Australian universities have experienced record cash flows, with some paying their vice-chancellors among the highest salaries globally for such positions. Yet, despite these financial returns, they do not seem to prioritise the core aspect that generates this cash flow: academic integrity.
When universities fail to take academic integrity as seriously as they should, every degree they award is devalued. The universities’ stance is full of loopholes and ambiguity, leaving academics who value the academic process feeling confused, undermined, and frustrated when raising concerns about student work.
Australian universities, ten of which are ranked among the world’s top 180, have the opportunity to lead globally through their approach to academic integrity. However, continued failure to invest in this area places financial gain above academic standards.
Incomplete Mandatory Training for Academics
Academics receive various forms of mandated training, including units on WHS, international collaboration and engagement, cybersecurity, prevention of workplace bullying, and fraud and corruption awareness. Each of these units is assessed. While all are important, there is a significant omission: there is no mandatory training for academic staff—lecturers and tutors—on academic integrity. Academics are expected to know the rules, standards of evidence, the distinction between plagiarism and cheating, and how to uphold academic integrity, all without any formal training.
The integrity unit within each university could be tasked with training all academic staff, but this would require investment, impacting the university’s bottom line. Although the revenue of some Australian universities exceeds $1 billion, their surplus is often lower, with some universities reporting losses. By training academics and improving the value of their degrees through smaller class sizes, better assessment practices, and higher standards, students may find the university experience more rewarding.
Investment in an online training course for academic staff would be a small expenditure compared to the spending on expensive buildings, vice-chancellors’ salaries, and consultancy fees. Universities could, and should, do much better.
Better Support for Academics Raising Integrity Concerns
In addition to training, academics who raise concerns about academic integrity breaches could be far better supported. This would involve holding cheaters to account and defending the core purpose of universities.
Ambiguous Advice on Tools like Grammarly
Grammar tools like Grammarly were allowed until very recently when they were disallowed with a caveat. Grammarly also features paraphrasing support and text-matching support, which enable students to create work that is difficult for academics or text-matching tools like Turnitin to detect. Clearer rules would more strongly support the academic process.
Outsourcing Integrity Training to Students
All universities outsource training in academic integrity to students, as seen at institutions like Sydney University and Monash. This approach is flawed because it shifts responsibility away from the university, which should have appropriate processes and staff training in place. This is akin to outsourcing healthcare to patients instead of training doctors.
International Students: A Special Case Where They’ve Been Let Down
The academic process in Australian universities generally focuses on critical thinking, whereas in many countries, it is more about the acquisition of knowledge than skills. International students need to be supported through a period of enculturation into Australian academic processes. Failing to do so means taking international students’ money without offering even the most basic academic support.
Fewer International Students: An Opportunity to Refocus on Value
With the recent government decision to reduce the international student intake, Australian universities have an opportunity to reimagine what they offer in the tertiary sector. Smaller class sizes, where each student is known, would be a good start. Supporting students in understanding what is required in assessments would reduce the number resorting to cheating because they don’t know what to do.
Students Feeling Known
Classes of three hundred do not make students feel known or valued. Anonymity in large classes encourages academic dishonesty. It also prevents university lecturers and tutors from getting to know their students’ abilities, making it harder to detect instances of academic dishonesty.
Other Investments Universities Need to Make
Universities should make it easier to change assessments annually or even each semester, which would discourage prior-year students from assisting current students with cheating. Investing time for academics to create multiple versions of the same task can also make cheating harder.
However, a significant investment would be in allowing academics to give fewer assessments and provide more support to scrutinise each piece. This could involve encouraging students to participate in vivas, where they answer questions about their work, their understanding, and what they would do differently. Open-book exams that focus on applying relevant skills and knowledge to scenarios would also reduce opportunities for academic dishonesty.
Universities at a Juncture
University leaders need to seriously reconsider the importance of academic integrity and the potential for its continued erosion to devalue the degrees they award. The benchmark for assessing a university’s commitment to academic integrity lies in whether it trains all staff and supports them when they report student academic misconduct.
At present, much is spoken about, but little is done. Academics feel that both they and the academic process are devalued when universities claim to support academic integrity but fail to invest in simple initiatives to uphold it.
The views expressed are those of the author’s. Mohan Dhall is a Lecturer in Education at UTS, the CEO of the Australian Tutoring Association (ATA) and the Global Professional Tutors Association (GPTA). He is also a Chartered Manager and Fellow of the Institute of Managers and Leaders
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