A Comprehensive Academic Integrity (CAI) Framework: An Overview

April 14, 2023

This post is a reprint of a self-archived document available here: https://prism.ucalgary.ca/handle/1880/116060

Background

As I write this, the Handbook of Academic Integrity (2nd ed.) is well underway. All the chapters have been submitted and are at various stages of review, revision, and production. Page proofs should start going out to contributing authors this month. This has been a massive project: 150+ authors, 109 chapters, 9 section editors, and me herding all the cool cats who have made it happen.

After all the chapters had been submitted, I realized that we had something new and fresh with this edition. We have pushed the boundaries beyond persistently historical ideas about academic integrity only as a matter of student conduct. So, I wrote an introduction for the handbook that synthesizes some its through lines. The common threads of this updated edition are summed up in this Comprehensive Academic Integrity (CAI) framework.

I wrote this intro in two epic writing sessions, fuelled by gallons of coffee, Vegemite on toast, and a pizza that a friend had delivered to my house because he felt sorry for me eating Vegemite on toasted bread crusts. (I am not kidding.) Anyway, first, I drafted the chapter in full. Then I asked a couple of other section editors and contributors to the handbook to provide me with an open peer review of the draft. In the chapter I acknowledge them by name and I re-iterate my gratitude to them here. Thanks are due to Guy Curtis, Brenda M. Stoesz, Rahul Kumar, Beatriz Moya, and Bibek Dahal for their feedback that helped me to improve the chapter. In the second writing session, I incorporated just about all of their suggestions and completely re-vamped the visual image to the one you see below. The CAI Framework is a high-level synthesis of all the chapters in the handbook and as such, every single author who has contributed to the handbook (as well as those they have cited in their respective chapters) all deserve credit.

According to the publisher’s rules around self-archiving and pre-prints, I am not allowed to share the entire chapter with you ahead of publication. But I can share a summary of it, so I’m doing that here. I’ve also self-archived a copy of this overview (minus the background commentary about Vegemite and pizza) in our university’s digital repository. On the off-chance you want to cite the “official” version of the summary, I have included instructions below. You’ll have to wait for the Handbook to be published to read the full chapter, but in the meantime, I hope this overview is useful.

How to cite this overview

Eaton, S.E. (2023). A Comprehensive Academic Integrity (CAI) Framework: An Overview. Calgary, Canada: University of Calgary. https://prism.ucalgary.ca/handle/1880/116060

Overview

For years scholars and other experts have called for a more holistic approach to academic integrity (e.g., Bertram Gallant, 2008; Boud & Bearman, 2022; Bretag et al, 2014; Carrol & Duggan, 2005; Löfström et al., 2015; Morris & Carrol, 2016; Turner & Beemsterboer, 2003). The CAI framework synthesizes ideas that have been repeated for decades in various iterations.

The central argument behind a wholistic framework is that academic integrity must encompass, but extend beyond, notions of student conduct, and should be considered a foundation of all aspects of education. In this framework, I do not propose a new definition of academic integrity in part, because several useful definitions already exist (see Bretag, 2016; ICAI, 2021; Tauginienė et al., 2018). Instead, this framework can be used with existing definitions.

The Comprehensive Academic Integrity (CAI) framework includes eight (8) essential elements that includes, and extends beyond traditional notions of academic integrity merely as a student responsibility:

  • everyday ethics
  • institutional ethics
  • ethical leadership
  • professional and collegial ethics
  • instructional ethics
  • student academic conduct
  • research integrity and ethics
  • publication ethics

Figure 1. Comprehensive Academic Integrity (CAI) Framework

A circle with eight colourful swirls (one each in green, blue, pink, dark yellow, darker purple, red, bright yellow, medium purple, and green). There is black text associated with each swirl. This image is a graphic representation of the Comprehensive Academic Integrity (CAI) framework.

Keywords

academic integrity, student conduct, student affairs, research ethics, research integrity, publication ethics, instructional ethics, pedagogy, everyday ethics, experiential learning, definition, ethical decision-making, morals, values, virtues, leadership, equity, diversity, inclusion, accessibility, justice, decolonization, Indigenization

Postscript

Appreciation to Kieran Forde at the University of British Columbia for his most awesome interpretation of the graphic as a “colourful swirly donut”. Who doesn’t love donuts?! Thanks, Kieran!

References

Bertram Gallant, T. (2008). Academic integrity in the twenty-first century: A teaching and learning imperative. Wiley.

Boud, D., & Bearman, M. (2022). The assessment challenge of social and collaborative learning in higher education. Educational philosophy and theory, 1-10. https://doi.org/10.1080/00131857.2022.2114346   

Bretag, T. (2016). Educational integrity in Australia. In T. A. Bretag (Ed.), Handbook of Academic Integrity (pp. 1-13). Springer Singapore. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-287-079-7_2-1 

Bretag, T., Mahmud, S., Wallace, M., Walker, R., McGowan, U., East, J., Green, M., Partridge, L., & James, C. (2014). ‘Teach us how to do it properly!’ An Australian academic integrity student survey. Studies in higher education, 39(7), 1150-1169. https://doi.org/10.1080/03075079.2013.777406

Carroll, J., & Duggan, F. (2005, December 2-5). Institutional change to deter student plagiarism:  What seems essential to a holistic approach? 2nd Asia-Pacific Educational Integrity Conference, University of Newcastle, Callaghan, Australia.

Eaton, S. E. (forthcoming). Comprehensive academic integrity (CAI): An ethical framework for educational contexts. In S. E. Eaton (Ed.), Handbook of Academic Integrity (2nd ed.). Springer. 

International Center for Academic Integrity (ICAI). (2021). The fundamental values of academic integrity (3rd ed.). https://academicintegrity.org/resources/fundamental-values

Löfström, E., Trotman, T., Furnari, M., & Shephard, K. (2015). Who teaches academic integrity and how do they teach it? Higher Education, 69(3), 435-448. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10734-014-9784-3

Morris, E. J., & Carroll, J. (2016). Developing a sustainable holistic institutional approach: Dealing with realities “on the ground” when implementing an academic integrity policy. In T. Bretag (Ed.), Handbook of Academic Integrity (pp. 449-462). Springer Singapore. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-287-098-8_23

Tauginienė, L, Gaižauskaitė, I, Glendinning, I, Kravjar, J, Ojsteršek, M, Ribeiro, L, Odiņeca, T, Marino, F, Cosentino, M, Sivasubramaniam, S, Foltýnek, T. Glossary for Academic Integrity. ENAI Report 3G [online]: revised version, October 2018. https://www.academicintegrity.eu/wp/wp-content/uploads/2023/02/EN-Glossary_revised_final_24.02.23.pdf

Turner, S. P., & Beemsterboer, P. L. (2003). Enhancing academic integrity: Formulating effective honor codes. Journal of Dental Education, 67(10), 1122-1129. https://doi.org/10.1002/j.0022-0337.2003.67.10.tb03705.x

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Sarah Elaine Eaton, PhD, is a faculty member in the Werklund School of Education, and the Educational Leader in Residence, Academic Integrity, University of Calgary, Canada. Opinions are my own and do not represent those of the University of Calgary.

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SWAG for language and literacy programs

March 9, 2010

Swag is an important part of your promotional strategy. Otherwise known as “freebies”, “goodies” or “loot”, these are the items you give away to people in the hopes that they remember your program in a positive way.

The Concise Oxford Dictionary defines swag as:

  1. (slang) ( a) The booty carried off by burglars, etc. (b) illicit gains
  2. (a) an ornamental festoon of flowers, etc. (b) a carved etc. representation of this
  3. (Australia & NZ) a traveller’s or miner’s bundle of personal belongings.

Marketing swag has elements of all these definitions. We hope that people will carry their swag with them in their briefcase or backpack (i.e. their “bundle of belongings”). Swag is now considered de rigueur as part of “table decor” at trade shows. It is a necessary accessory to the adornment of any promotional booth. People love it because it is free, so they make off with it like hot cakes, often sheepishly tucking it into their bags with a slight feeling of either guilt or glee, possibly both.

Recently though, I came across a definition of swag that I like even better. In a 2007 blog post, Suzette Bergeron, a marketing expert in Maine defines swag as “Stuff We All Get”. She goes on to explain different types of swag such as promotional giveaways, prizes and business gifts. For those of you who work in with international clients, you know how important those business gifts can be when working with certain countries.

So rather than the traditional definition, I’m going to go with Bergeron’s. It’s easy to remember and it conveys the idea of marketing swag perfectly.

Swag for language and literacy programs should relate to your program somehow. Remember to include your logo and program name, and if there’s space your website.  The items need to reflect your purpose, your image and hopefully be useful to the recipients. Pens, pads of paper, book bags and even portfolios are all excellent swag ideas for language and literacy programs. Baseball caps, not so much. That is, unless you are offering an ESL program for baseball players. I’d also hesitate to go with items such as breath mints, eye glasses cleaning cloths and toys, all of which I have seen at educational trade fairs. When I see items like this, I scratch my head. I understand that they are novelty marketing items, but I question their longevity in the hands of the recipient once the novelty has worn off. Before you spend your money on swag ask yourself what is going to be most useful to those on the receiving end. You want them to hold on to it, make it part of the bundle of things they carry with them for a long time and most importantly, remember you by it.

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Update – January 2018 – This blog has had over 1.8 million views thanks to readers like you. If you enjoyed this post, please “like” it or share it on social media. Thanks!

Sarah Elaine Eaton is a faculty member in the Werklund School of Education, University of Calgary, Canada.

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Posted by Sarah Elaine Eaton, Ph.D.