Academic integrity in higher education –who is responsible?

A paper presented at the International First Year in Higher Education Conference 2014.

Academic integrity is not well understood by first year students who are often unaware of the subtleties of plagiarism and collusion. This paper focuses on the design, delivery and evaluation of an online academic integrity resource for all first year students, using a coordinated, university-wide ‘third generation’ approach. Designed to complement the implementation of text matching software across the university, the online resource uses distinct categories of plagiarism to improve awareness of the need for critical thinking, referencing and writing in university study.The aim of the resource was to develop a common understanding amongst transitioning students in relation to the ethics underpinning academic integrity. With a focus on enabling students to choose their own learning journey, a design team comprised of major stakeholders responsible for ensuring academic integrity within the university collaborated to create a series of modules. A neclectic-mixed methods-pragmatic paradigm methodology was applied to evaluate its design and implementation.