hat come to light have the potential to damage a university’s reputation – and in turn, the perceived quality of programs and graduates.
- Damaged trust can negatively affect students’ perception of their learning experience and the quality of their engagement with their institution.
- The reputation impact may extend into the employment market and graduates workplaces, particularly since breach behaviours committed at university have been cited as a strong predictor for similar behaviours being committed in the workplace.
3. Breach Behaviours Can 'Travel'
There is a connection between cheating behaviours across different levels of study and different environments. Studies have reported associations between academic integrity breaches committed by students and their propensity to commit dishonest behaviours in a professional environment (Sims 1993).
What Can Staff Do?
Taking an educative and proactive approach to promoting academic integrity can seem like a daunting prospect. The Arts L&T Team recommends three main courses of action
|Action||What does it involve?|
Know the relevant policies and procedures:
Know your students:
Know the risks and rewards:
Talk to your students about academic integrity as a fundamental component of their university experience, rather than only being related only to assessments (eg. referencing conventions). Academic integrity should be integrated into every aspect of unit design, delivery and student experience.
Have conversations about the importance and impact of academic integrity in university and in professional life.
Talk to your colleagues about their experiences in promoting and managing academic integrity in their units. Are there common challenges, and if so, how have others faced them?
Report suspected breaches as soon as possible.
Resources to Support Academic Integrity
This page is continually updated as changes to the University's academic integrity policy are being made.
Macquarie University Resources
- Academic Integrity Policy
- Managing and Reporting Academic Misconduct Toolkit (MQU wiki)
- Academic Integrity Module for Students
- TECHE article on Academic Integrity Strategies for Unit Coordinators (TECHE article)
Faculty of Arts Resources
- Faculty Discipline Committee Flowchart
- Contact the L&T team (email@example.com) for an academic integrity 'healthcheck'
- TEQSA Academic Integrity Toolkit
- Prohibiting Academic Cheating Services Act 2020
- Studiosity Symposium on the Prohibiting Academic Cheating Services Act 2020 (21 October 2020)
Student Excellence Awards - please consider nominating students who have made a difference to the MQ community in the past year.
Sims, R. L. (1993), The Relationship Between Academic Dishonesty and Unethical Business Practice, Journal of Education for
Business, 68(4), 207–211.