 to 11 a.m. That same day, members of the Kortschak Center for Learning and Creativity will give attendees tips on managing time and stress in the Social Sciences Building (SOS) from 2:30 to 3:30 p.m.
- OAI will host a thesis workshop for graduate students October 5 from 11 to 12 p.m in SOS. The session will focus on research anxiety, stress caused by feeling overwhelmed about what to do on an open-ended project. From 1:30 p.m. to 3 p.m, Doheny Library will host a panel discussion about AI applications such as Chat GPT and Bing.
- To wrap up the week, OIA will teach attendees how to report plagiarism and why it is necessary to do so in SOS from 11 to 12 p.m.