New academic misconduct process

There will be a major change in the way allegations of potential academic misconduct are handled at ACU this year. New Academic Integrity Officer (AIO) assignments have been created within ACU’s schools and faculties (or equivalent). These AIOs are now responsible for receiving allegations of academic misconduct, determining evidence and applying penalties.

This change is part of broader changes to the Student Academic Integrity and Misconduct Policy, and Student Academic Misconduct Procedures.

New process for suspected academic misconduct

Under the updated policy and procedures, there is a new process to follow in cases of suspected academic misconduct.

If you suspect academic misconduct, follow these steps:

• If you are not the lecturer-in-charge (LIC), refer to the LIC.
• If you are the LIC, briefly review the evidence, and if you think there is a case to make for misconduct having occurred, refer to your AIO.
• The AIO will then conduct a full investigation and decide the final penalty (if relevant).

Under the new policy and procedures, the AIO will make the final decision about most breaches, with only the most serious cases being referred to the next level (for example, cases involving bribery; contract cheating; or where the desired penalty cannot be applied by the AIO).

New Academic Integrity Team (AIT)

A new Academic Integrity Team (AIT) based in the Centre for Education and Innovation (CEI, formerly LTC) will receive allegations of misconduct from AIOs and will take responsibility for case administration and record keeping. This will remove responsibility for these actions from the schools and faculties.

A flowchart outlining the process, template letters to use, and a list of AIOs are available online.

Visit the CEI website for more information

There are other changes occurring in relation to Academic Integrity at ACU. Key changes will be highlighted in future Staff Bulletins, and you can also read more information about these changes on the Academic Integrity section of the CEI website.

If you have any queries, please contact academic.integrity@acu.edu.au.