David Rettinger
Professor and Director of Academic Integrity Programs | University of Mary Washington
Fredericksburg, VA, UNITED STATES
Dr. Rettinger is an internationally recognized expert on academic integrity.
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Biography
Dr. David Rettinger is a “utility infielder” of academic integrity. He has taught psychology at the college level for over 20 years, served as Procedural Advisor to UMW’s student-run honor system for more than 10 years, and has published frequently on the psychology of academic integrity. With a PhD in Cognitive Psychology, he is also well versed in the basic principles of learning science that underlie excellent teaching. More formally, David is Professor of Psychological Science and Director of Academic Integrity Programs at the University of Mary Washington. He also is Procedural Advisor to UMW’s student-run honor system. His academic research interest is in academic integrity behavior, having published research on the psychology of cheating in Theory into Practice, Research in Higher Education, Ethics and Behavior, and Psychological Perspectives on Academic Cheating. His research has demonstrated the importance of students’ attitudes toward school and beliefs about peer behavior in determining whether students will cheat. He has presented on topics relating to pedagogy, policy, and practice in academic integrity around the U. S. and internationally.
His collaborations include partnerships in Nepal, Chile, Mexico, Nigeria, Thailand, and Ukraine and is currently on the Fulbright Specialist Roster as a consultant on issues of academic integrity.
He has appeared in numerous media outlets like the CBS Morning Show, Good Morning America, The New York Times, The Washington Post, Inside Higher Education, and The Chronicle of Higher Education. Rettinger is President Emeritus of the International Center for Academic Integrity, an organization founded to combat cheating, plagiarism, and academic dishonesty in higher education. In addition, he leads the organization's efforts in assessment and survey research, continuing the McCabe academic integrity survey.
He earned a Ph.D. (1998) and an M.A. (1994) in psychology from the University of Colorado, Boulder, after receiving a B.A. (1991) with high honors and distinction in psychology from the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor.
Areas of Expertise (5)
Psychology of Student Cheating
Academic Integrity Policy
Teaching and Learning for Academic Integrity
Faculty Development
Institutional Assessment of Academic Integrity
Education (3)
University of Colorado: Ph.D., Psychology
University of Colorado: M.A., Psychology
University of Michigan: B.A., Psychology
Affiliations (2)
- International Center for Academic Integrity : President Emeritus
- Fredericksburg-Nepal Exchange : Board Member
Links (1)
Media Appearances (11)
Zero cheating is a pipe dream, but we still need to push academic integrity
Times Higher Education online
2023-02-10
David Rettinger and Erica Price Burns offer key points for institutions to consider when creating systems that encourage academic integrity among students. David Rettinger is professor of psychological science and director of academic integrity programs at the University of Mary Washington and former president of the International Center for Academic Integrity.
Simple Interventions Can Curb Cheating, Study Finds
Inside Higher Education online
2022-11-10
David Rettinger, director of academic integrity programs at the University of Mary Washington and president emeritus of the International Center for Academic Integrity, said several interventions in the study have previously proven effective, including talking with students about the definition and importance of academic integrity.
Combating Student Cheating: Key Podcast Reprise
Inside Higher Education online
2022-04-08
David Rettinger is a professor of psychological science and director of academic integrity programs at the University of Mary Washington, and Kate McConnell is assistant vice president for research and assessment and director of the Value Institute at the Association of American Colleges and Universities.
As online education grows, the business of cheating is booming
CBS News online
2021-07-28
“I think the state of cheating at colleges and universities is serious and getting more serious,” David Rettinger, a professor of ethics at the University of Mary Washington, told CBS News.
How should universities deal with student cheating?
Brookings Institution TechTank Podcast online
2021-07-15
To discuss these issues, host Darrell West is joined by David Rettinger and Lindsey Barrett. David is a professor of psychological science and director of academic integrity programs at the University of Mary Washington. He also is the president emeritus of the International Center for Academic Integrity.
LISTEN: Town Talk/Fredericksburg Sister City response to Nepal COVID crisis
Fredericksburg Today online
2021-05-27
Dr. David Rettinger from UMW, David Caprara with the Fredericksburg-Nepal Exchange Board, and Scott DeLisi-former American Ambassador to Nepal talk about rising COVID in the country and how the region is responding.
Colleges See Surge in Cheating, Plagiarism
WRC-DC; NBC Washington tv
2021-05-25
Professor David Rettinger with the University of Mary Washington believes students are feeling pressure from the pandemic and online school, and it's why they may make bad choices to get good grades.
Fredericksburg Sister-City group helping partners in COVID-devastated Nepal
The Free Lance-Star print
2021-05-21
A college professor and director of Academic Integrity Programs, Rettinger has visited Nepal three times, once as a young adult and twice in recent years. In 2018, he and fellow professor Dan Hirshberg, an expert in Asian religions, led a study abroad trip for UMW students.
If You Can't Stand the Cheat, Get Out of the Kitchen
Forbes online
2021-03-22
As David Rettinger of University of Mary Washington noted on The Key, “If you’re going to give a 50-question multiple choice test, that’s pretty much the most cheatable possible assignment online. Even if you just change that to 10 five-question multiple choice quizzes, you’ve made it less likely that students will cheat, because you’ve reduced the stakes and the pressure.”
Remote Learning and Cheating: Professors and Students Weigh In
Teen Vogue online
2021-03-08
“I call it a game of whack-a-mole,” says David Rettinger, president emeritus of the International Center for Academic Integrity (ICAI) and director of academic integrity at the University of Mary Washington. New sites are constantly rising in popularity, he explains, making it harder for professors to prevent students from seeking answers online, especially now.
Combating Cheating in the COVID Era: The Key Podcast
Inside Higher Education online
2021-02-18
Are more students engaging in academic misconduct now than is normally the case? Should colleges be turning to proctoring services and lockdown browsers to fight cheating? Or are they better off encouraging instructors to assess students in new and different ways that are less susceptible to gaming? This week's guests are: [...] David Rettinger, professor of psychological science and director of academic integrity programs at the University of Mary Washington and president emeritus of the International Center for Academic Integrity.
Articles (3)
The role of emotions and attitudes in causing and preventing cheating
Theory Into PracticeDavid A. Rettinger
2017 Given that students at secondary and postsecondary levels believe that certain behaviors are morally wrong and consider them cheating, they still perform them, albeit infrequently. This article examines the psychology of cheating, emphasizing individual psychological factors that influence integrity behavior. From this research, strategies to prevent cheating for students at all levels emerge...
The influence of personality on the decision to cheat
Ethics & BehaviorMelissa McTernan, Patrick Love, David Rettinger
2013 Seventeen transgressive behaviors were studied in the context of six personality variables using survey methods. The personality variables were impulsivity, sensation seeking, empathetic perspective taking, guilt, and shame, with social desirability used as a control. Confirmatory factor analysis indicated a five-factor model as having the best fit...
Imitation Is the Sincerest Form of Cheating: The Influence of Direct Knowledge and Attitudes on Academic Dishonesty
Ethics & BehaviorJillian O'Rourke, Jeffrey Barnes, Anna Deaton, Kristopher Fulks, Kristina Ryan, David A Rettinger
2010 What effect does witnessing other students cheat have on one's own cheating behavior? What roles do moral attitudes and neutralizing attitudes (justifications for behavior) play when deciding to cheat? The present research proposes a model of academic dishonesty which takes into account each of these variables. Findings from experimental (vignette) and survey methods determined that seeing others cheat increases cheating behavior by causing students to judge the behavior less morally reprehensible, not by making rationalization easier. Witnessing cheating also has unique effects, controlling for other variables...
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