NTLSN · Crash Course · Integrity

Academic integrity — a crash course

Academic integrity holds the value of the degree. Four short lessons on building it through culture and design rather than detection — then a self-check.

The one thing to remember: integrity is a culture you build, not a tool you buy. Relationship, design and clear expectations do more than any detector — especially in the age of AI.
4 lessons~10 min read1 self-checkGrounded in TEQSA, ICAI, contract-cheating research (Bretag)

The lessons

1
Educative, not just punitiveTeach it before you police it
›

Most breaches come from pressure, confusion or poor design — not malice. An educative approach prevents more than it punishes.

  • Teach what integrity means in your discipline, with examples.
  • Reduce the pressures that drive breaches — workload, unclear rules, fear.
  • Treat first, minor issues as learning, with proportionate process.
2
Design for integrityResilient by design
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The most reliable defence is assessment that's hard to outsource — to a contract cheat or to AI. (See the Authentic Assessment course.)

  • Foreground process, drafts, in-class and oral components.
  • Use authentic, personal-context tasks AI can't complete alone.
  • Vary tasks across offerings so answers can't be recycled.
Grounded in
  • Assessment design against contract cheating (Bretag et al.)
  • TEQSA: assessment reform for the age of AI
3
Talk about it — including AIClear, explicit expectations
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Students follow rules they understand. Be explicit about what's allowed, what isn't, and where generative AI fits.

  • State exactly where and how AI use is permitted, and require disclosure.
  • Reference the policy, but say it in your own words too.
  • Make it safe to ask before submitting.
4
When it goes wrongFair, consistent process
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When a breach happens, fair process protects students and the standard. Consistency matters as much as the outcome.

  • Follow your institution's process; document and be consistent.
  • Separate the person from the act; keep it educative where you can.
  • Watch for patterns that point to a design or pressure problem.
Grounded in
  • Academic-integrity policy & fair-process practice
  • ICAI fundamental values of academic integrity
◇ Bring it together — from the NTLSN commons
Browse “Academic integrity”GenAI assignment redesign toolAuthentic Assessment courseFrameworks & policy

For your subject this semester — a quick self-check

✓
I've taught what integrity means in my discipline.
✓
My assessment is designed to be hard to outsource.
✓
I've stated clearly where AI use is and isn't allowed.
✓
Students know it's safe to ask before submitting.
✓
I'll follow a fair, consistent process if a breach occurs.
✓
I treat repeated breaches as a design/pressure signal, not just a student failing.
Source & attribution. Curated from TEQSA academic-integrity guidance, the International Center for Academic Integrity, and contract-cheating research (Bretag and others), plus sector good practice indexed by the NTLSN commons. Practitioner synthesis, not original research.
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