Transformative Change in Academic Integrity Policy at Australian Universities

Research conducted between December 2010 and March 2011 on academic integrity policies of 39 Australian universities identified five core elements of exemplary policy – access, approach, responsibility, support, and detail (Bretag et al., 2011b). To assess developments over the past decade, academic integrity policies of 42 Australian universities were analyzed using the five core elements of the framework. The current study shows a transformative change toward exemplary academic integrity policy in Australian universities. Access has improved, with quicker results when searching for the said policies. A major positive shift in line with recommendations is in the approach to uphold academic integrity, as well as an educative focus. The current study found that most policies (72%) had “academic integrity” in the title, contrasting to a decade ago, where most policies were titled as “plagiarism policy” or “academic misconduct policy.” The majority of policies (64%) were found to have an educative approach with some going further, referring to a “culture of academic integrity.” This is a significant and positive shift from the previous study which found that a minority (41%) of policies had an educative approach. Advocacy for responsibility as a broad institutional approach has been realized, with most policies (57%) including having stated responsibilities for all stakeholders – university, staff, and students. This contrasts to earlier research, where all stakeholders were responsible in a minority of policies (36%) stated that all stakeholders were responsible for upholding academic integrity. Support for students and staff is outlined in all current policies, some including dedicated training modules. The need for detail of academic integrity breach processes and outcomes was identified by early research as an area for development. In the current study, detail was evident in almost all policies (n = 40), with over half (n = 23) having a high level of detail including outcomes and consideration in breach handling. The proactive nature of academic integrity policies in Australian universities is evidenced by the inclusion of contract cheating in most (n = 29) policies analyzed, with two policies referring to “back washing” a form of machine-based plagiarism that involves paraphrasing. This reflects the inclusion of leading-edge research into plagiarism. Educative policies were more exemplary and responsive making a compelling case for a culture of academic integrity at all universities.