Academic Integrity

Actions:

Building towards a UBC office of academic integrity, create permanent administrative positions in academic integrity, so that this work is a significant part, if not the whole, of their portfolio.

Progress Update: 

• • Faculty Advisor on Academic Integrity appointed yearly. 
  • Academic Integrity Program Manager position added in the Student Learning Hub (1FTE).
  • Added dedicated portion of project management role within Academic Operations and Services portfolio.  

Create and support, as relevant, an Academic Integrity Advisory Committee to continue to inform and direct a long-term strategy on academic integrity and complete the initiatives hereby listed.

Progress Update:  

• • Student Academic Success Committee (SASC) has provided guidance and direction for academic integrity initiatives and strategy.
  • Academic Integrity Implementation Group (AIIG) has worked to operationalize priorities for the campus and respond to emerging issues.
  • Beginning in 2023, the Academic Integrity Student Advisory Group (AISAG) has provided a student perspective on academic integrity initiatives.

Update the Academic Honesty and Standards regulation in the academic calendar to ensure student and faculty expectations are clear, as well as the misconduct processes.

Progress Update:  

• • Revised Discipline for Academic Misconduct Regulation in September 2022. 

Develop a plan to emphasize the academic integrity regulations among students, upon registration/during orientation to remind them of their responsibility to act and learn with integrity. Such a plan should ensure students are well-informed and actively accept this responsibility (beyond the current practice of sharing the Student Declaration and Responsibilities statement from the academic calendar).

Progress Update:  

• • Orientation to academic integrity included as a module in UBC 101. 
  • AIM modules promoted during welcome weeks and available for instructors to include in Canvas courses. 
  • Presentations on academic integrity integrated into Jumpstart. 

Work with the Advisory Committee to expand the scope of the already well-established Academic Integrity Matters (AIM) program to tackle issues of misconduct and cheating beyond plagiarism (e.g., contract cheating).

Progress Update:  

• • Three Canvas courses made available:  
    • Unauthorized Collaboration and Cheating 
    • Writing and Plagiarism 
    • Academic Integrity in the Visual Arts 
  • Content about generative artificial intelligence (AI) in the context of academic integrity added to AIM Canvas courses.
  • Funding received through the ALT-2040 Fund to support expansion of AIM courses in discipline-specific contexts.

Define what constitutes academic misconduct and violations of academic integrity. Perform a series of jurisdictional scans to see how other institutions handle academic misconduct cases and document best practices. This review should explore restorative justice and its role in an academic context.

Progress Update:  

• • Information on what constitutes academic misconduct made available on the UBC’s academic integrity website.
  • Best practices and processes for faculty included on the UBC academic integrity website to support the discipline for academic misconduct regulation.

Implement/integrate a student code of behaviour or pledge in the regulation to steer a culture of academic integrity, where aspirational values are well understood and shared among all community members.

Progress Update: 

• • Academic integrity statement approved and made available on UBC’s academic integrity website.
  • Expectations of academic integrity included in revised regulation.
  • Resources for developing an integrity pledge developed and shared through the CTL. 

Support associate deans/instructors in processing academic misconduct cases to achieve consistency across units.

Progress Update: 

• • Support continued through resources made available on UBC’s academic integrity website.
  • Consultation opportunities made available with the Academic Integrity Program Manager and Provost Office.
  • Provided workshops, professional development initiatives and discussion of emerging issues through the SASC.  
  • Offered training in procedural fairness to associate deans by the Office of the Ombudsperson for Students.

Collect relevant data from students, faculty and staff on an ongoing basis to support evidence-based decisions, processes and initiatives.

Progress Update:  

• • Annual reporting process established.  
  • Deployed the McCabe-ICAI Academic Integrity Survey across campuses, with further consideration of data underway.
  • Included academic integrity questions on Teaching Practices Survey.  
  • Students who took AIM Canvas courses assigned in class surveyed to identify areas for revision.

Engage with other post-secondary institutions in BC to advocate for legislation in the province and Canada against contract cheating websites and companies.

Progress Update:  

• • Advocating for legislation currently on hold.

Actions:

Develop and deploy an ongoing UBC education campaign around academic integrity to highlight this as a core value of the university. Such a campaign should target all community members including students, faculty and staff.

Progress Update:  

• • Developed and deployed new academic integrity modules for UBC 101 (UBC Okanagan’s summer bridging program) in collaboration with UBC Okanagan’s Learning and Curriculum Support Librarian. New generative AI content was added for September 2024.
  • Since 2022/2023, the AIM Program has run several academic integrity awareness campaigns and initiatives, including:
    • Implemented academic integrity “Back to Basics” session in Jumpstart orientation programming;
    • Academic Integrity is Everyone’s Responsibility awareness campaign;
    • “Thank you for your Integri-tea” event during Academic Integrity Week;
    • ChatGPTrivia session and drop-in academic integrity support during Exam Jam;
    • Academic integrity-themed Valentine’s cards and tabling event;
    • Social media campaigns;
    • Prize bag giveaway during Academic Integrity Week;
    • Student Learning Hub outreach and programming;
    • In-class resources and workshops through Take 5
    • Publication development of UBC’s Academic Integrity Digest quarterly newsletter; and
    • Developed and delivered workshops and professional development sessions for faculty in collaboration with the CTL and other partners.

Uncover and dismantle myths around academic misconduct and academic integrity. Some myths to investigate include contract cheating, demographics of who engages in academic misconduct and who is responsible for informing and maintaining academic integrity in higher education.

Progress Update: 

• • The position of Faculty Advisor on Academic Integrity continued to support discussion and outreach.
    • Generative AI technology has impacted work in this area. Focus has been dedicated to growing awareness and education around this technology, including a project aimed at gathering diverse student views related to using Generative AI in teaching and learning and its impact on academic integrity.
  • Content tackling common myths developed and now available on the UBC’s academic integrity website, and will continue to be updated with information and content developed over time to further target myths.
  • AIM module “Unauthorized Collaboration and Cheating,” launched in 2021, with planned update in 2024.

Offer training to faculty members whose responsibility is to investigate and escalate cases of academic misconduct.

Progress Update: 

• • Professional development training session template developed in partnership with Faculties, CTL and Provost Office, and is available on request. 
  • Academic integrity included as in the New Faculty Orientation program. 
  • Workshops on academic integrity delivered including procedural fairness.
  • Additional resources and training under development.  

Include modules on academic integrity as part of the training process for teaching assistants (TAs) and peer leaders. Include in this training discussion of what constitutes academic misconduct, the actions/procedures involved, and their responsibility/authority to act in such matters.

Progress Update:  

• • Content reviewed and added to TA training for the 21/22 academic year and updated for the 22/23 academic year.
  • The CTL’s TA Committee will continue to review and update modules as needed.

Engage with the Academic Integrity Matters (AIM) program to explore how it can take a restorative justice approach in alignment with the field’s latest trends and best practices.

Progress Update:  

• • AIM program integrated into the revised academic misconduct disciplinary process as a referral point for students working under an integrity plan as part of an integrated educational response to incidents of misconduct at the Deans’ discretion.  

Actively engage with students (graduate and undergraduate) around issues related to academic integrity more generally to inform education campaigns, processes, and approaches.

Progress Update: 

• • Students engaged in academic integrity conversations through the Academic Integrity Student Advisory Group (AISAG) and AIM Program. Various student engagement efforts are listed under education campaign section.

Build and maintain a cross-campus website on academic integrity to inform the campus community of resources, processes, policies, and engagement opportunities. This website must be both user-friendly and accessible.

Progress Update: 

• • See academicintegrity.ubc.ca 

Coordinate an ongoing community of practice to provide members of the campus community with the opportunity to learn informally, share, discuss, and challenge academic integrity issues.

Progress Update: 

• • Cross-campus Generative AI Committee and Teaching and Learning Advisory Working Group struck to look at the impacts of generative AI on teaching and learning, with AIIG members participating in this committee work.
  • Further initiatives in this area included events/workshops in collaboration with CTL 

Actively engage with students who have academic misconduct cases to gain feedback about the process and insights on ways to improve it and better educate students. Considerations for this include privacy and confidentiality, but there are effective means to facilitate this and allow for information sharing.

Progress Update: 

• • Not started 

Engage the campus community in celebrating academic integrity during Celebrate Learning Week and/or other relevant cross-campus events. The goal will be to seek engagement from those who do not usually engage in academic integrity discussions.

Progress Update: 

• • Several presentations held throughout the year and during Celebrate Learning Week.  
  • In 2023, UBC hosted British Columbia Academic Integrity Day bringing together scholars and practitioners from across the province and beyond to discuss research and best practices in academic integrity.  

Actions:

Work with instructors to encourage them to clearly define and communicate what academic integrity looks like in their discipline and classroom.

Progress Update:  

• • Developed resources to promote academic integrity in the classroom.   
  • Provided support for considerations around the use of Generative Artificial Intelligence (AI) including an Artificial Intelligence FAQ and syllabus language samples for Generative AI.
  • Convened discussions of academic integrity through professional development offerings, workshops, and sessions offered throughout the year in collaboration with the CTL. 

Provide guidelines and best practices for assessments that are both in-person and online in the same course.

Progress Update: 

• • Developments in this area include:  
    • CTL resources for Online Assessments.  
    • Online exam invigilation support offered centrally during 2020-2022 period. 
    • Web resource for Generative Artificial Intelligence with resources for Teaching and Learning considerations through the CTL/CTLT. 

Encourage instructors to explicitly include academic integrity discussion and resources in their courses, possibly one of the academic integrity modules adapted by the working group, in their course and to help guide students through how those resources relate to their specific course.

Progress Update: 

• • AIM modules promoted to faculty members and made available for integration into Canvas courses. 
  • TAKE 5 for Academic Integrity resources designed to foster awareness of academic integrity in UBC classrooms are actively promoted with the option for in-class presentations. 

Offer resources and support for faculty members to teach and model academic integrity in their courses.

Progress Update:

• • Resources developed and made available to UBC Okanagan faculty through the UBC’s academic integrity website teaching and learning page and highlighted through the quarterly Academic Integrity Digest. 

Support and educate instructors about teaching and learning technologies available at UBC that can help students learn about and practice academic integrity in their work as well as being aware of how the tools can be used to identify issues and challenges related to academic misconduct that may be occurring in the classroom.

Progress Update:

• • Resources and support for instructors related to learning technologies provided through the CTL.  
  • Resources and support for an educative approach to academic integrity provided through the UBC’s academic integrity website.  
  • UBC’s CTLT and CTL provided resources to support approaches to generative AI in teaching and learning through the AI in Teaching and Learning website.

Offer support for program-level curriculum mapping to identify where academic integrity is taught and reinforced within a program through existing resources for curriculum planning and analysis (e.g., UBC Curriculum MAP).

Progress Update: 

• • Support for curriculum mapping provided through the CTL’s Effective Course Design resources, including the integration of academic integrity modules within course and program design.

Current Initiatives  

Academic Misconduct Process: 

• Continue to provide training and develop resources related to the diversionary process and the Discipline for Academic Misconduct Regulation.   
• Ensure ongoing support for the Academic Integrity Matters (AIM) program as a referral point within the academic misconduct process.  
• Continue to develop and share information related to the academic misconduct process through various channels and relevant UBC Okanagan committees. 

  Data Gathering:  

• Continue current data gathering practices from students, faculty and staff, and explore new opportunities to support evidence-based decisions, processes and initiatives.

Current Initiatives 

Education and Awareness: 

• Continue to participate during student orientation events engaging new to UBC students with academic integrity concepts in a variety of ways.
• Ensure relevant and up-to-date information on academic integrity is made available for New Faculty Orientation programming.
• Continue to offer events throughout the year for the campus community that present a positive (as opposed to punitive) message around academic integrity.

  Academic Integrity Website:  

• Continue to update and revise content on UBC’s academic integrity website in collaboration with UBC Vancouver’s AI Hub.  
• Ensure maintenance of the network of areas that point to the website and explore new opportunities to raise awareness of the resources.

  Academic Integrity Matters Program:  

• Proceed with ALT-2040 Fund project to meet discipline-specific needs by expanding AIM modules and determining resources needed to develop and support such work in an ongoing way.
• Assess and implement feedback from students taking AIM Canvas courses as part of their academic course requirements.
• Continue to monitor and integrate information related to generative AI and academic integrity into existing content in AIM modules.
• Continue to identify operational efficiencies, including the exploration of case management software.
• Revisit the recommendation to conduct a literature review to ensure up-to-date literature on best practices in restorative justice related to academic integrity.

Current initiatives 

Academic Integrity in Teaching and Learning: 

• Continue to work in collaboration with the Faculties, the CTL and the Faculty Advisor on Academic Integrity to develop and offer workshops and support ongoing discussion and resource sharing related to academic integrity.
• Reassess and update resources developed in the rapid pivot to online learning in the context of Generative AI.

 Support Teaching assistant Training 

• Assess how TAs are able to observe and teach academic integrity.
• Involve/receive feedback from the Faculty Advisor on Academic Integrity and the CTL’s TA Committee in the development of future TA training materials.

 Generative AI and Academic Integrity  

• Continue to develop guidance and resources for students and faculty regarding the use of generative AI and its implications for academic integrity.
• Investigate the generative AI tool usage by the UBC community and beyond.
• Continue to provide support for faculty in responding to generative AI use in courses and assessments in the context of academic integrity.
• Revise and update generative AI resources and support in consideration of the generative AI committee recommendations for teaching and learning.
• Consider a sustained approach for student education around generative AI topics outside of the classroom, such as a recurring workshop/drop-in/office hours.

• Academic Integrity Website  
  • • Chat GPT and other Generative AI Tools FAQ
    • Academic Integrity Digest  
    • Generative AI Syllabus Language
• Academic Integrity Matters (AIM) Program Referrals 
• Centre for Teaching & Learning—Assessment Strategies to Reduce Academic Misconduct
  • • Course Design Checklist
    • Assessment Design Checklist
    • Syllabus Language
• Generative AI Teaching and Learning Guidelines
• Centre for Teaching, Learning & Technology—AI In Teaching and Learning
• Resources from the Ombudsperson  Academic Misconduct Toolkits
• Office of the University Counsel – Academic Misconduct  

• Academic Integrity Matters (AIM)
• Academic Integrity Website Student Start  
• Academic Calendar  
• Learning with GenAI
• Resources from the Ombudsperson