The University of Southern Mississippi extended the deadline for the Academic Integrity Module to Sept. 22. Originally, administration sent out a mass email on the week of Sept. 12 stating the mandatory course must be completed by Sept. 16.

Vice Provost for Academic Affairs Amy Chasteen Miller said the date was extended because of the university-wide email transition.

“Academic integrity is important, and I’d rather for students to complete this course rather than receive a penalty for something that could have been avoided or something they didn’t understand,” Miller said. “Your USM degree says a lot about you as person when employers know of our academic integrity initiative. We want everyone to recognize that the students at this institution are not only hard workers but that they are also honest and trustworthy.”

Senior Kaitlyn Koehn said although she completed the course a day before the due date, she did not read the email and nearly scrolled past the link on Blackboard.

“I check my email frequently, but the email about the course didn’t stand out,” Koehn said. “It wasn’t until I logged into blackboard that I noticed a weird link with a note that said I will be locked out of my account if I don’t complete the course. Luckily, I saw the link and finished just in time.”

“I didn’t know anything about it,” said Senior Jazmine. “But I am able to log into my account. I hope that means they prolonged the due date!”

The academic integrity module’s sole purpose is to educate students on the importance certain vocabulary words and academic terms.

“I worked with a group of people to develop this module in a way that is particular to Southern Miss,” Miller said. “You must complete the module to gain an understanding of Southern Miss’s academic integrity guidelines and to make sure that you are aware of recent changes.”

“The XF grade allows professors to fail a student due to academic misconduct,” Miller said. “All information pertaining to the grade can be found in the academic integrity module. In contrast, the module also teaches students how to appeal an XF grade if presented with one.”

According to Miller and students who have completed the course, the academic integrity module takes about ten to fifteen minutes to complete.

To find more information about the Academic Integrity course, email Amy Chasteen Miller at [email protected] or [email protected].