FAITH

Academic integrity (AI) is a crucial aspect of quality assurance in higher education (HE) institutions. Lack of integrity undermines trust in university diplomas and academia as a whole. Considering the digital transformation of Higher Education institutions by the outbreak of COVID-19, there is an increased concern regarding the violations of academic integrity.

The first priority for this project is to establish benchmarks for minimum standards in institutional policies for Academic Integrity in Higher Education, based on best practice globally. We will specifically target best practices during the emergency remote teaching which would help digital transformation of Higher Education institutions. Having gathered a general intelligence on academic integrity policies, we will then focus on national and institutional approaches to deterring and detecting plagiarism and contract cheating (students submitting work for academic credit completed by someone else), which is a serious negative external influence, not only to Academic Integrity, but also to academic standards and reliability. A global industry of successful commercial companies offers a range of online services to help students complete their assessments. Contract cheating also includes asking a colleague, friend or relative to do the work. A related concern is limited availability of help and advice for teachers, students, graduates/researchers who have been affected by aspects of unethical or inappropriate academic conduct or for whistle-blowing or challenging such practices. Institutional support services are often not able to provide clear guidance on how to respond to external threats of this nature, therefore we will offer guidance and support to victims of academic malpractice through a web-based interactive platform.

Projektpartner

• University of Konstanz; Kommunikations-, Informations-, Medienzentrum (KIM)
• European Network for Academic Integrity
• Çanakkale Onsekiz Mart University, Turkey
• University of Porto, Portugal
• University of Maribor, Slovenia

Projektlaufzeit

28.02.2022 bis 27.02.2025

Projektförderer

European Union, Erasmus+ (Cooperation partnerships in higher education)