“I’m not an investigator and I’m not a police officer" - a faculty’s view on academic integrity in an undergraduate nursing degree

Abstract

In nursing, expectations of honesty and integrity are clearly stipulated throughout professional standards and codes of conduct, thus the concept of academic integrity has even more impetus in preparing students for graduate practice. However, a disparity between policy and practice misses the opportunity to instil the principles of academic integrity, and at its core honesty, a pivotal trait in the nursing profession. This study draws upon the experience of the nursing faculty to explore how academic integrity policy of deterrence operate in nursing education.While participants deplored cheating behaviours, they expressed frustration in having to ‘police’ large numbers of students who had little awareness of the academic standards to meet policy requirements. In addition, they were cynical because of a perceived lack of severity in sanctions for students who repeatedly breached integrity. Participants expressed a moral obligation as educators to meet student learning needs and preferred to engage with students in a more meaningful way to uphold academic integrity. The ambivalence to detect and report breaches in integrity undermines the effectiveness of policy. Therefore, faculty must recognise the importance of their role in detecting and escalating cases of dishonesty and execute deterrence in a more consistent way. To do this, greater support at an institutional level, such as smaller class sizes, inclusion in decision making around sanctions and recognition of additional workload, will enable faculty to uphold policy. Although policing was not their preferred approach, the role of faculty in detecting and reporting cases of misconduct is crucial to increase the certainty of students getting caught, which is essential if policy is to be effective in deterring dishonest behaviour.

Profiling nursing students’ dishonest behaviour: Classroom versus clinical settings

“… 15 , 29 , 41 , 42 This should be done through the support of competent educators, who respect and care about these values. 43 – 45 Nursing students should recognise in them a role model for whom dishonest behaviour is not an option. 6 …”

“…15,29,41,42 This should be done through the support of competent educators, who respect and care about these values. [43][44][45] Nursing students should recognise in them a role model for whom dishonest behaviour is not an option. 6 In addition, institutions should provide appropriate support to students, including mentoring, support groups and various events (e.g.…”

Recommendations for a balanced approach to supporting academic integrity: perspectives from a survey of students, faculty, and tutors

“…In addition, although my tutors have been informed about the policy, many don’t comply, thinking it easier to assign their own consequences. In short, then, non-compliance is a huge issue.” Lynch et al ( 2021 ) reported that the complexity and difficulty of reporting and following through on misconduct cases contributed to lack of compliance by instructors. As well, inconsistent application of policy and procedures may confuse stakeholders about what is acceptable and what is not.…”

“…Our respondents recommended faculty input into and responsibility for academic integrity, highlighting their need for resources to enhance student learning. Similarly, Lynch et al ( 2021 ) called for more resources from the institution, such as lighter workload. (This would also provide time for faculty to be involved with drafting policy).…”

“…While many of these strategies may have helped address issues of misconduct at individual or course levels, it is not clear what students and instructors think about more general institution-wide academic integrity concerns. A recent research method is to ask stakeholders for their viewpoints and experiences to get a broader picture of the issues in specific contexts (Gottardello & Karabag, 2020 ; Lynch et al, 2021 ).…”