Academic Integrity Week begins on Monday, 18 October and coincides with European Academic Integrity Week. The event is supported internationally by the International Center for Academic Integrity (ICAI), at the European level by the European Network for Academic Integrity (ENAI) and at the national level by the National Academic Integrity Network (NAIN). The week is organised around 20 October — the International Day of Action Against Contract Cheating — and is an opportunity to share best practices in upholding academic integrity.
Academic integrity is defined as ‘[c]ompliance with ethical and professional principles, standards and practices and consistent system of values, that serves as guidance for making decisions and taking actions in education, research and scholarship.’ (ENAI’s (2018) Glossary for Academic Integrity)
Academic integrity is supported by academic governance — the oversight of academic matters and academic decision-making. As an educational institution, academic integrity sits at the heart of Hibernia College’s governance structure, working hand-in-hand with the Hibernia College Quality Framework (HCQF). We embrace our responsibility to work together as members of a higher education community to uphold academic integrity, address academic misconduct and promote a tangible culture of academic integrity.
Academic Integrity at Hibernia College
Hibernia College students and staff will take part in a newly launched online short course on cultivating and promoting academic integrity. Students and staff will explore academic integrity and how it is cultivated at Hibernia College, the QQI/national legislative context and the promotion of academic integrity in local and global higher education contexts.
On Thursday, 21 October, Hibernia College will hold a National Forum seminar as part of a Higher Education Colleges Association (HECA) series of events. The topic of ‘The challenge of unintentional academic impropriety in a global higher education world’ will be explored, starting with this first event ‘Reframing academic integrity perspectives’. Register here to attend.
National Academic Integrity Network
NAIN was established by Quality and Qualifications Ireland (QQI) in November 2019 to ‘advise, raise awareness and offer guidance’ on upholding academic integrity in higher education institutions. Last month, the NAIN launched new resources including National Principles and Lexicon of Common Terms and Academic Integrity Guidelines. Following an address by the Minister for Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science, Hibernia College Registrar and NAIN Steering Group member Aisling Reast hosted a question-and-answer session with the keynote speaker.
This week, the NAIN will host a series of events about academic integrity in association with higher education institutions (HEIs) across the country. These events will cover topics such as student perspectives, text-matching software reports, teaching practices, contract cheating and research integrity.
