How much do your students know about academic integrity? If they’re new to study or need a refresher, where can they learn the basics?
If you’re frantically preparing for your next teaching session, guiding your students on academic integrity may be competing with a bunch of other priorities, including that ‘other’ AI and its potential impacts on learning and work. However, academic integrity doesn’t have to be yet another big item on the to-do list; here are 4 questions you can ask (and where to find answers) about guiding students with practical resources at UTS.
What do my students know about academic integrity?
As always, the answer depends on the individuals in your classes, and is likely to change from semester to semester. Although some students receive extensive guidance on academic integrity in high school, for example, others may have none at all, depending on the subjects they studied or whether they experienced a different education system overseas. Mature students and postgrads may have also been away from formal education for a long time, or studied disciplines where academic integrity was upheld in different ways.
With such diverse student cohorts at UTS, some students will feel confident (perhaps too confident!), whilst others may be overwhelmed by new rules and ways to engage in learning and assessment. If you’re not sure what your students know, why not ask them directly? It could be just the reassurance they need that they’re not the only one struggling with referencing this semester…
How can my students learn about academic integrity at UTS?
If you want your students to have a shared understanding of the basics of academic integrity, the Academic Integrity at UTS Canvas modules are a great place to start. You could begin by asking your students to complete Module 1 (understanding academic integrity breaches and consequences). You could then have a class/tutorial discussion to see what questions students have about this.
During the semester, as assessments become due, you can encourage students to complete some of the other modules:
- Module 2: Create something original (using research and critical thinking)
- Module 3: Credit others (how to use and cite other people’s work)
- Module 4: Collaborate with care (how to complete group tasks with integrity)
- Module 5: Help and support (UTS services and resources)
- Module 6: Complete the course (course quiz to see what you’ve learned from all the modules)
After you’ve asked the students to complete each module, it’s important to check in with them to see what questions are raised that may need assessment-specific responses from you and your tutors.
In addition to the academic integrity Canvas modules, there’s the student academic integrity website, which explains how to maintain academic integrity, and has links to other information on this topic.
How can I support and encourage academic integrity with my students?
The Academic integrity at UTS hub (available to staff on Sharepoint) has practical guidance on how to foster academic integrity with your students, as well as links to information about addressing breaches of academic integrity. Key sections highlight the broader supports for academic integrity, including how to:
- Enhance curriculum and assessments: practical ideas to help you design and regularly review curriculum and assessments with academic integrity in mind.
- Educate and support students: provide students with the relevant knowledge, skills and support to maintain academic integrity.
- Foster connection and belonging: get to know your students and enhance a sense of belonging in all learning environments at UTS.
You can also find out where to get support on any of these topics, including training and development at UTS and beyond, with organisations such as the Australasian Academic Integrity Network and TEQSA events on academic integrity.
How do I set clear expectations about academic integrity with my students?
It’s very important that you and your students have a shared understanding of academic integrity expectations in the subject, and the best way to establish that is through open discussions, as early as possible and at regular intervals during the semester. You don’t need to start from scratch here – in addition to the Canvas modules above, you can also download academic integrity slide kits and talking points including:
- Academic integrity kit (slide deck which can be used in class or as part of student information sessions, such as faculty welcomes during orientation)
- Using GenAI in this subject kit (slides you can customise and use at the start of each session and again for each assessment)
- Academic Integrity at UTS tutorial and quiz (as noted above – an introductory, self-paced course in Canvas for students).
- Canvas announcements, newsletters and socials (visuals and resources to help you add comms and reminders about academic integrity to your subject, faculty newsletter and social platforms).
So… you’ve talked with your students about academic integrity, shown them where to find guidance, considered your curriculum and assessment design, and reinforced (or plan to) with regular reminders and communication. Now that you have the essentials under control, you’re in great shape to deal with whatever the ‘other’ AI (Artificial Intelligence/ GenAI) might be doing. Stay tuned!