Saint Mary's College of California

Gilbert, Molly

The Escherian Moral Odyssey: An Enquiry into the Enigma of Ethics

Cook, Corey

London Breed vs. the doom loop: Can S.F. mayor convince 2024 voters she’s turning the city around?

Saint Mary\u27s College of California

Faculty Handbook 
Volume 2023 2023-2024 Article 3 
7-1-2023 
Table of Contents 
Saint Mary's College of California 
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Available at: https://digitalcommons.stmarys-ca.edu/faculty-handbook/vol2023/iss1/3 
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SAINT MARY’S COLLEGE OF CALIFORNIA 
 
FACULTY HANDBOOK 2023-2024 
 
TABLE OF CONTENTS 
 
1. Mission, History, General Organization and  
 Governance of Saint Mary’s College       1 
 
1.1 Saint Mary's College Mission Statement                  1 
  
1.2  History of Saint Mary's College                   2 
1.2.1  Accreditation                  2 
 
1.3 The Corporate Structure of Saint Mary's College of California  2 
1.3.1 The Corporation          3 
1.3.2 The Board of Trustees         3 
1.3.3 The Board of Regents          3 
1.3.4  The Officers of the College 3 
 
1.4 The Administrative Organization  4 
1.4.1 The President 5 
 1.4.1.1 Chief Marketing and Communications Officer 5 
1.4.2 Provost and Executive Vice President 5 
 1.4.2.1 Assistant, Vice and Associate Provosts, Academic Affairs 6 
 1.4.2.2 Deans, Academic Affairs 7 
 1.4.2.3 Director, Academic Affairs 7 
 1.4.2.4 Department Chairs 9 
 1.4.2.5 Chief Information Officer 10 
 1.4.2.6 Senior Diversity Officer 10 
1.4.3 Vice Provost for Student Life 11 
 1.4.3.1 Dean of Students 11 
 1.4.3.1 Medical Director of the Student Health Center 11 
 1.4.3.3 Associate Vice President for Wellness 11 
 1.4.3.4 Executive Director for Public Safety and Transportation 11 
1.4.4 Vice President for Finance and Administration  12 
 1.4.4.1 Associate Vice President and Chief Human Resources Officer 12 
1.4.5 Vice President for Strategic Partnerships and Advancement 12 
1.4.6 Vice President for Enrollment 12 
 1.4.6.1 Registrar 13 
 1.4.6.2 Dean of Admissions 13 
 1.4.6.3 Director of Financial Aid 13 
1.4.7 Vice President for Mission 13 
 1.4.7.1 Dean for Mission and Ministry 13 
1.4.8  Vice President for Intercollegiate Athletics 14 
1.4.9 Vice President for Facilities 14 
 
1.5 Organization Charts  15 
1.5.1 Corporation and President of the College 15 
1.5.2 Executive Vice President and Provost 16 
1.5.3 Vice President for Student Life 17 
1.5.4 Vice President for Finance and Administration 18 
1.5.5 Vice President for Strategic Partnerships and Advancement 19 
1.5.6 Vice Provost for Enrollment 20 
1.5.7  Vice President for Mission 21 
1.5.8 Vice President for Intercollegiate Athletics 22 
1.5.9 Vice President for Facilities 23 
 
1.6 Governance Structure  24 
1.6.1 Shared Governance 24 
 1.6.1.1 Faculty Elections 25 
 1.6.1.2 The Academic Senate 28 
 
1.7  Committee Structure  36 
1.7.1  Board of Trustees Committees 36 
 1.7.1.1 Executive Committee 36 
 1.7.1.2  Academic Affairs and Enrollment Committee 37 
 1.7.1.3 Advancement Committee 37 
 1.7.1.4 Audit Committee 38 
 1.7.1.5 Finance Committee 38 
 1.7.1.6  Governance and Nominating Committee 39 
 1.7.1.7 Investment Committee 39 
 1.7.1.8 Mission and Identity Committee 40 
 1.7.1.9 Student Life Committee 40 
 1.7.1.10 Athletics Committee 41 
1.7.2  Institutional Councils and Committees 41 
 1.7.2.1 President’s Senior Staff 41 
 1.7.2.2 College Committee on Inclusive Excellence 41 
 1.7.2.3 Sustainability Committee 42 
 1.7.2.4 Institutional Effectiveness Committee 43 
 1.7.2.5 Title IX Committee 44 
 1.7.2.6 Travel Risk Assessment Committee 45 
1.7.3  Academic Affairs Councils and Committees 46 
 1.7.3.1 Provost’s Council 46 
 1.7.3.4 Ranks and Tenure Committee 46 
 1.7.3.5 Library Committee 49 
 1.7.3.6 Committee on Academic Appeals 50 
 1.7.3.7 International Program Coordinating Committee 51 
 1.7.3.8 Human Research Institutional Review Board 51 
1.7.4 Academic Senate Committees 53 
 1.7.4.1 Grievance Committee 53 
 1.7.4.2 Faculty Welfare Committee 53 
 1.7.4.3 The Committee on Committees 54 
 1.7.4.4 Academic Administrators Evaluation Committee 54 
 1.7.4.5 Undergraduate Educational Policies Committee 55 
 1.7.4.6 Graduate and Professional Studies Educational Policies Committee 56 
 1.7.4.7 Program Review Committee 57 
 1.7.4.8 Admissions and Academic Regulations Committee 59 
 1.7.4.9 Faculty Committee on the Bookstore 60 
 1.7.4.10  Committee on Faculty Development and Scholarship 60 
 1.7.4.11  January Term Program Committee 61 
 1.7.4.12  Collegiate Seminar Governing Board 61 
 1.7.4.13  Core Curriculum Committee 62 
 1.7.4.14  Core Curriculum Working Groups 63 
 1.7.4.15  Comm. on Undergraduate Academic Advising and Student Success 64 
 1.7.4.16  Center for Equity and Excellence in Teaching 64 
1.7.5 Student Life Committees 66 
 1.7.5.1 Disciplinary Hearing Board 66 
 1.7.5.2 Academic Recovery Review Board 66 
1.7.6 Finance Committees 67 
 1.7.6.1 Budget Committee 67 
 1.7.6.2 Technology Planning and Policy Committee 68 
 1.7.6.3 Campus Facilities Planning Committee 68 
 1.7.6.4 Employee Benefits Advisory Committee 69 
 1.7.6.5 Retirement Benefits Committee 70 
1.7.7 Miscellaneous Committees 71 
 1.7.7.1 Joint Committee of Associated Students of Saint Mary’s College,  
         Staff Council, and the Academic Senate 71 
 1.7.7.2 Faculty Handbook Review Committee  72 
 1.7.7.3 Cummins Institute 72 
 
1.8 Revision Process of the Faculty Handbook  73 
 
2.  Faculty  74 
 
2.1  Definitions of Faculty Status  74 
2.1.1  Tenure-Track Faculty 74 
 2.1.1.1 Terminal Degrees 74 
 2.1.1.2 Exceptional Candidate Appointments (for such a rank) 75 
2.1.2  Non-Tenure-Track Faculty 75 
 2.1.2.1 Visiting Professor 75 
 2.1.2.2 Contingent Faculty Positions 75 
2.1.3  Emeritus/Emerita Faculty 75 
2.1.4 Administrators with Faculty Retreat Rights 76 
2.1.5 Temporary Appointment of Administrator to Rank Only 77 
 
2.2  Types of Appointments  77 
2.2.1  Probationary (Tenure-Track) Appointment 77 
2.2.2  Tenured Appointment 78 
2.2.3  Reduced Services (Tenured Appointment) 78 
 2.2.3.1  Phased Retirement Program (Tenured Appointment) 78 
 2.2.3.2 Retired Faculty Teaching Status 79 
2.2.4  Non-Tenure-Track Appointment 80 
 2.2.4.1 Visiting Faculty 79 
 2.2.4.2 Assistant Adjunct 79 
 2.2.4.3 Associate Adjunct 79 
 2.2.4.4 Salaried Adjunct 79 
 
2.3 Selection and Appointment Procedures  79 
2.3.1 Selection/Appointment of Tenure-Track Faculty 79 
2.3.2 Selection/Appointment of Non-Tenure-Track Faculty 81 
 2.3.2.1 Visiting Faculty 81 
 2.3.2.2 Contingent Faculty 81 
2.3.3 Equal Employment Opportunity 81 
2.3.4 Section 504, Rehabilitation Act of 1973: Compliance 81 
2.3.5  Americans with Disabilities Act 81 
2.3.6 Special Appointment Categories 81 
 2.3.6.1 Appointment of Christian Brothers 81 
 
2.4 Evaluation of Adjunct Faculty  81 
 
2.5 Rank and Tenure Records  81 
2.5.1 Faculty Rank and Tenure Folder 81 
2.5.2 Faculty Rank and Tenure Roster 82 
 
2.6  Tenure and Promotion 82 
2.6.1  Statement on Criteria for Tenure and Promotion 82 
 2.6.1.1 Additional Criteria 85 
2.6.2  Procedures for Tenure and Promotion 86 
 2.6.2.1 Eligibility 86 
 2.6.2.2 Faculty, Department/Program and School Review Procedures 87 
 2.6.2.3 Rank and Tenure Committee Procedures 92 
 2.6.2.4 Student Rank and Tenure Committee Procedures 94 
 2.6.2.5 Recommendation and Decision Procedures 94 
2.6.3  Advancement, Tenure and Promotion of Academic Administrators 96 
 
2.7  Tenure  96 
 
2.8 Separation  97 
2.8.1  Resignation 97 
2.8.2 Retirement of Tenured Faculty Members 97 
2.8.3 Non-Reappointment of Tenure-Track Faculty 97 
 2.8.3.1 Notice of Non-reappointments of Probationary Tenure-track Faculty 97 
 2.8.3.2 Standards of Notice for Probationary Tenure-track Appointments 97 
2.8.4 Termination of an Appointment by the College 98 
 2.8.4.1  General Financial Exigency 98 
 2.8.4.2 Discontinuance of an Academic Program or Department not  
  Mandated by General Financial Exigency 99 
 2.8.4.3 Failure to Observe Conditions for Leave of Absence or Sabbatical 100 
 2.8.4.4 Unfitness 100 
 
2.9  Faculty Rights and Responsibilities  101 
2.9.1  Academic Freedom and Responsibility 101 
2.9.2  External Speaker and Public Event Policy for Faculty 101 
 2.9.2.1 Preamble 101 
 2.9.2.2 Policy 102 
2.9.3  Institutional Policies 102 
 2.9.3.1  Policy Prohibiting Discrimination, Harassment and Retaliation 102 
 2.9.3.2 Consensual Sexual or Romantic Relationship Policy 103 
 2.9.3.3 Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act of 1974 106 
 2.9.3.4 The Clery Act and Campus Sex Crimes Prevention Act Notices 109 
 2.9.3.5 Whistleblower Policy: Fraudulent or Dishonest Conduct 110 
 2.9.3.6 Policy on Safety and Protection of Minors 110 
 2.9.3.7 Conflicts of Interest Policy 111 
 
2.10  Faculty Development 112 
2.10.1 Sabbaticals 112 
 2.10.1.1 Definition 112 
 2.10.1.2 Eligibility Criteria 113 
 2.10.1.3 Review 113 
 2.10.1.4 Sabbatical Protocols and Timeline for Consideration 114 
2.10.2 Faculty Development Fund Awards 115 
2.10.3 Office of Faculty Development and Scholarship 115 
 
2.11  Faculty Workload 116 
2.11.1 Workload for Tenure-Track Faculty 116 
2.11.2 Workload for Non-Tenure-Track Faculty 116 
2.11.3 Academic Advising 116 
2.11.4 Office Hours 117 
 
2.12 Workplace Conditions 117 
2.12.1 Drug-Free Workplace and Alcohol Use Policy 117 
2.12.2 Policy on Smoking in Campus Facilities 117 
2.12.3 Observance of Campus Regulations 117 
2.12.4 Assignment of Offices 117 
2.12.5 Photocopier and Duplicating Equipment for Faculty Use 117 
2.12.6 Office Supplies 117 
2.12.7 Lactation Accommodation 118 
2.12.8 Environmental Health and Safety 118 
 
2.13 Leaves 118 
2.13.1 Leaves with Pay 118 
 2.13.1.1 Sick Leave 118 
 2.13.1.2 Parental Leave 119 
 2.13.1.3 Jury Leave 120 
2.13.2 Leaves without Pay 120 
 2.13.2.2 Personal Leave of Absence 120 
 2.13.2.3 Scholarly Leave of Absence 121 
 
2.14 Benefits 121 
2.14.1 Mandatory Benefits 121 
2.14.2 Long-Term Disability Income Benefits 121 
2.14.3 Insurance Programs 121 
2.14.4 Group Term Life Insurance 121 
2.14.5 Accidental Death and Dismemberment/Travel Assistance 122 
2.14.6 Workers’ Compensation 122 
2.14.7 Retirement 122 
 2.14.7.1 Social Security and Medicare 122 
 2.14.7.2 TIAA Retirement Plan 122 
 2.14.7.3 Emeriti Retirement Health Solutions (Emeriti) 122 
 2.14.7.4 Five Year Retirement Medical Benefit 123 
2.14.8 Tuition Waiver and Exchange Programs 123 
 2.14.8.1 Tuition Waver Program 123 
 2.14.8.2 Tuition Exchange Program 125 
 2.14.8.3 Reimbursement Accounts 125 
2.14.9 Miscellaneous 126 
2.14.10 Employee Assistance Program 126 
2.14.11 Use of Facilities/Discounts 126 
 2.14.11.1 Athletic Facilities 126 
 2.14.11.2 Dining Facilities and Lounges 126 
 2.14.11.3 Bookstore 126 
 2.14.11.4 Ticket Discount 127 
2.14.12 Parking 127 
2.14.13 Voluntary Programs 127 
 
2.15 Tenured and Tenure Track Faculty Salary Policy 127 
2.15.1 Faculty Salary Policy 127 
 2.15.1.1 Faculty Compensation Philosophy 127 
 2.15.1.2 Salary Benchmarks 128 
 2.15.1.3 Salary Administration 128 
2.15.2 Salary Scale for Tenured and Tenure-Track Faculty 130 
 
2.16 Tenured and Tenure Track Faculty Grievance 131 
2.16.1 Introduction 131 
2.16.2 Procedures that Apply to All Grievances 131 
2.16.3 Grievances: Alleged Inadequate Consideration and/or Alleged  
 Violations of Academic Freedom 133 
 2.16.3.1 Grievances in cases of a negative rank and tenure decisions 133 
 2.16.3.2 Grievances in cases of a opposed rank and tenure decisions 135 
Negative Rank and Tenure Decision by  
  The President in Opposition to. Positive Recommendation by the Rank  
  and Tenure Committee and the Provost 135 
2.16.4 Grievances: Alleged Errors in Policy not Involving the Rank and  
 Tenure Review Process 137 
 2.16.4.1 Grievances in cases president is not a party 138 
 2.16.4.1 Grievances in cases president is a party 140 
 
3. Academic Policies and Services  142 
 
3.1 Classroom Policies 142 
3.1.1 Academic Honesty Policy, Violations, Procedures, and Penalties 142 
 3.1.1.1 Academic Honesty 142 
3.1.2 Letter Grades 145 
3.1.3 Final Examinations and Papers 145 
 3.1.3.1 Undergraduate Final Examinations and Papers 145 
 3.1.3.2 Graduate and Professional Final Examinations and Papers 145 
3.1.4 Meeting Classes 145 
3.1.5 Order in the Classroom 145 
3.1.6 Class Attendance for Students 146 
 3.1.6.1 Attendance Policy: Student Athletes 146 
3.1.7 Credit-Hour Policy 147 
3.1.8 Course Content and Delivery 147 
3.1.9 Teaching of Family Members 147 
 
3.2 Registrarial Policies 148 
3.2.1 Academic Calendar 148 
3.2.2 Submission of Grades 148 
 3.2.2.1 Grade Changes 148 
3.2.3 Undergraduate Final Examination Scheduling 148 
 
3.3 Library  149 
3.3.1 Instructional Services 149 
3.3.2 Research Assistance 149 
3.3.3  Electronic Information Resources 149 
3.3.4  Access to Other Libraries 150 
3.3.5 Interlibrary Loan and Document Delivery 150 
3.3.6 Faculty Photocopying 150 
3.3.7 Collections and Circulation Policies 150 
3.3.8 Textbook and Course Reserve Status 150 
3.3.9 Library Exhibits 150 
3.3.10 Digital Commons 150 
3.3.11 College Archives 150 
 
3.4 Technology Use Policy 151 
 
3.5 Administrative Assistance  151 
 
3.6 Student Employees 151 
 
4. Administrative Policies, Services and Facilities  152 
 
4.1 Administrative Policies  152 
4.1.1 Room Reservations 152 
 
4.2 Administrative Services  152 
4.2.1 Duplicating Service 152 
4.2.2 Outgoing U.S. Mail Service 152 
 4.2.2.1 Campus Mailboxes (Faculty and Administration) 152 
4.2.3 Payroll Office 153 
4.2.4 Telephone Calls 153 
4.2.5 Maintenance and Janitorial Service 153 
4.2.6 Lost and Found 153 
4.2.7 Information Services 153 
 4.1.7.1 Master Events Calendar 153 
 
4.3 Administrative Facilities 154 
4.3.1 Mission and Ministry Center 154 
4.3.2 Student Health Center 154 
4.3.3 Counseling and Psychological  154 
 
5. Student Affairs Policies of Interest to the Faculty  154 
 
6. Communications Policies of Interest to the Faculty  154 
 
6.1 College Communications 154 
6.1.1 Office of College Communications 154 
6.1.2 Policy on Advertising and Publications 155 
 
6.2 Speakers Bureau  155 
 
6.3 Posters  156 
 
6.4 Use of Institutional Name, Letterhead, etc. 156 
 
Index 157 
 
Revisions 2023-24 171 
 


English

Course Descriptions

Legocki, Kimberly

author(s), additional

From award shows to average Joes: Sadowsky Guitars Ltd. evolves and expands to meet worldwide demand

Saint Mary's College of California 
Saint Mary's Digital Commons 
Chairs and Program Directors lists College Archives 
Spring 2023 
Deans, Chairs and Program Directors List 2022-2023 (Spring) 
Saint Mary's College of California 
Follow this and additional works at: https://digitalcommons.stmarys-ca.edu/chairs-directors 
 Part of the Higher Education Commons 
School of Economics and Natasha Munshi, Interim Dean
   Business Administration Noha Elfiky, Associate Dean, Undergraduate Programs
Department Chairs
Accounting Sankaran Venkateswar, Chair
Business Analytics Phuong Anh Nguyen, Chair
Economics Roy Allen, Chair
Finance Kevin Okoeguale, Chair
Management & Entrepreneurship * Please contact Dean's Office
Marketing & Communications Eric Kolhede, Chair
Leadership, Ethics, and Law * Please contact Dean's Office
Academic Program Directors
EDBA Grant Rozeboom & Michal Strahilevitz, Co-Directors
EMBA Mary Alice McNeil, Director
PMBA Kim Clark, Director
Online MBA Linda Herkenhoff, Director
MS in Accounting Sankaran Venkateswar, Director
MS in Business Analytics Navid Sabbaghi, Director
MS Finance Tee Lim, Director
MS Management Noha Elfiky, Director
UG Accounting Academic Program Director Sankaran Venkateswar, Director
UG Business Academic Program Director Navid Sabbaghi, Director
UG Economics Academic Program Director Roy Allen, Director
UG Data Science Ahmed Ahmadein, Director
School of Science Roy Wensley, Dean
Department Chairs
Biology
Chemistry
Mathematics & Computer Sciences
Physics, Astronomy
Psychology
Academic Program Directors
3 + 2 Engineering
Biochemistry
Computer Science
Environmental & Earth Sciences
Health Sciences
Jessica Kintner, Director
SAINT MARY'S COLLEGE
DEANS, DEPARTMENT CHAIRS AND DIRECTORS 
 2022 - 2023 Academic Year (Spring)
Jan Warhuus, Associate Dean, Graduate Programs
Rebecca Jabbour, Chair
Mark Lingwood, Chair
Chris Jones, Chair
Mari-Anne Rosario, Chair
José Feito, Chair
Jeff Sigman, Director
PSM Biotechnology (Graduate Program) Vidya Chandrasekaran, Director
Udyan Das, Director
Alice Baldridge, Director
Jasvinder (Jassi) Kaur, Director
Page 1 of 3  Version 3.3, 4/26/23
School of Liberal Arts Shawny Anderson, Interim Dean
   Molly Metherd, Interim Associate Dean
W. Alan Dixon, Sr., Assistant Dean
Department Chairs
Anthropology Robert Bulman, Chair
Art and Art History Andrew Mount, Chair
Classical Languages Michael Riley, Chair
Communication Samantha Joyce, Chair
English Zach Flanagin, Chair
History Elena Songster, Chair
Kinesiology Norrie Palmer, Chair
Performing Arts Deanna Zibello, Chair
Philosophy Patrick Downey, Chair
Politics Patrizia Longo, Chair
Sociology Robert Bulman, Chair
Theology and Religious Studies Tom Poundstone, Chair
World Languages and Cultures David Bird, Chair
Academic Program Directors
English Composition Sunayani Bhattacharya, Acting Director
Ethnic Studies Loan Dao, Director
Global and Regional Studies  María Luisa Ruiz, Director
Graduate Kinesiology Derek Marks, Director
Integral Program Elizabeth Hamm, Director
Justice, Community, and Leadership Tamara Spencer, Director
Liberal Ed for Arts Professionals (LEAP) Shaunna Vella, Director/Stephanie Miller, Assoc Director
Performing Arts - Dance Program CatherineMarie Davalos, Director
Performing Arts - Music Program Julie Ford, Director
Performing Arts - Theatre Program Deanna Zibello, Director
MFA Program in Creative Writing Christopher Arnold, Director
Master of Fine Arts in Dance Rogelio Lopez Garcia, Director 
MA in Intercultural Communication Veronica Hefner, Director
Women's and Gender Studies Denise Witzig, Director
Kalmanovitz School of Education Carol Ann Gittens, Dean
Kim Beaton, Assistant Dean, Graduate Affairs 
Steven Glynn - Assistant Dean, Marketing, Recruiting
                                        & External Relations
Department Chairs
Counseling Bedford Palmer II, Chair
Education Sue Marston, Chair 
Leadership TBD, Chair
Page 2 of 3  Version 3.3, 4/26/23
Kalmanovitz School of Education  (continued)
Academic Program Directors
BALOS Stacey Robbins, Program Director
Bilingual Authorization Laura Alvarez, Program Director
Career Counseling Kristen Freeman, Program Director
Educational Leadership, Tier I & Masters Tangela Reavis, Program Director
EdD Program (Educational Leadership) Heidimarie Rambo, Program Director
General Counseling Kristen Freeman, Program Director
Higher Education and Student Affairs Kristen Freeman, Program Director
Marriage & Family Therapy/  
    Professional Clinical Counseling
Master of Arts in Leadership TBD, Program Director
Masters of Arts in Teaching Tamara Spencer, Program Director
Masters of Arts in Teaching Leadership Heidimarie Rambo, Program Director
Multiple Subject Ani Moughamian, Program Director
School Counseling Suzy Thomas, Program Director
School Psychology Rebecca Anguiano, Program Director
Single Subject Ani Moughamian, Program Director
Special Education Ani Moughamian, Program Director
Reading Recovery Adria Klein, Program Director
Deb Rich, Assistant Program Director
Other Academic Programs and Resources
Library and Academic Resources
Core Curriculum
Student Academics
Career & Professional Development Services
Center for Writing Across the Curriculum
Collegiate Seminar
High Potential Program/TRIO Student Support Svcs
Honors Program
January Term
Student Disability Services
The Advising Office (TAO) & Student Success
Catholic Institute for LaSallian Social Action (CILSA)
Center for International Programs - Study Abroad
Center for International Programs - 
International Student Services
Ellen Rigsby, Director
Bedford Palmer II, Program Director
Lauren MacDonald, Dean
Steve Miller, Interim Dean of the Core
Aeleah Soine, Interim Vice Provost for Student 
Academics
Mary Beth Stadt, Executive Director
Joseph Zeccardi, Director
Vanessa Marquez, Director
Ashley Cross, Director
Jason Jakaitis, Director
Helga Lénárt-Cheng, Director
Claire Williams, Director
Julie Scaff, Director
Jeffrey Sigman, Director
Jennifer Pigza, Director
Page 3 of 3  Version 3.3, 4/26/23


Deans, Chairs and Program Directors List 2022-2023 (Spring)

Li, Yuan

Intentionality, not just agency: bringing intended meaning back into the micro–macro institutionalization processes

Faculty Research, Scholarship, and Creative Activity Report, 2022

Worthy, Kenneth

Saint Mary's College of California 
Saint Mary's Digital Commons 
School of Science Faculty Works Scholarship, Research, Creative Activities, and Community Engagement 
10-30-2023 
Run from the chatbots or embrace them? There is a middle way 
Kenneth Worthy 
Saint Mary's College of California, kaw9@stmarys-ca.edu 
Follow this and additional works at: https://digitalcommons.stmarys-ca.edu/school-science-faculty-works 
 Part of the Environmental Sciences Commons 
Repository Citation 
Worthy, Kenneth. Run from the chatbots or embrace them? There is a middle way (2023). Times Higher 
Education. [article]. https://digitalcommons.stmarys-ca.edu/school-science-faculty-works/1275 
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License. 
This Article is brought to you for free and open access by the Scholarship, Research, Creative Activities, and 
Community Engagement at Saint Mary's Digital Commons. It has been accepted for inclusion in School of Science 
Faculty Works by an authorized administrator of Saint Mary's Digital Commons. For more information, please 
contact digitalcommons@stmarys-ca.edu. 
Run from the chatbots or embrace
them? There is a middle way
I tell students that I want to make them my academic integrity
collaborators, upholding the quality of their own education, says Kenneth
Worthy
October 30, 2023
Kenneth Worthy
It is little comfort to educators that chatbots are not real artificial intelligence. Even
though the likes of ChatGPT know nothing in any meaningful sense, their ability to
select the next words in a sequence allows them to spoof just about any kind of
intellectual labour with which academics might task their students: not only essays
but also outlining, summarising, reviewing literature, developing a presentation or
coming up with a topic or lists of sources or questions.
As faculty and administrators scramble to make sense of these tools and their
implications for teaching, many students have taken the policy vacuum as their cue
to do precisely whatever. And some scholars have given their blessing, reasoning
that bot-authored text is impossible to detect and that students will need to learn
to use this technology in the workplace anyway.
But chatbots are fundamentally anti-scholarly. The connections between their
statements and knowledge sources are often completely obscured. They’re
unreliable, in some fields achieving only about 20 per cent “correctness”. And their
results aren’t repeatable – different runs produce different outputs.
Don’t even get me started on their ethical and political degeneracy. They’re highly
profitable commercial services completely dependent on untold quantities of data
gleaned from the web without permission, notification or disclosure – including
much of scholars’ own hard work (lawsuits have been initiated). If you require
students to use them, they must submit data to a company that has not
guaranteed data privacy. And even if you don’t, students may be giving them your
course materials, such as lecture transcripts.
Chatbots also portend equity issues as some students might not be able to afford
the better, more expensive versions. And some students are angry because they
sense a race to the bottom – if they don’t use the bots, they will lose, they think.
Tension is stoked by conflicting messaging from different instructors. An ethical
morass results.
Perhaps there are valid limited uses of the bots, and, yes, they are becoming
important in some kinds of professional work. But we can train students on these
with mini courses. We don’t need a free-for-all.
My approach – developed while teaching five lecture sections since last May,
involving about 500 students combined – is, first, to talk to the students about the
importance of academic integrity for both the institution and themselves. Most
students never hear these arguments, but they have an intuitive sense that
widespread cheating could render their diplomas meaningless since the purpose of
assignments is to develop intellectual skills and knowledge: the process, not the
product, is the point. I liken a student using ChatGPT to an athlete hiring someone
to do their workout for them.
Next, I review some of the epistemic, ethical and political issues with these services.
I emphasise that you’re impacting the world by using them (they consume vast
amounts of energy and water) and are possibly distorting or limiting your own
understanding via biases created by an unaccountable for-profit company.
Then I review my stated course policy: no allowed bot use whatsoever. This might
change in the future, I say, but we don’t know enough about these services yet. This
precautionary approach reinforces the use of that concept in environmental
studies, my field. I tell students that I want to make them my academic integrity
collaborators, upholding the quality of their own education. I reinforce that most
students don’t cheat.
Now the practicalities. My teaching assistants and I use manual detection and
automated machine detection (in trial), with full awareness of the chance of false
positives. When we suspect chatbot text, I ask the student to provide a step-by-step
description of the process they used to produce the submission. Depending on the
case, I say that we will be lenient or give them full amnesty if they did use a chatbot
and admit it. The likelihood of false positives means you usually cannot depend on
machine or manual detection alone to apply sanctions.
During my summer courses, all remote, we manually detected about 20 suspected
cases out of more than 2,000 submissions. In all but one or two cases, students
readily admitted chatbot use, accepted our offer to redo the assignment and
expressed both remorse and appreciation for the second chance. The ensuing
discussions have been occasions for learning and for forging better connections
with students. It has been extra work, but so far it hasn’t been onerous.
Since I first began explicitly discussing integrity and how we detect and handle
cases at the beginning of this term, we’ve seen no manually detected cases and
only a handful of machine-detected cases that looked like false positives, out of
some 200 submissions. Sure, it’s possible that we’re missing cases or that students
are using the bots for steps other than composing text. But I believe our process is
doing as much as possible to minimise bot cheating while enhancing student
appreciation of and involvement in their educations.
We can use this approach in combination with some defensive measures, such as
doing more assignments in the classroom, in-person presentations, and so on. But
we don’t have to take extreme measures, such as abolishing essays entirely. Nor do
we need to declare that there’s nothing we can do and surrender to the bots. There
is a viable middle ground.
Kenneth Worthy is a lecturer, chancellor’s public scholar and creative discovery fellow at
the University of California, Berkeley and adjunct associate professor at Saint Mary's
College of California.


Run from the chatbots or embrace them? There is a middle way

Chavez, Anastasia

Royster, Hayden

In Their Own Words: Mathematician Anastasia Chavez on the PRIMES Grant, Her First-Gen Journey, and the Joy of ‘Unknowing’