It's Academic Integrity Week Oct. 18-22

Academic Integrity Week at UCalgary is Oct. 18 to 22, with the International Day of Action Against Contract Cheating taking place Oct. 20. Everyone on campus has a role to play in creating a culture of academic integrity. That's why several groups across campus are banding together to spread awareness of the importance academic integrity has in creating a positive and ethical learning environment at UCalgary.

Events for staff and faculty

• The Taylor Institute has a series of webinars for faculty and staff on how they can support their students and identify contract cheating, as well as FOIP considerations for investigating concerns.

Events for students

• The Student Success Centre and Libraries and Cultural Resources are presenting student workshops on topics like reference managers, proper citations, collaborating with peers and more.
• The Students' Union and the Student Success Centre have partnered on an academic integrity quiz contest, with prizes like UCalgary swag and gift cards to The Den available to be won.
• The Graduate Students' Association is hosting a number of online activities, including an Instagram Live with Dr. Sarah Eaton from the Werklund School of Education.
• On Oct. 20, students are invited to stop at Mac Hall and the TFDL to spin the Wheel of Integrity and play other games for prizes.

Introducing a new tool for proactive learning

Academic integrity is, understandably, not the most exciting subject to discuss with students. However, it's a vitally important concept that few have a true understanding of. Renzo Pereyra, VP academic of the Students' Union, says academic integrity has been further complicated by the growing availability of online resources.

"It's more confusing now for students; the online world has opened students up to more dangerous places,” says Pereyra. "One of the biggest issues is that students don't know how broad academic integrity really is.”

To help empower and educate students, the Student Success Centre has a web page dedicated to academic integrity resources, including a new self-guided Academic Integrity D2L module. This module can be explored on its own or, if an instructor wishes to incorporate it into their online courses, it can be added by request.

Faculty and staff can also request custom programming and workshops from the Student Success Centre to educate students on faculty-specific topics. To do so, email Lee-Ann Penaluna (co-ordinator, academic integrity programs) at leeann.penaluna@ucalgary.ca.