scholarly journals Adaptability of academic integrity procedures and practices in the COVID-19-accelerated transition to online assessment

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Meena Jha ◽  
Simon ◽  
Regina Berretta ◽  
Ayse Bilgin ◽  
Judy Sheard ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Education System ◽  
Academic Integrity ◽  
Academic Staff ◽  
Online Assessment ◽  
Assessment Practices ◽  
Education Programs ◽  
Work In Progress ◽  
Policies And Procedures ◽  
Digital Competencies ◽  
Australian Universities

The COVID-19 pandemic brought unexpected disruptions to educational practices, forcing universities to deliver lectures, tutorials, exams, and other assessments online. Academics and program managers reacted swiftly to adapt their education programs, managing a crisis that could have harmed Australia’s education system. Academic staff rapidly addressed the immediate requirements of delivering classes online, upskilling their digital competencies to continue with minimal disadvantage to students. A perceived problem arising from the need to move to online assessment is an increase in violations of academic integrity. Due to the speed with which the changes took place, there have not necessarily been corresponding changes in the policies and procedures that govern and guide teaching and assessment practices, related to academic integrity. A crisis can open an opportunity for innovation, and this study is a work in progress to investigate how things were done differently to uphold academic integrity in computing courses at Australian universities.

scholarly journals Responding to the COVID-19 emergency: student and academic staff perceptions of academic integrity in the transition to online exams at three Australian universities

2021 ◽  
Vol 17 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Alison Reedy ◽  
Darius Pfitzner ◽  
Laura Rook ◽  
Leonie Ellis
Keyword(s):  
Academic Integrity ◽  
Qualitative Data ◽  
Academic Staff ◽  
Academic Misconduct ◽  
Lessons Learned ◽  
Online Assessment ◽  
Staff Perceptions ◽  
Digital World ◽  
Inform Decision Making ◽  
Australian Universities

AbstractThis paper explores the perceptions of academic staff and students to student cheating behaviours in online exams and other online assessment formats. The research took place at three Australian universities in July and August 2020 during the emergency transition to online learning and assessment in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. The study sought to inform decision making about the future of online exams at the participating universities. Quantitative and qualitative data were collected using online surveys. The findings of the study led to seven key observations, most notably the need to redefine the characteristics of academic misconduct to account for changes wrought to examinations in a digital world. The study concludes with lessons learned in relation to enhancing academic integrity in digital examinations and assessments.

scholarly journals Counting beans in the degree factory

2006 ◽  
Vol 2 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
John Atkins ◽  
William Herfel
Keyword(s):  
Academic Integrity ◽  
Academic Culture ◽  
Resource Scarcity ◽  
University Of Maryland ◽  
Resource Limitations ◽  
Ethical Action ◽  
Policies And Procedures ◽  
Material Conditions ◽  
The University ◽  
Australian Universities

This paper examines how material conditions constrain the capacity to act with academic integrity, particularly in the context of severe resource limitations within Australian higher education. It describes the current situation in Australian universities illustrating this with statistics as well as the authors’ experiences. Drawing on the recent report on plagiarism policy and implementation at The University of Newcastle produced by the St. James Ethics Centre, the paper shows how policies and procedures can run aground due to resource scarcity. It also explores the breakdown of traditional academic culture and its impact on integrity, making reference to the University of Maryland Student Honor Code. Finally, the paper raises the question of what constitutes ethical action when resources become stretched to the breaking point.

scholarly journals Academic Integrity in Online Assessment: A Research Review

2021 ◽  
Vol 6 ◽  
Author(s):  
Olivia L. Holden ◽  
Meghan E. Norris ◽  
Valerie A. Kuhlmeier
Keyword(s):  
Decision Making ◽  
Academic Dishonesty ◽  
Academic Integrity ◽  
Online Courses ◽  
Research Review ◽  
Online Assessment ◽  
Decision Making Process ◽  
Assessment Practices ◽  
Evidence Based ◽  
Evidence Based Practices

This paper provides a review of current research on academic integrity in higher education, with a focus on its application to assessment practices in online courses. Understanding the types and causes of academic dishonesty can inform the suite of methods that might be used to most effectively promote academic integrity. Thus, the paper first addresses the question of why students engage in academically dishonest behaviours. Then, a review of current methods to reduce academically dishonest behaviours is presented. Acknowledging the increasing use of online courses within the postsecondary curriculum, it is our hope that this review will aid instructors and administrators in their decision-making process regarding online evaluations and encourage future study that will form the foundation of evidence-based practices.

scholarly journals Academic integrity of university students during emergency remote online assessment: An exploration of student voices

2021 ◽  
Vol 6 ◽  
Author(s):  
Anne H. Verhoef ◽  
Yolandi M. Coetser
Keyword(s):  
University Students ◽  
South African ◽  
Academic Dishonesty ◽  
Academic Integrity ◽  
Time Management ◽  
Online Assessment ◽  
Student Voices ◽  
Online Assessments ◽  
African Context ◽  
Feeling Overwhelmed

Background: This article examines the phenomenon of academic integrity during the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic, with particular reference to emergency online assessments in 2020.Aim: It explores academic dishonesty, cheating and plagiarism of university students during emergency remote online assessment, from the perspective of South African students.Setting and Methodology: The authors explore the approaches of different universities worldwide, as well as the extant literature on the topic. An examination of the current literature related explicitly to the COVID-19 online assessments reveals a dearth of engagement by researchers in the South African context. In order to address this lacuna, the authors rely on data generated from an institutional forum on academic dishonesty at a University in South Africa. It focuses specifically on the voices of students presented during the forum, which explained both why students are dishonest and ways to curb dishonesty.Results and Conclusion: The data generated show whilst some students were dishonest due to pandemic-related issues (like lack of monitoring), there are also other reasons, such as lack of time management, feeling overwhelmed and stressed and struggling with technology that contributes to student dishonesty. Students suggest that assessments be approached differently online to curb academic dishonesty. The paper concludes by providing some fundamental changes needed to address academic dishonesty.

scholarly journals Student-generated video creation for assessment: can it transform assessment within Higher Education?

2018 ◽  
Vol 5 (1) ◽  
pp. 1-11
Author(s):  
Ruth Hawley ◽  
Cate Allen
Keyword(s):  
Higher Education ◽  
Academic Staff ◽  
Collaborative Group ◽  
Local Context ◽  
Assessment Practices ◽  
Video Creation ◽  
Education Academic ◽  
Robust Evidence ◽  
Video Format ◽  
Do So

Abstract Student-generated video creation assessments are an innovative and emerging form of assessment in higher education. Academic staff may be understandably reluctant to transform assessment practices without robust evidence of the benefits and rationale for doing so and some guidance regarding how to do so successfully. A systematic approach to searching the literature was conducted to identify relevant resources, which generated key documents, authors and internet sources which were thematically analysed. This comprehensive critical synthesis of literature is presented here under the headings of findings from literature, relevance of digital capabilities, understanding the influence of local context and resources, and pedagogical considerations. Student-generated video creation for assessment is shown to have several benefits, notably in supporting development of digital and communication skills relevant to today’s world and in enhancing learning. As an emerging innovation within assessment, intentionally planning and supporting a change management process with both students and staff is required. The importance of alignment to learning outcomes, context and resources, choice of video format to desired skills development, and to relevance beyond graduation is emphasised for video creation in assessment to be used successfully. Video creation for assessment is likely to grow in popularity and it is hoped the evidence of benefits, rationale and guidance as to how to do this effectively presented here will support this transformation. Further research to consider video creation for assessment with individuals rather than collaborative group assessments, and to establish academic rigour and equivalence would be beneficial.

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