REGULATIONS ON ACADEMIC INTEGRITY: IMPLEMENTATION PROBLEMS

Abstract

The article discusses the problems of implementing the policy of academic integrity in higher education institutions; it was found that the implementation of fundamental principles, the formation of an educational environment with zero tolerance for violations of ethical standards requires the development of a policy and the introduction of the practice of academic integrity. The key in this process is the agreement of the declaration of values and their approval in educational practice. The results of the study on the awareness of the essence and meaning of academic integrity and the desire to articulate a position on academic integrity by students of the second (master’s) level of education of the Vinnytsia National Technical University were also analyzed and summarized. The object of the study was the participants' texts on the meaning of academic integrity in a higher education institution. Qualitative-quantitative analysis was applied to the participants’ texts according to the following criteria: 1) identification of positions on the issue of academic integrity; 2) «I»-position (self-discovery, self-analysis, self-exposure); 3) accentuation of texts; 4) appeal to the moral principles of academic integrity. The authors came to the following general conclusions: at the same time as learning the essence, content and meaning of academic integrity at the theoretical level, almost all research participants emphasized the position of observing academic ethical standards; along with this, it was noticeable that the master's students kept silent about the situation of violation and responsibility, which indicates the avoidance of the discussion regarding the procedures for handling cases of violations and responsibility for non-compliance with ethical principles. The declarative nature of the overwhelming number of the studied texts, hiding the «I» position in them, avoiding the articulation of values give grounds for the conclusion that a significant part of master’s students is not aware of the essence and meaning of academic integrity. Generalizations of research results can be used in changing approaches, processes and procedures to improve the system for ensuring academic integrity at the Vinnytsia National Technical University and other institutions of higher education.