Implementing Academic Integrity across Western

The Academic Integrity working party is seeking input from staff and students interested in helping to develop a coherent set of strategies for promoting Academic Integrity across the University. Staff and students interested in supporting the implementation of prioritised strategies for Academic Integrity are encouraged to join the  Academic Integrity working party (opens in a new window).

The Academic Integrity project priority is to support strategies in developing a culture of academic integrity across the university. It is a University wide responsibility to ensure academic integrity is established, and this is being done with the implementation of seven major components.

Academic Integrity is firmly back in place at many a university as a result of the 'MyMasters' controversy that featured in newspapers not so long ago, and the backlash that many universities faced because of it.  TEQSA and Higher Education Standards (HES) included academic integrity in its 2015 framework, "the overall intent…in relation to academic integrity is to ensure that all the academic activities of the provider, including those carried out in collaboration with other bodies, uphold internationally-accepted norms of integrity and honesty in scholarly work" (TESQA, 2016). To do so, HES 2015 require all universities to educate their students in academic and research integrity.

Academic integrity is defined as:

… a commitment, even in the face of adversity, to six fundamental values: honesty, trust, fairness, respect, responsibility, and courage. From these values flow principles of behaviour that enable academic communities to translate ideals to action' (International Centre for Academic Integrity, 2014).
This framework provided the foundation for Western Sydney to develop its 'Education for Academic Integrity' strategy, approved by Senate Education committee in March this year.  Soon after, the strategy's working group came together to plan its implementation.

Broadly, this strategy comprises seven major components:

  1. Mandatory academic integrity module
  2. Academic integrity 'Honour Code'
  3. Co-curricula learning activities
  4. Embedded curriculum (teaching and assessment) learning activities
  5. Peer mentoring
  6. Academic modelling and discipline culture
  7. Restorative activities in response to breaches

Connect and Collaborate with Georgie Avard, Project Leader.

Learning Futures.NOW. Issue 1.

-November 2017-