Responding to the needs of the community: Evolving nature of the Canadian Perspectives on Academic Integrity

In this editorial, we reflect on the origins of the Canadian Perspectives on Academic Integrity and provide an overview of the evolution of this journal. Despite its continued development, an important goal has remained: Creating “space for practitioners to connect and feel connected to one another on a professional level” (Eaton, 2018, p. 1)

From the History of Contract Cheating to the New Challenges of Artificial Intelligence: The Changing Landscape of Academic Integrity

We present the second issue of the fifth volume of the Canadian Perspectives on Academic Integrity (CPAI). This issue features the third invited historical article about contract cheating and three peer-reviewed articles that highlight two challenging issues within the field of academic integrity--mental health and artificial intelligence--and a study that explores the definition of academic misconduct, which is a persistent challenge in higher education

Editorial: Contract cheating in Canada

We present the second issue of the fourth volume of the Canadian Perspectives on Academic Integrity (CPAI). This issue consists of an invited historical article about contract cheating and the proceedings from the second Canadian Symposium on Academic Integrity (CSAI) 2021 hosted virtually by Thompson Rivers University, Kamloops, British Columbia, Canada

Evaluation of a Tutorial Designed to Promote Academic Integrity

Academic integrity violations undermine principles of integrity and the quality of education.  Reducing the prevalence of dishonesty in scholarly work requires a multi-faceted approach (Stephens, 2016), which may include the implementation of e-learning tutorials.  Tutorials and other brief educational interventions increase students’ perceived knowledge and understanding of academic integrity and related topics (Stoesz & Yudintseva, 2018); however, it is unclear from the literature which students benefit most from completing them.  In two studies, secondary (i.e., middle and high) school students were recruited to complete an e-learning tutorial and surveys about academic integrity, approaches to learning, motivation for learning, and personality.  88 students participated in an online study, but only 15 participants completed the tutorial.  Knowledge and perceived seriousness of academic integrity violations increased significantly in this small sample; these changes were not evident in the remaining participants.  A follow-up study with 90 students tested in face-to-face classroom sessions confirmed the results of the first study.  Moreover, the changes in perception were larger for the youngest and oldest participants compared to the middle age group, and were correlated with use of deep learning strategies and agreeableness.  Overall, the findings provide evidence for the effectiveness of academic integrity tutorials, and suggest individual difference factors must be considered when designing and implementing brief educational interventions.  Examining behaviour change and long-term outcomes for secondary school students, and exploring the influences of learning environment and teacher characteristics on learning the values of academic integrity are important avenues for future research

Preventing online shopping for completed assessments: Protecting students by blocking access to contract cheating websites on institutional networks

Contract cheating or “the outsourcing of student work to third parties” (Lancaster & Clarke, 2016, p. 639) is a type of academic misconduct that is growing and changing due to advancements in technology and the emergence of a lucrative, multi-million dollar per year industry that targets students relentlessly (Lancaster & Clarke, 2016). In an effort to protect students from engaging in contract cheating, three postsecondary institutions in Manitoba (i.e., Assiniboine Community College, Red River College, and the University of Manitoba) launched initiatives to block access to websites that offer contract cheating services from their networks. This initiative facilitated a preliminary examination of student activity on institutional networks. In any given month, a relatively large number of students (i.e., up to 3,519 unique users) were attempting to access websites identified as providing contract cheating services. We recognize that a single initiative will not eliminate academic misconduct, however, by combining various educational, protective, and preventative strategies, the likelihood that students will make ethical decisions regarding their academic work can be increased

Further Contemplations: Inaugural Canadian Symposium on Academic Integrity

This editorial shared the contemplations of three symposium participants who are also scholars and educators in the field of academic integrity: Jennie Miron, PhD, Brenda M. Stoesz, PhD, and Brandy Usick, MEd. We share our individual reflections that underscores our optimism and enthusiasm for the future of the field of academic integrity scholarship within Canada

Student Perceptions of the Visual Design of Learning Management Systems

Research on the impact of the visual design of the user interface of learning management systems (LMS) on learning experience is sparse. The purpose of this study was to conduct a preliminary examination of students’ perceptions of the visual design of their postsecondary institutions’ LMS and their learning experiences using survey methodology (N= 46). Students generally agreed that the course homepages were well organized and that the LMS colours, while deemed moderately to very important, did not enhance learning or increase the ability to remember course content. However, more positive perceptions of the visual appearance of the LMS were associated with greater satisfaction with grades. Expected end of term grade point average was negatively correlated with the degree to which students perceived that colour enhanced their learning. Students reported a greater satisfaction with the contribution of the LMS to learning correlated to the number of school terms they had used an LMS, their LMS proficiency, and their perceptions about the visual appeal of the LMS design. Together, these results suggest that exploring the impact of LMS colour and other dimensions of visual design on student engagement and learning are important and have practical value for LMS developers, instructional designers, and instructors

Academic Integrity Policy Analysis of Alberta and Manitoba Colleges

Dealing with matters related to academic integrity and academic misconduct can be challenging in higher education. As a result, students, educators, administrators, and other higher education professionals look to policy and procedures to help guide them through these complex situations. Policies are often representative of an institution’s culture of academic integrity. For these and other reasons it is therefore important that policies and procedures are reviewed regularly and updated to ensure that they align with current educational expectations and societal context. In this presentation, we share the results from our policy analysis of 16 colleges in the Canadian western provinces of Alberta and Manitoba. Data extraction and analyses were performed using a tool developed based on Bretag et al.’s five core elements of exemplary academic integrity policy. Our results showed inconsistencies in college polices in terms of the intended audience for the documents (e.g., students, faculty, administrators), varying levels of detail, inconsistent definitions, or categories of misconduct (e.g., plagiarism, cheating) and little mention of contract cheating. We compare the results of this study with previous academic integrity policy research in Canada for colleges in Ontario (Stoesz et al., 2019), as well as universities (Miron et al., 2021; Stoesz & Eaton, 2022). We also discuss the recent increase in the use of artificial intelligence tools such as ChatGPT and GPT-3 and what this could mean in the context of academic integrity policy. We conclude with recommendations for policy reform in the Canadian college context. Our findings may be useful to those working in community colleges and polytechnics elsewhere

Faculty Perspectives of Academic Integrity During COVID-19: A Mixed Methods Study of Four Canadian Universities

Faculty members are crucial partners in promoting academic integrity at Canadian universities, but their needs related to academic integrity are neither well documented nor understood. To address this gap, we developed a mixed methods survey to gather faculty perceptions of facilitators and barriers to using the existing academic integrity procedures, policies, resources, and supports required to promote academic integrity. In this article, we report the data collected from 330 participants at four Canadian universities. Responses pointed to the importance of individual factors, such as duty to promote academic integrity, as well as contextual factors, such as teaching load, class size, class format, availability of teaching assistant support, and consistency of policies and procedures, in supporting or hindering academic integrity. We also situated these results within a micro (individual), meso (departmental), macro (institutional), and mega (community) framework. Results from this study contribute to the growing body of empirical evidence about faculty perspectives on academic integrity in Canadian higher education and can inform the continued development of existing academic integrity supports at universities.Les membres du corps professoral sont des partenaires essentiels dans la promotion de l’intégrité académique dans les universités canadiennes. Toutefois, leurs besoins en cette matière ne sont ni bien documentés ni bien compris. Afin de combler cette lacune, nous avons recueilli, grâce à une méthode de recherche mixte, les perceptions des professeurs quant aux obstacles et aux facilitateurs en lien avec l’utilisation des procédures, politiques, ressources et services de soutien pour la promotion de l’intégritéacadémique. Dans cet article, nous rapportons les données recueillies auprès de 330 participants dans quatre universités canadiennes. Les réponses soulignent l’importance des facteurs individuels tels que le devoir de promouvoir l’intégrité académique. De plus, des facteurs contextuels tels que la charge d’enseignement, la taille et le format de la classe, la disponibilité du soutien  d’assistants d’enseignement et la cohérence des politiques et des procédures peuvent soutenir ou entraver l’intégrité académique. Nous avons également situé ces résultats dans un cadre micro (individuel), méso (départemental), macro (institutionnel) et méga (communautaire). Les résultats de cette étude contribuent à mettre en lumière les perspectives des professeurs sur l’intégrité académiquedans l’enseignement supérieur canadien. Ils peuvent également donner un aperçu des besoins en développement professionnel et du soutien nécessaire dans les universités