Academic Integrity Guidelines for TEOs and SSBs

These guidelines have been adapted by NZQA from guidelines developed by Ireland's

Recommendations

We recommend tertiary education providers include 4 elements in their academic integrity policies:

Promote understanding of academic integrity throughout the institution.
Facilitate a culture of mutual trust and openness between staff and learners.
Provide staff with training and support in relation to academic integrity and the institutional approach to it.
Train and support learners on academic integrity relevant to their education context and needs.
Incorporate academic integrity into teaching, learning and assessment including:
- education product development and learning outcomes
- assessment design and implementation

- different cultural approaches to teaching, learning and assessment
- the use of generative Artificial Intelligence
- staff relationships with learners
- supports for learners and staff
- administrative systems for record-keeping.
Nominate organisation and learner representatives who oversee the upholding of academic integrity within the institution.
Review policies and procedures regularly to ensure they are up-to-date and continue to be fit for purpose.

Implement policy and procedures relating to academic misconduct that are accessible, in plain language, consistent, fair, equitable and transparent.
Provide staff with continuing professional development on the prevention of misconduct.
Provide information and resources to learners about academic integrity and how academic misconduct can be avoided including:
- training in understanding what constitutes academic integrity
- plagiarism
- referencing
- avoiding online 'assignment help' and 'writing services'
- when collaboration transitions into collusion
- the appropriate use of generative Artificial Intelligence.
Advise learners of the personal and professional consequences of academic misconduct.
Reduce learner stress by appropriately managing the assessment requirements and sequencing, and by adequately preparing and equipping learners to engage with assessment methods.
Block access to commercial websites and file-sharing sites which offer cheating services to learners.
Collaborate to prevent cheating with other education providers and external stakeholders, including NZQA and Universities New Zealand.

Implement clear policy and procedures on what detection methods and tools are available to staff across the institution, the purposes of each of these methods and support in the use of the relevant tools.
Provide staff training on recognising the signs that work submitted is not that of the learner.
Support staff to investigate academic misconduct.
Empower staff and learners to report their concerns.
Collect evidence based on raised suspicions. Evidence may include:
- textual and electronic evidence from the assessment of concern
- staff knowledge of the learner’s abilities
- the learner’s previous assessment work.

Implement robust and transparent procedures for responding to allegations of academic misconduct.
Take action promptly.
Protect those who report their concerns.
Engage the learner in a courageous conversation when academic misconduct is suspected by encouraging them to be open and honest about the circumstances.
Support learners subject to an investigation of alleged misconduct through and after the process.
Ensure disciplinary procedures are followed and any sanctions for misconduct are proportionate to the scale and seriousness of the misconduct.
Maintain records of academic misconduct cases. Use case data to provide insights to support the future prevention of academic misconduct.