Being AWARE about academic integrity

AUQA Occasional …, 2011

As academic integrity is fundamental to assessment practices, it is critical that it is dealt with consistently by staff and taught to students. How a university defines academic integrity in its policy will affect the way it is taught and embedded in the curriculum. While ...

2011

This paper reports on one important aspect of the preliminary findings from the Australian Learning and Teaching Council (ALTC) project, Academic integrity standards: Aligning policy and practice in Australian universities Our project aims to identify approaches to the complex issues of academic integrity, and then to build on these approaches to develop exemplars for adaptation across the higher education sector. Based on analysis of publicly available online academic International Journal for Educational Integrity 4 integrity policies at each of the 39 Australian universities, we have identified five core elements of exemplary academic integrity policy. These have been grouped under the headings, Access, Approach, Responsibility, Detail and Support, with no element given priority over another. In this paper we compare the five core elements identified in our research with best practice guidelines recommended by the Higher Education Academy (HEA) in the UK. We conclude that an exemplar policy needs to provide an upfront, consistent message, reiterated throughout the entire policy, which indicates a systemic and sustained commitment to the values of academic integrity and the practices that ensure it. Whereas the HEA created two discrete resources, the key aim and challenge of this project will be to develop exemplars that demonstrate a strong alignment between policy and practice.

This paper reports on one important aspect of the preliminary findings from the Australian Learning and Teaching Council (ALTC) project, Academic integrity standards: Aligning policy and practice in Australian universities (Bretag et al., 2010). Our project aims to identify approaches to the complex issues of academic integrity, and then to build on these approaches to develop exemplars for adaptation across the higher education sector. Based on analysis of publicly available online academic integrity policies at each of the 39 Australian universities, we have identified five core elements of exemplary academic integrity policy. These have been grouped under the headings, Access, Approach, Responsibility, Detail and Support, with no element given priority over another. In this paper we compare the five core elements identified in our research with best practice guidelines recommended by the Higher Education Academy (HEA) in the UK. We conclude that an exemplar policy needs to provide an upfront, consistent message, reiterated throughout the entire policy, which indicates a systemic and sustained commitment to the values of academic integrity and the practices that ensure it. Whereas the HEA created two discrete resources, the key aim and challenge of this project will be to develop exemplars that demonstrate a strong alignment between policy and practice.

The results of a large online student survey (n = 15,304), on academic integrity at six Australian universities, indicate that a majority of respondents reported a good awareness of academic integrity and knowledge of academic integrity policy at their university and were satisfied with the information and support they receive. Response varied across cohorts, with international students expressing a lower awareness of academic integrity and academic integrity policy, and lower confidence in how to avoid academic integrity breaches. Postgraduate research student respondents were the least satisfied with the information they had received about how to avoid an academic integrity breach. The results from this survey provide an opportunity to explore the student perspective and inform the higher education sector in relation to communicating with and educating students about academic integrity. The students have indicated that Australian universities need to move beyond the mere provision of information to ensure a holistic approach that engages students about academic integrity.

As Australian universities expand further into the global international student market and move to widen their participation pathways to realise the Bradley (2008) targets for increased participation in higher education, academic integrity is likely to come under increasing scrutiny. Recent AUQA audit reports have highlighted the need for Australian universities to ensure that their systems and management of academic quality are robust. Universities in Australia have therefore been forced to evaluate and in some cases reconsider their approaches to academic integrity. This paper reports on the activities of two Australian universities of similar size and composition and how they have responded to the increased challenge of maintaining flexible, robust and relevant policies and procedures to address academic misconduct. It is demonstrated that in both cases an underlying value steering their repositioning has been an emphasis placed on a developmental approach to academic integrity to foster ‘the ethical student’ by focusing attention on scaffolding students’ understanding of the expectations and conventions of academic scholarship in their contexts. While both universities share similar goals they have embarked on two different strategies. This paper first outlines how University of Tasmania employed ‘Turnitin’ and an Academic Writing Module as an institution wide strategy aimed at assisting students to understand academic integrity by developing their academic skills. Second, in 2010 Murdoch University enacted a new raft of academic misconduct regulations and procedures including guidelines, frameworks, training for academic staff and instructional units for students, and a wider range of print and online resources focused on academic integrity. The aim of these initiatives is to demonstrate that Murdoch University not only has robust and transparent regulations, but also ensures fair, consistent, and most importantly a developmental approach toward promoting academic integrity.

EDULEARN proceedings, 2017

There is no secret that higher education institutions in Central and Eastern Europe and especially in its Post-Soviet block still face academic misconduct frequently. Although, as results of researches reveal, academic integrity makes a significant impact on the quality of future professional activities and thus on the sustainability of society in general, the fight against academic misconduct still heavily makes its way to universities. In order to foster changes in this area and to improve culture of academic ethics a Lithuanian social science university decided to explore the situation and initiated research of academic ethics issues in its academic community. This paper aims to present one of the aspects of conducted research-perceptions of academic integrity from the perspective of both students and lecturers, since the analysis of prevailing perceptions, their similarities and differences is inevitable for gaining a deeper understanding of the ongoing processes. Empirical data have been gathered in 2016 using two methods-individual qualitative interviews with 15 lecturers and 6 PhD students, and 7 focus group discussions separately with bachelor and master students, who represented different study programmes and study years. The analysis of research results reveals that both students and lecturers perceive academic integrity as one of the most important imperatives of academic ethics and event as its synonym. On the other hand, the differences of perceptions are also observed. Students tend to consider academic integrity as a whole of agreed rules and obedience to them. While defining academic integrity they prefer to give examples of academic integrity as an opposite of academic misconduct (e.g. do not cheat, do not plagiarize, do not copy ideas etc.). Direction or focus of academic integrity is given to particular students' behaviour related with study process, especially with the implementation of required tasks. Meanwhile, the perception of academic integrity provided by lecturers is more general, extended to common values. In many cases it is based on the positive aspects like academic freedom and security, courage, objectivity, respect, trustworthiness, professionalism, etc. These differences of perceptions indicate that although objectively every member of academic community follows the same ethical rules, on personal-subjective-level they perceive ethical issues differently. These differences of perceptions of academic integrity are significant for determination of the most effective ways to foster common ethical culture of every member of the academic community and to enhance academic integrity as a shared academic value.

Academic integrity has long been a concern at institutions of learning across the Globe. With the worldwide, accelerated, proliferation of "American style", "Western/ liberal arts" education and the adherent quest on the part of many institutions to seek and secure international accreditation, the issue of academic integrity has received more attention than ever before. While certain problems with honesty in academic conduct among students have been acknowledged for some time and remedies sought to combat issues of dishonesty, the issue of the integrity of the institutions themselves -be it their operating procedures, oversight of their teaching corps, researchers, staff members, remains underemphasized. Similarly, institutional integrity manifested as the underpinning force and structure that is meant to foster, enhance and enforce integrity has received scant attention. Unfortunately, what ought to have become a natural tendency for institutions to provide environments, that would make integrity and ethical behavior part of their institutional DNA seems to be lagging behind other priorities. "Academic Integrity" is so much more than punishing students caught plagiarizing. This discussion will point to flaws in the institutional underpinnings required to ensure and promote institutional honesty and integrity and points to areas that an institution can focus on to foster and require integrity THROUGHOUT the organization. It discusses some of the dilemmas found in any institution, and some that may be particular to certain locales and suggests practical steps that can be taken to bring each institution and the field of education a step closer to real integrity in the hallowed halls.

Journal of College Student Development, 2011

2014

A key area of concern in higher education is academic integrity, which involves the adherence by students to standards of honesty, originality, and attribution. The literature indicates that plagiarism is widespread in Australian higher education institutions and that plagiarism, collusion and cheating are increasing. To maintain institutional credibility it is necessary to advance academic rigour and integrity as well as deal with breaches of academic integrity, especially by reducing instances of plagiarism. The current project is one of four academic integrity priority projects commissioned by the OLT in 2012. The aim of this project was to develop a national academic integrity resource for those with policy responsibilities and who are also at the front-line of teaching in the classroom, namely, unit/course coordinators. In accord with the funded proposal, the project outcomes and outputs: Include pedagogical resources, which support the development of academic integrity in stud...