Policy: Student academic integrity

Purpose

To promote and support the academic integrity principle in accordance with ANU rules and values.

Overview

Integrity and ethical behaviour are two of the core ANU values that define our culture as a diverse community of staff and student scholars. This policy is intended to promote and support these values by outlining the responsibilities of staff and students in the University’s approach to supporting academic integrity for students.

Scope

This policy applies to all staff members in supporting students’ academic integrity and to all students across the University regardless of academic discipline, research project, or program.

Definitions

For definitions of terms in this policy, please refer to the Academic Integrity Rule 2021, section 6. Definitions.

Policy statement

1. This policy is to be read in conjunction with the Academic Integrity Rule 2021 and the Student Academic Integrity procedure.
2. The academic integrity principle is the principle that every student of the University:

1. is committed to engaging in academic work in ways that are consistent with, and actively support, academic integrity; and
2. upholds this commitment by behaving honestly, responsibly and ethically, and with respect and fairness, in scholarly practice.

3. The University manages all reports of student conduct that potentially breach the academic integrity principle in accordance with the Academic Integrity Rule 2021 (‘Rule’).
4. The University is committed to providing an educative, embedded approach to academic integrity by taking measures to prevent breaches, applying best practice principles in curriculum design and providing students with opportunities to understand and appreciate the value of academic integrity.

Responsibilities

5. The Deputy Vice-Chancellor (Academic) through the office of the Pro-Vice Chancellor (Learning and Teaching) and the Dean (Academic Quality) is responsible for:

1. fostering and encouraging staff to design assessment and curriculum that supports academic integrity and minimises the potential for breaches by students in their courses;
2. providing staff with opportunities and resources to understand their role in investigating, determining outcomes and reporting on breaches;
3. providing current and prospective coursework students with information on, and expectations of, academic integrity; and
4. ensuring that current coursework students are provided with ongoing educative support and training aimed at understanding the importance of academic integrity and developing skills to act with academic integrity.

6. The Deputy Vice-Chancellor (Research & Innovation) through the office of the Pro Vice Chancellor (Graduate Research) is responsible for:

1. providing staff with opportunities and resources to understand their role in investigating, determining outcomes and reporting on breaches;
2. providing current and prospective HDR students with information on and expectations of, academic integrity; and
3. ensuring that current HDR students are provided with ongoing educative support and training to ensure that students understand the importance of academic integrity and have advanced skills to enable them to always act with academic integrity.

7. The University Registrar is responsible for recording and reporting on the occurrence and nature of breaches in an effort to:

• ensure academic integrity is respected;
• monitor potential risks or reoccurring issues;
• ensure consistent approaches across campus; and
• consider areas for improvement.

8. College Deans are responsible for:

1. overseeing and implementing strategies within courses or programs run by the college that align with the academic integrity principle, including strategies to educate students and strategies to handle potential breaches;
2. identifying one or more academic staff member/s to support the inquiry; and
3. maintaining fairness and consistency in processes and outcomes by working with the Dean (Academic Quality), Pro Vice-Chancellor (Graduate Research), and the Registrar to develop consistent approaches in determining actions to take under the Rule.

9. Academic staff, including examiners, are responsible for:

1. considering and implementing assessment design principles that support academic integrity, such as those made publicly available by the University including the Academic Integrity: Best Practice Principles for Teachers, and minimise the possibility for breaches of academic integrity to occur;
2. promoting, explicitly and unambiguously, techniques and expectations about appropriate acknowledgement of sources within their area;
3. providing support and guidance to amplify expectations and knowledge relating to academic integrity;
4. making regular attempts to detect breaches and act, in accordance with the Rule where breaches have, or may have, occurred; and
5. undertaking reviews and investigations, as the case may be, in accordance with the Academic Integrity Rule 2021.

10. The Scholarly Information Services Division is responsible for:

1. providing services and resources that support students’ understanding of academic integrity, including development of literacy capabilities and relevant academic skills, including referencing, and using sources appropriately; and
2. providing support on ethics for student publishing including open access and data management.

11. Students have responsibility to:

1. understand and abide by the obligations of the academic integrity principle in general and in the context of particular disciplines or courses;
2. actively seek assistance from appropriate areas/resources if they do not understand the University’s expectations around academic integrity. For example a student may consult ANU dedicated webpages such as the Academic Integrity: Best Practice Principles for Learners webpage for guidance;

3. consider the consequences of breaches to their own learning and skills development and the implications of breaches on other students and the University;
4. ensure that work submitted for assessment is genuine and original and that appropriate acknowledgement and citation is given to the work of others;
5. be prepared to provide evidence of or authenticate their learning on the assessment task; for example, by showing notes/drafts/resource materials used in the preparation of the task or undertaking a viva voce assessment; and
6. not knowingly assist other students in breaching the academic integrity principle.