Alberta Academic Integrity Week 2021

The Alberta Council on Academic Integrity is pleased to announce

Alberta Academic Integrity Week

October 18-22, 2021

During Academic Integrity Week we encourage educational institutions across Alberta to:

• Offer events at your school to promote academic integrity
• Engage students in conversations about academic integrity
• Offer skill-building workshops such as citing and referencing workshops
• Distribute academic integrity swag to students and staff
• Hold workshops for faculty on topics such as academic misconduct case management
• Build awareness about the predatory contract cheating industry
• Connect with your student leaders to plan events and raise awarness
• Cross-promote workshops and events with other Alberta institutions
• Join the International Day of Action Against Contract Cheating on October 20, 2021

Academic Integrity Week 2021 Events

October 19, 2021: The Intersection of Academic Integrity and Mental Health: From Resources to Policies

Through discussions and activities, participants will examine academic integrity through a mental health lens. One of the topics addressed in this session include the impact of the academic misconduct process on student and faculty mental health. At a structural level, one of the topics highlighted will be bringing a mental health perspective to the development or review of academic integrity-related policies, processes and procedures. The session will conclude with Q&A, as well as resources to support student and faculty mental health and wellbeing.

This session is hosted by the Taylor Institute for Teaching and Learning, University of Calgary. For more information, contact the session host, Dr. Sarah Elaine Eaton, Educational Leader in Residence, Academic Integrity.

Facilitator: Dr. Andrew Szeto, PhD
Date: Tuesday, October 19, 2021
Time: 12:00 – 1:00 p.m. Mountain Time
Locations: Online via Zoom

Please note: Registration will close on Sunday, October 17, 2021, at 11:59 p.m. (MT) and a Zoom link for the webinar will be sent the morning of the workshop.

Register here: https://taylorinstitute.ucalgary.ca/series-and-events/integrity-week https://taylorinstitute.ucalgary.ca/series-and-events/integrity-week

October 19, 2021: The Human Face of Contract Cheating

This event is hosted by NorQuest College.

This webinar aims to bring a human face to contract cheating. Contract cheating happens — is happening right now — in our classrooms, and seriously impacts our students and faculty. These impacts will be explored in conversation with an instructor and student sharing their experiences with contract cheating. Join us for this hour and walk away with increased awareness and some tools and strategies to share with students to avoid the trappings of contract cheating.

• Date: Tuesday, October 19, 2012
• Time: 1:00 p.m. – 2:00 p.m. Mountain Time

Streamed live in the Innovation Studio, 5^th Floor of the CELT Building . (The video link will be sent out the day before the event). Join us in person or online.

Register here.

If you have any questions about this webinar please email Sheryl Boisvert at sheryl.boisvert@norquest.ca or Dustin Grue at dustin.grue@norquest.ca

October 19, 2021: Communicating Copyright to Your Students

There is often anxiety around copyright matters. Educators may worry about copyright “policing,” procedures around sharing works, what is acceptable under their user rights, how students understand copyright, and more. There is a lot to evaluate, and it can be overwhelming. While these anxieties are understandable, there are ways to ease the stress and bring copyright confidence into the classroom. 

The session will propose ways for educators to positively communicate copyright to students. It will touch on the recording of lectures, use of student work, copyright considerations when creating student assignments, and how to approach students as fellow creators and establish an environment of respect and trust.

This session aligns with Alberta Academic Integrity Week (October 18-22, 2021) and is hosted by Mount Royal University.

• Tuesday, October 19, 2021
• 3:00-4:00 p.m. Mountain Time
• Online (The Google Meet link will be emailed to registrants the day before the session.)
• Register here 

If you have any questions, please direct them to Silvia Rossi, Writing and Learning Strategist, Mount Royal University: srossi (at) mtroyal.ca 

October 20, 2021: Contract Cheating in Alberta and Beyond

Join us for an eye-opening webinar about contract cheating in Alberta. We will talk about essay mills, homework completion services, unethical tutoring services, and thesis consultation services that all cross the line into academic misconduct. Learn about the size and scope of this predatory industry and how it preys on our students, including engaging in blackmail and extortion. 

By the end of this session engaged participants will be able to: 

• Describe what contract cheating is.
• Analyze how contract cheating impacts students. 
• Discover practical tips and strategies to promote academic integrity. 

This session is hosted by the Taylor Institute for Teaching and Learning, University of Calgary. For more information, contact the session host, Dr. Sarah Elaine Eaton, Educational Leader in Residence, Academic Integrity.

Facilitator: Dr. Sarah Eaton, PhD and Sheryl Boisvert 
Date: Wednesday, October 20, 2021 
Time: 4:00 – 5:30 p.m. Mountain time
Locations: Online via Zoom  

Please note: Registration will close on Monday, October 18, 2021, at 11:59 p.m. (MT) and a Zoom link for the webinar will be sent the morning of the workshop.

Register here: https://taylorinstitute.ucalgary.ca/series-and-events/integrity-week https://taylorinstitute.ucalgary.ca/series-and-events/integrity-week

October 21, 2021: Rethinking the Promotion of (Academic) Integrity – The Case for Restorative Practices

The Educational Development Working Group of the Alberta Council for Academic Integrity (ACAI) is pleased to present Dr Paul Sopcak of MacEwan University, on the topic of restorative practices.

Integrity is often referred to as doing the right thing when no one is looking. The rapid move to remote, uninvigilated assessments due to the pandemic, and the stark spike in academic misconduct that followed and continues to follow, proved to be a grim benchmark of how successful efforts to promote (academic) integrity, rather than mere rule-compliance, have been. The well-documented, historical reluctance of faculty members to deal with suspected academic misconduct according to institutional policy and procedure has further increased, due to the significant strain on emotional and material resources that pandemic measures and the spike in incidents have imposed. Likewise, the pandemic has added emotional and mental health pressures on students, leading to less vigilance and resilience related to ethical decision-making. Students with strong ethical sensibilities related to their academic work have been frustrated by the perceived prevalence of cheating and lower GPAs for those who refuse to do so as a result. 

In this session, I will present MacEwan University’s application of Restorative Practices (RP) principles and procedures in response to misconduct and to the building of a culture of integrity. Specifically, I will speak to the potential of RP processes as social-emotional learning opportunities that help prevent misconduct, increase faculty and student engagement as well as satisfaction, and provide meaningful connection at a time of increased isolation and emotional stress. I will also address frequent misunderstandings about hesitancy toward RP. Ample time will be allocated to Q&A and the discussion of issues such as the integration of RP into policy and the generation of buy-in, training of facilitators, and necessary resources.

This session aligns with the International Day of Action Against Contract Cheating, the Alberta Academic Integrity Week, as well as the declarations of many additional provincial organizations that October 18-22 is Academic Integrity Week in Canada.

The session is open to anyone working at a higher education institution and will be held on:

• Thursday, October 21
• 1:30 p.m.  – 3:00 p.m. Mountain Time
• Online (The Google Meet link will be emailed to registrants closer to the date.)
• Register here 

If you have any questions, please direct them to Marg Olfert, ACAI Steering Committee Member, and Lead for the ACAI Educational Development Working Group: molfert@mtroyal.ca 

October 22, 2021: FOIP Training for Academic Integrity

Learn how the Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act (FOIP) applies when there are suspected or actual breaches of academic integrity. Learn what information can be shared, with whom and why. 

This session is hosted by the Taylor Institute for Teaching and Learning, University of Calgary. For more information, contact the session host, Dr. Sarah Elaine Eaton, Educational Leader in Residence, Academic Integrity.

Facilitator: Katharine Kinnear (FOIP Coordinator, Legal Services) and Jennifer Sinclair (FOIP Advisor, Legal Services)
Date: Friday, October 22, 2021
Time: 12 – 1 p.m.
Location: Online via Zoom

Please note: Registration will close on Wednesday, October 20, 2021 at 11:59 p.m. (MT) and a Zoom link for the webinar will be sent the morning of the workshop.

Register here: https://taylorinstitute.ucalgary.ca/series-and-events/integrity-week https://taylorinstitute.ucalgary.ca/series-and-events/integrity-week

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