Academic Integrity Council of Ontario (AICO) ANNUAL REPORT - SUMMARY of ACTIVITIES (October 2017 – September 2018) ______
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Academic Integrity Council of Ontario (AICO) ANNUAL REPORT - SUMMARY OF ACTIVITIES (October 2017 – September 2018) _____________________________________________________________________________________ Introduction The Academic Integrity Council of Ontario (AICO) provides a forum for academic integrity practitioners and representatives from post-secondary institutions to share information, and to facilitate the establishment and promotion of academic integrity best practices. In 2013, AICO became an affiliate of the Council of Ontario Universities (COU). As such, AICO reports on its activities annually to the COU through the Ontario Council of Academic Vice-Presidents (OCAV), with respect to the activities and functions that fall within the Council's mandate. This Annual Report was prepared by the AICO Executive, to summarize the activity of the AICO membership for the period of October 2017 to September 2018. This is the fifth annual report prepared by the AICO Executive and submitted to COU on behalf of the Council. In support of the AICO mandate, the AICO has engaged in activities as outlined and summarized below. AICO Annual Meeting During the time period of October 2017 – September 2018, one full-day meeting took place on November 24, 2017, hosted by Ryerson University. The meeting agenda can be found here: https://academicintegritycouncilofontario.wordpress.com/meetings/ The meeting agenda consisted of the following topics: ● Keynote - Contract Cheating (U of T) ● AICO Member Updates ● Exams, Academic Integrity and the Student Experience (Ryerson) ● Editing, Copying and File Sharing (Panel Discussion) ● Insights from Behavioural Ethics on Academic Integrity (Trent) ● When to Turnitin and When to Tune it Out (Waterloo) Attendance included participants from the following member institutions: ● Brock University ● McMaster University ● Conestoga College ● University of Ottawa ● Durham College ● Queen’s University ● Humber College ● Royal Military College of Canada ● Lambton College ● Seneca College 1 | Page ● Sheridan College ● University of Waterloo ● Trent University ● University of Windsor ● University of Guelph ● Western University ● University of Toronto, St. George, UTM ● York University and UTSC In 2017/2018, AICO Members also participated in the following events/activities: March 2-4, 2018 International Centre for Academic Integrity (ICAI) - International Conference, Richmond VA https://academicintegrity.org/2018-international-conference/ Presentations by AICO members included: • Angela Clark, Sheridan College – “Fostering a Culture of Integrity at Sheridan College: An Overview” • John-Paul Foxe and Andrea Ridgley, Ryerson University – “An Innovative Approach to Decision Making in Cases of Suspected Academic Misconduct” • Shehna Javeed, University of Toronto Scarborough – “Building Partnerships in Academic Integrity Towards a Unique and Creative Collaboration on Professional Ethics”. Ms. Javeed also published this work in the journal titled ‘Canadian Perspectives on Academic Integrity’ in the inaugural Issue - Vol 1, No1. https://journalhosting.ucalgary.ca/index.php/ai • Amanda McKenzie, University of Waterloo – “Integrity Insights from India” and “Foundation for Academic Success: Mobile Academic Integrity App” • Lois Nantais, Lambton College – “International Students as CAI Ambassadors at Lambton College: A Phenomenological Report on Effective Social Change” • Katie Phillips, Queen’s University – “Copy in Haste: Analyzing Forgeries in Higher Education” The ICAI Canadian Consortium meeting took place on March 1, 2018 and includes various AICO member institutions. May 2018 Turnitin Summit, Toronto, ON In May 2018, several institutions met with Turnitin to hear about the development of a new contract cheating platform, called ‘Authorship Investigation’. This meeting was held in Toronto at the Marriot Hotel. The meeting included discussion about trends and concerns around contract cheating, and a presentation by Cath Ellis, Associate Dean - Education, UNSW, on her research in academic integrity and contract cheating. The following member institutions attended: Queen’s University, Sheridan College, and Durham College. https://www.turnitin.com/solutions/authorship-investigation 2 | Page October 18, 2017 Global Day of Action Against Contract Cheating http://contractcheating.weebly.com/ #defeatthecheat #excelwithintegrity AICO university members such as Brock University, Ryerson University and the University of Windsor participated in the 2017 Global Day of Action. Ontario college faculty were on strike during that time, but many plan to take part in the 2018 event on October 17, 2018 to raise awareness of contract cheating. May 9-11, 2018 European Network for Academic Integrity Conference: “Plagiarism Across Europe and Beyond, 2018,” Ephesus, Turkey https://plagiarism.pefka.mendelu.cz/ AICO members that presented at this conference: ● John Paul Foxe, Ryerson University, - “Gamifying academic integrity education” Contract Cheating Sub-Committee During the November 2017 meeting, the keynote presentation addressed the issue of contract cheating and demonstrated to members how technology has created more opportunities for students to engage in this practice. As a result, the AICO Contract Cheating Sub-Committee was formed. A call for membership went out and the group began meeting in May, 2018. Members of the sub-committee are as follows: • John Paul Foxe, Ryerson University • Kim Mason, McMaster University • Amanda McKenzie, University of Waterloo • Jennie Miron, Humber College • Nagina Parmer, Ryerson University • Mike Zyrd, York University • Andrea Ridgley, Ryerson University (AICO Chair) • Emma Thacker, Durham College (AICO College Liaison) • Angela Clark, Sheridan College (AICO Secretary/Outreach Coordinator) • Chris Lang (U of T) and Tricia Bertram Gallant (UC San Diego) [Committee Advisors]. The sub-committee’s first piece of work was to develop a proposed Action Plan for the wider AICO membership. This Action Plan has a goal to bring more attention to the problem of contract cheating in higher education institutions by working collaboratively with various stakeholders to affect change. To date, the sub-committee has met three times. During the next AICO meeting on November 16, 2018, more details of the sub-committee’s Action Plan will be presented to members for endorsement. AICO Branding: Website and Logo During 2017, a new standalone AICO website was created in Wordpress – see URL below. The website was shared with members at the November meeting and officially launched in 2018. The website includes information about upcoming and past meetings; a list of current members, and professional development opportunities as well as links to our members’ academic integrity-related resources, the 3 | Page AICO constitution and the annual “Summary of Activities” reports. The COU affiliate page and the OCAV page both link to the new AICO website. In addition to the website, a new AICO logo was created, approved by members, and is now used on all AICO documentation. https://academicintegritycouncilofontario.wordpress.com/ Membership Lists and Membership Drive While AICO participation across the province is strong, the AICO Executive developed a recruitment campaign this year to grow membership. Various AICO membership lists were consolidated and updated and a membership invitation letter was developed. This letter showcases both membership benefits and AICO structure. The campaign targeted all Ontario universities and colleges that are not currently members. Over the past year, AICO has welcomed five new member institutions, and are engaged in conversation with several others. The new members are as follows: - Cambrian College; - Mohawk College; - St. Clair College; - Loyalist College; and - St. Lawrence College. Additional Academic Integrity Activities and Events by AICO Members (list not exhaustive): • Seneca College hosted a professional development (PD) session (February 2018); • Trent University hosted a PD session (February 2018); • Durham College hosted a PD session featuring Dr. James M. Lang (Author of book, Cheating Lessons) (March 9, 2018) • Sheridan College hosted a PD session - ‘Understanding Academic Misconduct: Creating a Robust Culture of Integrity’, Keynote speaker Dr. Julia Christensen Hughes, Dean of Business from the University of Guelph (October 2018); • Humber College hosted a PD session - ‘Promoting Integrity in the Learning Environment’ – Speakers included Jason Powell (Humber), Chris Lang (U of T) and Amanda McKenzie (Waterloo); • Attended: Quality Assurance Association (UK) – Contract Cheating Conference. Included keynote speaker – Wendy Sutherland-Smith, Deakin University – ‘Using assessment as a solution to contract cheating’. (Durham College attended, May 2018); • Key Note: Amanda McKenzie, University of Waterloo, ‘The Landscape of Academic Integrity in Canada’ at Trinity Western University, Langley, BC. (June 2018); • Presented: Angela Clark, Jamie Goodfellow and Sandra Shoufani, Sheridan College, Ontario Library Association Conference – ‘Examining Academic Integrity as a Course Level Learning 4 | Page Outcome: What Can We Learn?’ (February 2018); • Research: Participation in a National Research Project to study contract cheating policy across Canadian institutions. This project involves the following institutions: Queen’s University, U of T, Ryerson University, University of Waterloo, Durham College, Humber College, University of Calgary, University of Manitoba and Memorial University; • Consult: