• Section 1 - Purpose:
• Section 2 - Scope
• Section 3 - Policy
• Section 4 - Procedure
• Supporting academic integrity
• Possible breaches of academic integrity
• Generative artificial intelligence
• Risk mitigation
• Education and support – students
• Education and Support for Students – Faculties
• Education and support – staff
• Assessment
• Monitoring of the completion of AIM for Students requirement
• Course and unit management
• Access control to cheating sites
• Detection strategies
• Generative artificial intelligence
• Investigations
• Student academic integrity breaches
• Staff academic integrity breaches
• Record keeping
• Reporting
• Section 5 - Responsibilities
• Section 6 - Definitions

Section 1 - Purpose:

(1) This Procedure supports the Academic Integrity Policy and outlines:

1. how the University of Canberra (the University) and its contracted third-party providers will promote a culture of academic integrity;
2. descriptions and examples of academic misconduct that support the definitions set out in the University of Canberra (Student Conduct) Rules 2023;
3. how the University will provide academic integrity education and support;
4. the strategies the University will apply to mitigate academic integrity risks and detect potential academic integrity breaches; and
5. the processes for conducting investigations for alleged academic integrity breaches.

(2) For students, this Procedure must be read together with the Student Conduct Rules, the Student Charter, the Academic Integrity Policy, and the Research Conduct and Governance Policy.

(3) For staff, this Procedure must be read together with the University’s Charter of Conduct and Values, the University’s Enterprise Agreement, the Academic Integrity Policy, and the Research Conduct and Governance Policy.

(4) While this Procedure discusses research integrity as a type of academic integrity, the Research Conduct and Complaints Procedure states the process for considering allegations of research misconduct by staff and students.

Section 2 - Scope

(5) This Procedure has the same scope as the Academic Integrity Policy.

Section 3 - Policy

(6) Refer to Academic Integrity Policy. 

Section 4 - Procedure

Supporting academic integrity

(7) The University will regularly express to its staff, students, future students and affiliates its academic integrity expectations and its commitment to the academic integrity values. It will do this through:

1. rules, policies, procedures and contracts;
2. governance committees;
3. unit outlines;
4. learning management system (LMS) announcements;
5. Faculty and University communications to staff, students and third-party institutions; and
6. communication strategies to address particular academic integrity concerns, including new and emerging academic integrity risks, such as generative artificial intelligence (GenAI).

Possible breaches of academic integrity

(8) Breaches of academic integrity are outlined in the University of Canberra (Student Conduct) Rules 2023.

Generative artificial intelligence

(9) The University recognises that generative artificial intelligence (GenAI) is a rapidly evolving technology, and its use may pose a risk to academic integrity.

(10) Breaches of academic integrity related to GenAI include (but are not limited to):

1. using GenAI in a manner which contravenes the published University’s position on the use of GenAI;
2. misusing GenAI by not complying with the requirements noted in assessment instructions, unit outlines, work-integrated learning placements or similar course of study documentation;
3. misrepresenting GenAI outputs as human-generated work, either through false references or the absence of references; and
4. staff using GenAI in a way that is contrary to the guidance provided by the University and external bodies.

Risk mitigation

Education and support – students

(11) The University will publish its policies and information and requirements on academic integrity, along with other required information under the Higher Education Standards Framework (Threshold Standards) 2021.

(12) The University will provide resources to support students in developing their study and research skills and understanding of academic integrity standards. This includes guides to academic referencing, researching, note taking and writing, and understanding assessment and other learning tasks.

(13) Students are required to complete the Academic Integrity Module (AIM) for Students in their first teaching period of each calendar year of study at the University, and as required subsequently. Student completion of AIM is managed centrally across the student’s study at the University. Students who have not completed AIM will be identified by Learning & Teaching (L&T) and reminded through a series of notifications, such as global LMS announcements, SMS notifications to specific students who have not completed the AIM for Students requirement, and communications at a unit level.

(14) The Graduate Research School will ensure that students enrolled in higher degree by research (HDR) courses also complete the Research Integrity Module (RIM) as an unweighted hurdle requirements in the first teaching period of the calendar year in which they are studying in that course. HDR students may be required to complete additional training and research as required by the Research Conduct and Governance Policy.

(15) Students will receive a digital badge after successfully completing an AIM assessment.

(16) For coursework courses, Course Conveners/Program Directors (or equivalent) and/or Unit Conveners will provide clear expectations and discipline-specific academic integrity standards and ensure that students are familiar with the academic integrity values and various behaviours that may breach academic integrity.

(17) Unit Conveners will define in the unit outline (or similar course of study documentation) what is permissible for a particular assessment item or assessment type, for example:

1. what type of collaboration is allowed;
2. what kind of items are permitted in an exam;
3. what referencing style and standard is expected;
4. whether translation or other language tools are permitted;
5. guidance about the use of GenAI services (for example, advice about GenAI limitations and risks, and/or how use of GenAI in the preparation of an assessment will be acknowledged, cited and referenced); and
6. guidance in the assessment’s marking rubric.

(18) Coursework and research students engaged in collaborative activities must encourage each other and lead by example to uphold the academic integrity values and principles as stated in the Academic Integrity Policy. This can be done through such methods as:

1. peer reviewing;
2. group discussions; and
3. reference and citation checks.

(19) Research supervisors and supervisory panels in both coursework and HDR courses will provide students with clear instructions on the University’s academic integrity values and expectations at the commencement of their course of study and at regular intervals during their course of study.

(20) Unit Conveners, research supervisors and supervisory panels will uphold and apply the Academic Integrity Policy and Procedure and explain it to students. This includes integrity in honours and HDR courses, assessment tasks or theses, including proofreading, editing and authorised uses of GenAI services.

Education and Support for Students – Faculties

(21) Faculties will ensure that values of academic and research integrity and requirements, including correct referencing and acknowledgement of sources, are clearly articulated in unit outlines.

(22) Faculties will require all staff to take responsibility for detecting and reporting breaches of academic and research integrity.

(23) If a student is suspected to have engaged in behaviour that may be in breach of Rule 9 of the Student Conduct Rules, the matter may be referred to a Prescribed Authority in accordance with Rule 10(1).

(24) Faculties will require their staff, and staff at partner institutions teaching a faculty course, to complete the staff-focused AIM, and ensure that students studying at partnership locations are aware of their academic and research integrity responsibilities.

(25) Faculties may have their own local instructions to support academic and research integrity, and to complement this procedure.

(26) Faculties will investigate alleged breaches of academic and research integrity and follow the process described in the Student Conduct Rules and the Responsible Conduct of Research Policy, as amended from time to time.

Education and support – staff

(27) All academic staff (including casual academic staff) must successfully complete AIM for Staff, and undertake AIM for Staff again when refresher content is released. Completion of AIM for Staff will be monitored as part of Professional Development Plan (PDP) processes, and induction of casual academic staff.

(28) All new academic staff conducting or supervising research, or conducting research training, must successfully complete RIM within the first year of their employment.

(29) Faculties will ensure University staff and third-party provider staff receive appropriate training in academic integrity, as required.

(30) Faculties will ensure staff are informed about procedures and protections that apply when raising allegations of breaches of academic integrity.

Assessment

(31) Unit Conveners and Course Conveners/Program Directors (or equivalent) will design formative and summative assessments to mitigate foreseeable risks to academic integrity including misrepresentation, fabrication, cheating, plagiarism and misuse of intellectual property, and to prevent recurrences of breaches. Such strategies may include:

1. ensuring that the number and the weighting of assessments across the required unit(s) in a course in a teaching period is a reasonable load for students and for the unit’s identified level of study (see the Assessment Policy and Assessment Procedures for more information);
2. utilising authentic and personalised assessment where appropriate;
3. reviewing and revising assessment for each teaching period to reduce or eliminate any benefit to students accessing previous assessment tasks, including through use of file sharing sites;
4. selecting question types in quizzes and exams which require application of higher order thinking; and
5. including in unit/course outlines and assessment descriptions, details of behaviours that are permitted when researching, developing, completing and submitting assessments and clearly communicating these to students.

Monitoring of the completion of AIM for Students requirement

(32) AIM for Students is managed by Study Skills in collaboration with Learning & Teaching.

(33) Learning & Teaching will:

1. identify students who have not completed AIM;
2. publish reminders to complete AIM in the University’s LMS via global announcements;
3. organise for SMS reminders to be sent to students who have not completed the AIM requirement, which includes a warning that they will not have visibility of their unit results until the requirement is met;
4. provide regular reports to faculties which identify students who have not completed the AIM requirement; and
5. request Student Connect block the release of results to students who have not completed the AIM requirement until the requirement is met.

(34) Unit Conveners may remind students identified by Learning & Teaching who have not completed AIM:

1. to do so after global reminders have been published in the University’s LMS by Learning & Teaching, such as through unit level announcements; and
2. that completion of the AIM may assist in their studies.

(35) Unit Conveners may elect to include completion of AIM as an unweighted assessment in their unit, such as in units which explicitly develop academic integrity related knowledge and skills.

Course and unit management

(36) Unit Conveners will:

1. include a text matching drop-box for draft assessments in the University’s LMS and ensure that students understand the meaning of the text matching reports;
2. provide access to resources for academic referencing as needed;
3. include explicit information about academic integrity expectations in course and unit materials, learning activities, and assessment instructions;
4. refer students to University support services that develop study skills as required;
5. ensure students have information about how to request a Reasonable Adjustment Plan as set out in the University’s Assessment Procedures;
6. provide information about the conditions under which extensions can be requested and ensure that students are aware of the relevant University policy and procedure; and
7. where required, publicise the academic integrity statement that students must agree to when submitting an assessment in the LMS, which applies to all assessment and is published in the unit outline or similar course of study documentation.

Access control to cheating sites

(37) The University will block access to known or suspected cheating sites from the University network based on the advice from the Associate Director, Learning & Teaching. The Tertiary Education Quality and Standards Agency (TEQSA) publishes a list of known sites on their website. The sites blocked by the University may be in addition to the sites blocked by TEQSA.

(38) If a person attempts to access a blocked cheating site from the University network, an automatic pop-up notice will indicate the reason for the site being blocked.

(39) Unit Conveners, Program Directors (or equivalent), research supervisors and other staff involved in the review, detection, or reporting of alleged breaches of academic integrity may be allowed to access known or suspected academic cheating sites (which are not blocked by TEQSA) from the University’s network.

Detection strategies

(40) The University will use its own, or third-party, technical services to detect potential breaches of academic integrity. These include but are not limited to University approved:

1. text matching services;
2. online invigilation and proctoring services and/or in person invigilation of assessment;
3. search engines;
4. assessment search and matching services;
5. artificial intelligence detection services; and
6. reverse image look up services.

(41) The University will provide staff with guidance and training on strategies to help detect breaches of academic integrity.

(42) Unit Conveners will monitor known or suspected academic cheating sites for sharing University assessments and course materials and take appropriate action in conjunction with the Associate Dean, Education (ADE) (or equivalent); for example, issuing a take down notice, and seeking information including student-identifying data from a cheating site.

(43) When investigating a possible breach of academic integrity, the University will seek data, evidence and information from its internal systems, and those of third-party services, and third-party provider institutions to the extent allowed by law.

Generative artificial intelligence

(44) The University informs its staff, students and third-party institutions of its position and strategies on the use of GenAI in education and research.

(45) The University will continue to monitor its position and strategies on GenAI in response to developments in the technologies.

Investigations

Student academic integrity breaches

(46) Behaviours by students that may be breaches of academic integrity and that may result in a finding of academic misconduct vary in seriousness. If a finding of academic misconduct is made under the Student Conduct Rules, outcomes will vary according to the seriousness of the misconduct. Outcomes for types of breaches of academic integrity are set out in the Student Conduct Rules.

(47) The process for conducting an investigation into an allegation of academic misconduct by a student is described in the Student Conduct Rules.

(48) Behaviours that may constitute a breach of the Research Conduct and Governance Policy will be investigated in accordance with the Research Conduct and Complaints Procedure.

Staff academic integrity breaches

(49) Employee conduct that is inconsistent with the employee’s official duties as they relate to matters of academic integrity may constitute a breach of the Charter of Conduct and Values. 

(50) Where an employee’s behaviour may constitute a breach of the University’s Charter of Conduct and Values, the procedures for investigating misconduct are set out in the University of Canberra Enterprise Agreement.

(51) If a finding of misconduct is made under the University of Canberra Enterprise Agreement, outcomes will vary according to the seriousness of the misconduct.

(52) Employee conduct that is inconsistent with the employee’s responsibilities under the Australian Code for the Responsible Conduct of Research 2018 may constitute a breach of the Research Conduct and Governance Policy.

(53) Behaviours that may constitute a breach of the Research Conduct and Governance Policy will be investigated in accordance with the University of Canberra Enterprise Agreement. Staff conducting the investigation will be guided by the Research Conduct and Complaints Procedure and the Guide to Managing and Investigating Potential Breaches of the Australian Code for the Responsible Conduct of Research 2018.

(54) Where an allegation of misconduct may constitute a breach under both the Australian Code for the Responsible Conduct of Research 2018 and the University’s Charter of Conduct and Values, the University will facilitate one investigation where all allegations are considered simultaneously.

(55) Depending on the nature and seriousness of the allegation made against the employee, and the outcome of any investigation into the conduct, the consequences for the employee will be determined in accordance with the University of Canberra Enterprise Agreement or the Research Conduct and Complaints Procedure as relevant. Such consequences may include requiring the staff member to complete AIM for Staff and/or RIM again, and/or undertake further education activities.

Record keeping

(56) Faculties will maintain secure and confidential records relating to the management of alleged cases of academic misconduct in accordance with the University’s Privacy Policy and Records and Information Management Policy.

(57) Records of serious misconduct are maintained centrally by the Integrity & Resolution team in accordance with the University’s Privacy Policy and Records and Information Management Policy.

(58) The Deputy Vice-Chancellor will keep records of investigations of allegations of research misconduct, as set out in Research Conduct Complaints Procedure and in accordance with the University’s Privacy Policy and Records and Information Management Policy.

(59) The University will keep records to show how it acted on information provided by faculties to improve its academic integrity processes and systems.

Reporting

(60) The University will undertake a continuous cycle of monitoring and review of academic misconduct, and the improvement of processes and systems to protect academic integrity and reduce academic misconduct, to assure the University’s reputation and the integrity of its qualifications.

(61) The Deputy Vice-Chancellor, the faculties and the University Research Committee will report annually to Academic Board via the appropriate sub-committees on:

1. statistics and trends relating to allegations and cases of academic and research misconduct and summary inquiries for both coursework and research students;
2. how the allegations were dealt with; and
3. the strategies used to promote academic integrity and demonstrate a reduction in academic misconduct within the faculty and/or third-party provider institutions. 

(62) Academic Board will report annually to Council with these statistics and trends and the strategies used to promote academic integrity and minimise academic misconduct.

Section 5 - Responsibilities

Section 6 - Definitions