Going the Distance for International Students: Academic Integrity Support Online

International students may feel even more disconnected from their campus than other distance students, so distance library support is a valuable way to help these students succeed. In addition, academic integrity is a concept that can be especially tricky for international students, who come from a variety of cultural backgrounds. Whether or not international students are taking classes online, their busy schedules can sometimes make it difficult for them to get training in academic integrity from a formal, in-person workshop.

The librarians at this institution had been offering an online avoiding plagiarism workshop for students for several years, and, most semesters, several hundred students enrolled in the workshop to receive extra credit. The entire workshop consists of modules in Blackboard that can be completed for a certificate of completion. When the director of the Center for International Services & Programs learned about this popular online workshop, he reached out to the library to see if the workshop could be modified and offered to all incoming international students as a part of their campus orientation. This presentation describes how the library responded to this campus need in a way that streamlined the work while still considering how best to teach international students these difficult concepts. Changes to the workshop were made based on a careful exploration of literature about teaching international students, and feedback from the participants also helped the librarians update the content for a successful student experience. The session will explore the free technology used to create the module videos, how activities were simplified for a specific audience, and how to solicit the help of a graduate assistant with grading the submissions.