Promoting a culture of integrity

The pandemic has brought unprecedented challenges, such as commitments at home, difficulties with remote learning, and connecting with one’s community. Faced with these challenges, sometimes students find themselves making decisions they wouldn’t ordinarily make, such as engaging in academic misconduct. While the majority of students at Ryerson complete their coursework with integrity, there is a small percentage of students that sometimes do not.

Academic Integrity Awareness Week

Open to students, faculty and staff, Academic Integrity Awareness Week (February 8-12, 2021) is a university-wide event designed to foster a culture of academic integrity and challenge preconceived notions of what constitutes academic misconduct. Since the move to remote learning, instances of academic misconduct have increased, which has informed the programming of the awareness week.

The week offers a number of interactive events, such as workshops on identifying misinformation and ethical scholarship, to ensure students and faculty have the tools, resources and skills they need to be successful. “The pandemic and remote work have made it difficult for us to connect to the community, so we felt it was more important now than ever to launch Academic Integrity Awareness Week,” says John Paul Foxe, director of the Academic Integrity Office (AIO).

A neutral party and information resource for students, faculty and staff, the AIO works to ensure that the university’s  (PDF file) academic integrity policy is carried out in a fair and transparent way; provides guidance and support to students and decision makers; and ensures all parties are aware of their rights and responsibilities. That said, fostering academic excellence and integrity is not just up to the AIO. The AIO is presenting Academic Integrity Awareness Week jointly with the Centre for Excellence in Learning and Teaching, Student Life and Learning Support, Library Learning Services, and SMASH (Students for Mental Awareness, Support, & Health). “It’s the responsibility of the entire community to build a culture of integrity at Ryerson. Because of this, we wanted to collaborate with multiple units across the university to work as best as we can to achieve our common goal – student success.”

Academic Integrity in Space

In addition to Academic Integrity Awareness Week, the AIO is developing new ways to promote the fact that they’re a resource to the entire community. Last semester, the AIO, in partnership with the Digital Education Strategies team at The Chang School, launched an online game to further educate and inspire conversations surrounding academic integrity. Academic Integrity in Space is designed to cover the basic principles of academic integrity, and the values and behaviours expected of students by the university, and common misconceptions in a fun and interesting way.

Hiranniya Yogaratnarajah, a TRSM ’21 student and outreach assistant for the AIO, says students often have a negative connotation of what academic integrity means. “Academic integrity is about acting with integrity when it comes to your academics, but if you understand the concept of integrity and embody that, it can apply to anything you do; your career, relationships and friends.”

Above all, both Foxe and Yogaratnarajah agree that keeping lines of communication open with students is key. From the AIO’s student academic ambassador program, social media presence, Academic Integrity Council, and workshops and tutorials available, Foxe says the AIO has more resources than any individual in their life could ever use. “Having these conversations and asking difficult questions, as well as getting to know your university, professors and on campus resources, will only help to foster a culture of academic integrity.”