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).
• All members of the ACU community are responsible for maintaining high standards of Academic Integrity.

On this page

Academic Integrity at ACU

Academic Integrity is the responsibility of all students and staff at ACU as documented in the Student Academic Integrity and Misconduct Policy and Procedure. 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.

Sometimes actions are planned and deliberate; sometimes they are due to misunderstandings, running out of time, or carelessness.

Reporting a potential academic misconduct case

To refer a case, Lecturers-in-Charge must lodge the case report through the Student Academic Misconduct Management System (SAMMS).

Access SAMMS

You will need to attach relevant supporting documentation, and provide any other relevant details to support your case. This is especially important for situations involving possible use of artificial intelligence. Access two support guides around useful evidence to provide, and evidence to look for in the case of artificial intelligence, below.

• Turnitin AI indictator checklist (PDF, 139KB)
• Best practice supporting evidence (PDF, 149KB)
• LIC Guide: Suggested text to provide students referred to AIT (PDF, 107KB)

Supporting evidence may include, but is not limited to:

• The assessment submission
• The Turnitin originality report and/or Turnitin AI detection report
• The assessment instructions and rubric (e.g. what were the referencing requirements?)
• A screenshot of the document properties from the originally submitted file.

Once you lodge your case, the Academic Integrity Team (AIT) will assign your case to an Academic Integrity Officer (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).

Poor Academic Practice

One of the possible outcomes of an investigation of potential academic misconduct is a finding of 'Poor Academic Practice' (PAP). Lecturers In Charge (LICs) can directly determine a PAP finding and can also assign compulsory education, typically in the form of a module in Canvas.

Access the support guides for LICs

• LIC Guide: Determining the Application of Poor Academic Practice (PDF, 170KB)
• LIC Process for Determining Poor Academic Practice - Flowchart (PDF, 131KB)
• LIC Summary: Lodging a Determination of Poor Academic Practice (PDF, 132KB)
• Workshop recording: LICs determining Poor Academic Practice eligibility

There are additional resources in the Associated Information tab of the policy webpage. If you have any questions about the process, please email academic.integrity@acu.edu.au.

Support for students

All students at ACU must successfully complete the(Academic Integrity Module) on Canvas in their first study period. Students are bulk enrolled and can access the module on the Canvas Dashboard. The students' results will be withheld until they complete the module.

ACU provides a wide variety of support services and resources, outside of specific units, to assist students to achieve their best. Staff are encouraged to familiarise themselves with the services available, as you are best placed to provide reminders to your students at key points in semester, or specific referrals in some cases.

• Academic Skills Unit
• Access and Disability Service
• Counselling Service
• Indigenous Higher Education Units
• Library
• Peer Assisted Study Sessions (PASS)
• Student Advocacy Service

Academic Integrity FAQs

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