Academic Integrity Specialist

University of California, Santa Cruz; California; Remote; USD 91,000 - 111,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Full benefits

Job summary

UC Scout, part of the University of California, Santa Cruz, is seeking an Academic Integrity Specialist to lead investigations, safeguard the integrity of online high school credit, and collaborate on training and policy updates. You will work with students, families, and staff to uphold ethical scholarship and appropriate use of AI tools.

The role emphasizes judgment, discretion, and the ability to facilitate difficult conversations, with remote work options and a focus on protecting student

Responsibilities

• Receives and manages referrals for escalated academic integrity violations, including repeat offenses and egregious first-time incidents such as cheating in proctored exams or sustained dishonesty across a course.
• Meets with students and their families to review findings, communicate outcomes, and explain applicable policy and options.
• Applies consequences that are proportional to the severity and circumstances of the violation and appropriate to the student's age and developmental stage, in accordance with established UC Scout policy and case outcome history.
• Maintains complete, confidential case records in UC Scout's student information system and ensures consistent, equitable application of policy across all cases.
• Monitors instructor incident logs and proctoring tracking records to enforce and confirm consistent implementation of the academic integrity policy across all instructional staff.
• Analyzes case data across terms to identify trends, recurring vulnerabilities, and systemic issues, and reports findings to leadership.
• Serves as UC Scout's subject matter expert on student identity verification, advising on the design, security, and continuous improvement of verification processes and resolving escalated or complex identity discrepancies referred by staff.
• Leads or contributes to special projects, pilots, and initiatives that advance UC Scout's academic integrity goals as program needs, technologies, and student behavior evolve.
• Represents UC Scout on academic integrity matters with campus offices, UC system contacts, and external partners as assigned.

Job description

About Uc Santa Cruz

UC Santa Cruz is a public university like no other in California, combining the experience of a small, liberal arts college with the depth and rigor of a major research university. It's known as an unconventional place where innovation and experimentation is part of the campus's DNA. That playful, bold spirit still thrives today, all on a campus renowned as among the most beautiful in the world.

Department Overview

Scout, from the University of California, delivers high-quality online courses that expand college access and academic success for middle and high school students. We offer A-G approved college preparatory and College Board-approved Advanced Placement (AP) courses online and curricula for students, teachers, schools and districts, especially those serving California's educationally underserved communities.

UC Scout is a division of the UC Santa Cruz Extension. While UC Scout's home campus is located at 3175 Bowers Avenue in Santa Clara, the UC Scout team is a full-remote team, with individuals making occasional visits to the campus as needed. UC Scout serves high school students, providing online high school courses for students and curricula for educators.

UC Scout's growing team comprises six departments: instructional design, media, academics, support, outreach, and business intelligence. The team consists of approximately 50 full-time staff and 70 part-time employees. UC Scout works closely with UCSC Extension support staff, including IT, finance, and the office of the Dean to support UC Scout's goals.

We are actively evolving the way we work by integrating AI tools into our daily workflows. We expect all team members to engage curiously and confidently with emerging technologies - exploring how AI can make their work smarter, faster, and more impactful. This is not a team where AI is optional or treated with apprehension; it is a team that sees it as a professional advantage and a core part of how we operate.

Learn more about our courses and services at www.ucscout.org

Job Summary

The Academic Integrity Specialist serves as UC Scout's primary subject matter expert on academic integrity policy, student identity verification, and integrity-related technology. The position approaches academic integrity as both a protective and a developmental function, safeguarding the credibility of UC Scout credit while helping students build the habits of authentic scholarship that will serve them in college, career, and life. The person in this role works to sustain a course culture in which original, honest work is the expected and supported norm.

The Specialist works within an academic integrity framework established by UC Scout leadership, applying it consistently across cases and exercising judgment that accounts for the age and developmental stage of the program's middle and high school students. Responses to academic dishonesty are expected to be proportionate to the violation, instructive wherever possible, and resolved at the lowest appropriate level.

The Academic Integrity Specialist is responsible for managing escalated academic integrity cases, including incidents involving repeated or egregious violations. In these cases, the Specialist conducts thorough, impartial investigations; meets with students and their families; and determines appropriate consequences on a case‑by‑case basis, in alignment with UC Scout policy. Given the position's regular direct contact with minors, the Specialist adheres to protocols for student meetings. The Specialist also determines when a case warrants referral to the Student Academic Review Committee, the program's final tier of review for the most serious violations. This work requires exceptional judgment, professional discretion, and the ability to facilitate difficult conversations with students, families, and staff with clarity and care. The Specialist may be asked to assist with other escalated student or family matters referred by the Academic Director, applying the same investigative and de‑escalation skills.

The Specialist serves as the program's subject matter expert on identity verification and assessment security, and as the primary point of contact for proctoring, plagiarism detection, and related technology vendors. This includes evaluating emerging integrity technologies, monitoring for unauthorized distribution of UC Scout course content, and pursuing removal of protected course materials from third‑party sites.

Beyond case management and operations, the Academic Integrity Specialist contributes meaningfully to the long‑term health of UC Scout's academic environment. This includes developing and collaborating on integrity‑focused training for UC Scout instructors; creating student‑facing content and campaigns that make expectations clear and celebrate authentic learning and ethical AI use; collaborating with instructional design and academic staff to shape course and assessment practices that reduce opportunities for dishonesty; and keeping policy current as generative AI and student behavior continue to evolve.

Appointment Information

Budgeted Salary: $90,600 - $111,000/year. Salary commensurate with skills, qualifications and experience.

Benefits Level Eligibility: Full benefits

Schedule Information

• Full-time, Fixed
• Percentage of Time: 100%, 40 Hours per Week
• Days of the Week: Mon-Fri
• Shift Includes: Day

Employee Classification: Career appointment

Job End Date: None

Work Location: Remote

Union Representation: Non-Represented

Job Code Classification: 006116 (K TO 12 EDUCATOR 4) - Grade 23

Travel: Never or Rarely

Job Duties

50% - Escalated Case Investigation and Resolution

• Receives and manages referrals for escalated academic integrity violations, including repeat offenses and egregious first‑time incidents such as cheating in proctored exams or sustained dishonesty across a course.
• Conducts thorough, documented, impartial investigations, reviewing proctoring recordings, similarity reports, submission version histories, and related evidence to reach defensible findings.
• Meets with students and their families to review findings, communicate outcomes, and explain applicable policy and options.
• Applies consequences that are proportional to the severity and circumstances of the violation and appropriate to the student's age and developmental stage, in accordance with established UC Scout policy and case outcome history.
• Consults leadership on novel, ambiguous, or potentially precedent‑setting cases rather than establishing individual practice, and applies resulting decisions consistently going forward.
• Works to resolve cases at the lowest appropriate level of escalation, reserving referral to the Student Academic Review Committee for cases that genuinely warrant final tier review.
• Maintains complete, confidential case records in UC Scout's student information system and ensures consistent, equitable application of policy across all cases.
• Monitors instructor incident logs and proctoring tracking records to enforce and confirm consistent implementation of the academic integrity policy across all instructional staff.
• Analyzes case data across terms to identify trends, recurring vulnerabilities, and systemic issues, and reports findings to leadership.

15% - Program Integrity Assurance and Special Projects

• Serves as UC Scout's subject matter expert on student identity verification, advising on the design, security, and continuous improvement of verification processes and resolving escalated or complex identity discrepancies referred by staff.
• Evaluates existing and proposed program processes for vulnerabilities that could compromise academic integrity, enrollment integrity, or assessment security, and recommends improvements.
• Partners with departments across UC Scout on the design and implementation of systems, tools, and workflows that affect academic and program integrity.
• Leads or contributes to special projects, pilots, and initiatives that advance UC Scout's academic integrity goals as program needs, technologies, and student behavior evolve.
• Represents UC Scout on academic integrity matters with campus offices, UC system contacts, and external partners as assigned.

15% - Integrity Technology and Vendor Management

• Serves as UC Scout's primary point of contact for academic integrity and proctoring technology vendors (e.g., Honorlock, Turnitin, Process Feedback, and other AI detection or plagiarism prevention tools).
• Manages vendor relationships, monitors platform performance and configuration, and coordinates troubleshooting and escalations with vendor support teams.
• Researches and evaluates emerging academic integrity technologies, including AI detection and assessment security tools, and makes recommendations for adoption, renewal, or discontinuation.
• Collaborates with the Instructional Design Tech Lead and IT to monitor emerging technology trends and ensure academic integrity tools remain aligned with UC Scout's broader technology roadmap and infrastructure.
• Communicates tool updates, configuration changes, and best practices to relevant stakeholders.

10% - Course IP Protection

• Monitors third‑party websites and file sharing platforms for unauthorized distribution of UC Scout