Context

As a member of the Community Standards team at Amherst College, I asked the following question: Amherst College OCS already has a model for turning a conduct violation into a learning opportunity: the AOD amnesty pathway, anchored by BASICS. What would it look like to apply that same thinking to academic integrity?

Approach

This was an initiative-driven project based on the above question, driven by increase in ai-driven academic integrity violations and inspired by Amherst College’s restorative approach to conduct violations. I first completed analysis of institutional data and conducted a literature review, with a focus on academic integrity, restorative practices, trauma-informed practices, ethics of care, and motivational interviewing, as well as what other institutions have built in this space.

Design Decisions

Design decisions for this project included establishing trauma-informed naming conventions that lean into restorative practices and avoid ranking behaviors and color codes that could be translated for accessibility. The Toolkit was designed as a visuals-forward, practitioner-facing packet that could be seamlessly integrated into Amherst’s existing practices, but could also easily translate to the needs of other institutions with “plug and play” layouts. While the research document demonstrates that the work is grounded in literature, the one-sheet and practitioner resources can stand alone as an approachable version of the project.

Proof of Concept

The Clarify · Realign · Stabilize · Reframe Framework does not claim to be a completely novel program, building upon recent literature and established models that define differentiated, student-centered, restorative response as both more ethical and more effective than uniform punitive process. The framework uses existing proof of concept at other institutions and builds a model more custom to the needs at Amherst College.

Outcome

A complete set of curriculum approval resources including a fully-cited research document, visual frameworks, and practitioner-facing guidance materials.

CRSR Academic Integrity Framework Research Document

CRSR Academic Integrity Framework Practitioner Packet

The documents, as of summer 2026, are under review and revision with the Office of Community Standards with demonstrated interest in adoption.