This resource will provide you with an overview of the ACU expectations in relation to Academic Integrity. The relationship between Academic Integrity and ACU’s Mission and Values is explained, the relevant policies and procedures are introduced and linked, and there are tips for helping your students.

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Overview

  • Academic Integrity is the expectation that teachers, students, researchers and all members of the academic community act with: honesty, trust, fairness, respect and responsibility (TEQSA 2021)
  • Academic Integrity is integral to everything we do at Australian Catholic University.
  • All members of the ACU community are responsible for maintaining high standards of Academic Integrity.
  • A variety of resources are provided below, including training modules.

On this page

Academic Integrity at ACU Policy & Procedures Staff AIM & other resources How to assist your students FAQs

Academic Integrity at ACU

Academic Integrity is the responsibility of all students and staff at ACU. Acting with Academic Integrity is central to ACU's Mission and Values: the pursuit of knowledge, the dignity of the human person and the common good. Undertaking our own work and earning our qualifications, providing due credit for the contributions that others make, and recognising that our behaviour has consequences beyond ourselves are all integral to what we do.

Academic Misconduct takes many forms, including:

  • Plagiarism: representing the work of others as your own.
  • Collusion: collaborating inappropriately with others to produce assessed work.
  • Recycling: re-using, without prior approval, work you have already submitted for another assessment, in a new assessment piece.
  • Cheating: breaching the conditions of an Examination; or helping someone else to do so.
  • Contract Cheating: getting someone else to prepare work for you; or preparing work for someone else. This includes unauthorised use of artificial intelligence tools.
  • Unauthorised or undisclosed use of an artificial intelligence: using generative (content production) artificial intelligence, paraphrasing and translation tools unless their use is authorised in the assessment requirements and is properly acknowledged.

Sometimes actions are planned and deliberate; sometimes they are due to misunderstandings, running out of time, or carelessness. All students and academic staff at ACU must successfully complete the  Student AIM or Staff AIM (Academic Integrity Module), respectively.

Staff may also need to complete the 'Assessment Marker Training'. See below for more information.

Academic Integrity: Policy and Procedures

You can access the Student Academic Integrity and Misconduct Policy, and the Student Academic Misconduct Procedures. You will also find a flow chart explaining the current process, and template letters.

Substantial changes to the Student Academic Integrity and Misconduct Policy, and the Student Academic Misconduct Procedures, came into effect from 2022. To support these changes, new academic assignments have been created within the Schools and Faculties; the Academic Integrity Officers (AIOs).

Academic Misconduct Procedure

To refer a case, complete template letter 1.2 and send this letter and any supporting documentation (such as a Turnitin Originality report) to the Academic Integrity Team (AIT) in CEI: academic.integrity@acu.edu.au. The AIT will assign your case to an AIO.

The AIO will investigate further; if they agree there is evidence of misconduct, they will launch a full investigation, including communicating with the student(s).

A flow chart of the process and letter templates to use at each step are provided on the policy webpage. If you have any questions about the process, please email academic.integrity@acu.edu.au.

Staff AIM and other resources

All academic staff and specific professional staff need to complete the Staff AIM ('Academic Integrity Module'). All academic staff who are involved in assessment marking also need to complete the 'assessment marker training' module. Links to these modules will become available here in early 2023.

The Staff AIM:

  • Overviews relevant Policy and Procedure at ACU
  • Provides information about assisting students to act with academic integrity
    • including details about different support services and resources
  • Includes case studies that illustrate common problems

The 'Assessment Marker Training':

  • introduces you to Turnitin and interpreting Originality reports
  • draws your attention to common 'odd' features of assessments that may indicate misconduct
  • provides information about recognising students at risk, including actions you can take and resources you can direct students to
  • outlines what you need to do if you detect possible misconduct

The Staff AIM and the Assessment Marker Training will each take about 30 mins to complete

  • To successfully complete the modules, you must get 100% in the quiz at the end.
  • You can go straight to attempt the quiz, if you wish.
  • You have unlimited attempts to successfully complete the quiz

Staff need to complete the relevant modules once only; you will NOT need to complete them every semester or year.

There are additional resources focusing on students; you may like to review these as well, to give you a better understanding of issues facing students.

How to assist your students

Your students will need to complete the Student AIM in their first teaching period.

ACU provides a wide variety of resources, outside of specific units, to assist students to achieve their best. If you have a thorough understanding of what is available, you are the best placed to provide reminders to your students at key points in semester, or perhaps specific referrals in some cases.

The following examples are explanations provided to students about the different resources available. Please read through the options so you can become familiar with the different resources available.

Academic Skills Unit

The Academic Skills Unit offers a range of resources and services to assist you with your studies.

There are online, interactive resources to work through in your own time to help you develop your skills in maths, academic reading and writing and more.

You can also attend workshops and meet one-on-one with a literacy or maths Academic Skills Advisor to discuss your specific work; for example, how to write different text types and develop your academic style.

To access online resources, register for workshops, make an appointment with an Advisor and for 24/7 online study support, visit the Academic Skills Unit on LEO. 

24/7 study support (Studiosity)

All ACU students have access to 24/7 study support through ACU’s external partner Studiosity. Access is free with up to 10 engagements each semester.

Submit your written draft and receive personal Writing Feedback within 24 hours on grammar, spelling, structure, language and referencing.

You can also Connect Live through online chat with specialists around generic academic skills in the subject areas of English, Maths, Sciences and study skills.

For more information and to access Studiosity, visit the Academic Skills Unit on LEO.

Referencing Resources

The Academic Skills Unit provides resources and guides that outline the major styles of referencing used at ACU and how to cite and reference sources correctly. 

Look at the examples provided and then follow the appropriate format.

To learn about the referencing style you need, visit the Academic Skills Unit on LEO.

Library

The Library provides access to resources to support your study:

PASS (Peer Assisted Study Sessions)

'Peer Assisted Study Sessions' are a free, voluntary, academic support program that provides weekly small-group peer-led study sessions for specific first year units that are known to be challenging.

PASS provides you with an opportunity to learn from and with your peers in a relaxed, supportive, interactive and fun environment. Sessions are facilitated by PASS Leaders, second or third year ACU students who have already completed the unit and achieved a distinction grade or higher and completed a nationally accredited training program.

PASS commences in Week 2 and is run weekly throughout the semester

As well as helping you improve your academic performance, participating in PASS is a great way to meet people and make friends.

You can find out more information through the Student Portal PASS section.

ACU also provides other means of support, not directly related to academic work. These supports will not always be relevant but can assist students to work to the best of their ability regardless of their situation.

Counselling Service

The Counselling Service provides free and confidential counselling to ACU students who are experiencing mental health, personal, study or work-related issues.

They also offer a range of workshops during semester to help you manage life, work and study. These workshops cover a range of topics from stress management to staying focused.

They also offer a variety of self-help and wellbeing resources, many of which are interactive. For more information, to book an appointment, or to register for a workshop visit Counselling on the Student Portal. 

The ACU Out of Hours Mental Health Crisis Line is available whenever the Campus is closed (5PM-9AM during the week, weekends & public holidays)

  • via phone - 1300 638 485 or;
  • Text - 0488 884 191

Students who are overseas on an approved ACU program, will need to use the text number.

If the situation is life-threatening or there is imminent danger, please call triple Zero (000)

Education Inclusion Plans (EIPs)

You are eligible to register for disability support if you have a diagnosed health condition, disability, mental health condition, or have significant carer responsibilities that may affect your studies. EIPs are 'education inclusion plans' which outline specific ‘reasonable adjustments' enabling you to participate in the learning environment on the same basis as other students.

An EIP will help you optimise your participation in your course.  It helps you communicate your learning needs with the relevant staff.

As an example, someone with chronic pain in their wrist may have a specific adjustment put in place to allow them rest breaks during tests and examinations.

Do you think you might be eligible?  You can find out more information on the Student Portal EIP page.

Student Advocacy Service

The Student Advocacy Service provides you with free confidential support, information and referral on matters related to the University’s policies, procedures and academic regulations.

The Advocacy Service is here to assist with:

  • Your concerns about final grades
  • Appealing an academic or administrative decision
  • Applying for special consideration
  • Show cause, at-risk or termination of enrolment
  • Lodging a formal complaint
  • Applying for a re-credit of Unit/s and Refund of Fees in Special Circumstances

The Student Advocacy Service has a digital library of resources that can assist you in understanding the University’s policies and procedures. The Academic Misconduct resource is designed as a starting point for you to understand your options in case of an alleged incident of academic misconduct.

For more information or to make an appointment, please visit the Student Advocacy Service homepage or email: advocacy.service@acu.edu.au

Indigenous Higher Education Units

Each ACU campus has its own hub for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander students. The Indigenous Higher Education Units (IHEU) are welcoming, culturally safe and supportive places.

At our on-campus hubs, our staff are ready to offer you academic, personal and cultural support.

Access to study assistance (face to face, online or in a group), cultural activities, scholarships, networking and professional development opportunities are some of the possibilities available to our students

Each Unit provides you with a welcoming, culturally safe space to study and meet in an environment that promotes positive Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander identity.

You can find out more information here, including how to connect with the team on your specific campus.

Clear communication from staff around assessment instructions are essential. This can:

  • Help alleviate future issues.
  • Remove possible justifications for inappropriate behaviours.

Students are often particularly confused about what resources are 'OK' for open book assessments

Provide clear guidance around what resources are 'OK' for open book assessments e.g.

  • lecture pdfs; textbook

Provide clear guidance around how permitted resources should be used e.g.

  • you must explain in your own words, not copy directly from the textbook

Provide clear examples of what is not permissible e.g.

  • sharing answers on social media
  • uploading to a homework help site

You can see the Student AIM and Staff AIM for realistic case studies showing examples of common behaviours.

Students uploading ACU teaching materials to sharesites is a very common behaviour; in addition to sometimes leading to collusion, this also often involves breaches of copyright. You can help reduce this practice, and make it easier for ACU to issue take down orders to share sites, if you use ACU template documents for all teaching materials, for example ACU branded PowerPoint slides. You can access ACU branded templates online.

Academic Integrity FAQs

You can find out more information about general Academic Integrity matters and the processes around allegations of academic misconduct on the Academic Integrity FAQs page.

TEQSA. (2021). What is Academic Integrity? https://www.teqsa.gov.au/what-academic-integrity; viewed 14 May 2021

Page last updated on 28/03/2023
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