Eastern Student Allison Butler of Storrs Recognized for Promoting Academic Integrity

2015 Jun 15

A number of Eastern Connecticut State University students were recently recognized for creating a video that promotes academic integrity by The School for Ethical Education (SEE). This video was created as a public service announcement for the SEE's "Integrity Works" contest.

Allison Butler '16 of Storrs was one of the students who contributed to the video. Butler's major is Communication. The video, titled "Slippery Slope," depicts a student finding a "cheat sheet" for an upcoming test and imagining the negative impact that using it to cheat could have on him. In the video, the student gets caught cheating and receives a failing grade on the test. He then has to go to the Dean of Students, where he finds out that he won't receive his diploma. The video closes with the words "Think Before You Cheat."

This "Integrity Works" contest seeks to use the student creativity in order to speak out against academic dishonesty. The SEE hopes that this contest will promote ethical values such as honesty, integrity, responsibility, perseverance and fairness while simultaneously reminding students that academic dishonesty is an ethical issue that they are in control of. By demonstrating to students and faculty the importance of integrity, they are confident that this contest will discourage academic dishonesty.

The SEE teaches strategies to educators to put ethics in action for positive character formation of students. As technology leads to increased availability of resources, the SEE recognizes the need for an increased focus on ethical behavior within human interactions. They also encourage sound ethical reasoning in order to promote the advancement of ethical behavior.