Spotlight on Academic Integrity
Academic Integrity Module Pilot Success
We are pleased to announce that over 90% of first-year students with access to the module completed the module and the associated quiz. Engagement was high across all courses, and some courses even achieved 100% completions. This excellent result is thanks to the efforts of course coordinators and tutors in scaffolding and promoting the module in their courses.
The Academic Integrity Self-Enrolment module remains accessible to all students through Assignment Help tab in MyUni.
Academic Integrity Colloquium Roundup
More than 120 people attended the Academic Integrity Colloquium hosted by the Pro Vice-Chancellor (Student Learning) on 15 April, including University of Adelaide staff and students, and staff from more than 20 other universities across Australia and New Zealand.
Professor Phillip Dawson - AI Colloquium keynote speaker
Keynote Professor Phillip Dawson (Deakin University) discussed assessment security and the challenges posed to academic integrity by e-cheating. Prof Dawson explained the need to strike a balance between academic integrity and assessment security (i.e. the measures taken to prevent and detect cheating).
There is no one solution to the problem of cheating, but a combination of prevention and detection strategies can make cheating more difficult.
Assessment design should be an important component of this strategy, but with one caveat: “if it’s not valid and reliable assessment of learning, it’s not worth securing”. Prof Dawson’s talk was followed by a lively Q&A which is also available to watch.
Dr David Wilson discussed an educative approach to academic integrity. Academic integrity education needs to be “pointed, specific, and positive”, making clear links to the expectations in the course, but also emphasising the skills that students are building through working with integrity.
Dr Julia Miller discussed the challenges faced by students with English as an additional language, highlighting the importance of showing students examples of good writing and note-taking practices, and assessing the content of assessments rather than English skills.
Paul Moss and Natalia Zarina from LEI explored the connection between curriculum and assessment design and student engagement, demonstrating how weekly quizzes, worked examples and re-tutorial questions can build student confidence ahead of assessments, reducing the inclination to cheat.
The Colloquium concluded with a student panel featuring the University of Adelaide Academic Integrity Ambassadors Nicole Zhang, Bharvi Mapara, Bryan Ong and Kristen Mai. The panel discussed the student perspective on academic integrity, including perceived “grey areas” such as identifying legitimate online sources of assessment help, academic integrity expectations in open-resource exams, and obtaining assistance from family or previous students. Many of these issues are covered by our educational “Is It Ok?” discussion game, available via MyUni Commons.
A full recording of the AI Colloquium is now available to view.