Fake Degrees, Fraudulent Credentials and the Ecosystem of Commercial Academic Fraud

April 10, 2025

Since 2020 I’ve been working with a number of collaborators on projects related to fake degrees, diploma mills, and credential fraud. One of the people I have had the privilege of working with is FBI Special Agent (ret.), Allen Ezell, who is one of the world’s leading experts on  fake degrees and accreditation fraud. 

I’ve spent countless hours on the phone with Allen and have exchanged dozens, if not hundreds, of e-mails with him, over the years. Now in his 80s, Allen is one of the world’s finest experts on the topic. He contributed a fascinating chapter called “Yesterday, today, and tomorrow: A tour of Axact, the ‘World’s Largest Diploma Mill’” to our book, Fake Degrees and Fraudulent Credentials in Higher Education. 

We also learned from other contributors to the book that the companies who sell fake credentials don’t stop there. They can also provide contact cheating services (often under the guise of ‘research services’), fake admission letters, fake transcripts, fraud in standardized testing (e.g., sending impersonators to write English language proficiency tests), and much more. 

In the introduction for the book, we connect the dots to show how admissions fraud, contract cheating (e.g., term paper mills), scientific and scholarly paper mills, and fake degrees and fraudulent credentials are all connected. We synthesize the key ideas in this infographic:

Diagram titled "The Ecosystem of Commercial Academic Fraud" by Eaton & Carmichael (2022), showing four overlapping colored circles, each representing a type of academic fraud, with "Fraud" in the center where all circles overlap. The categories are: Degree Mills (red): Fake and fraudulent diplomas, transcripts, reference letters, and other academic and professional documents. Contract Cheating (orange): Outsourced student academic work including term paper mills, assignment completion services, thesis writing services, and student proxy services. Admissions Fraud (green): Impersonation and fraud services for standardized admissions testing (e.g., SATs), language proficiency testing, and unethical educational agents. Paper Mills (blue): Manufactured scholarly and scientific publications, authorship for sale. Each category overlaps in the center to show they are part of a broader ecosystem of fraud. The image includes a citation and Creative Commons license at the bottom.

It is difficult to get a handle on the exact size and scope of the industry, but based on what we know, we estimated that the industry is worth at least $21 Billion USD, and we figure that is a low estimate.

Throughout the past half-decade, we’ve developed a number of resources related to these topics. I’ve posted about them previously, but I figured it might be helpful if I gathered some of them into a single blog post. They are all freely available as open access resources.

Counterfeit Credentials: 13 Recommendations for Higher Education Professionals

Infographic titled "Counterfeit Credentials: Top 13 Recommendations for Higher Education Professionals" by Carmichael & Eaton (2020). It offers guidance to help institutions detect and prevent the use of fake degrees and fraudulent documents in admissions and hiring. The recommendations are: 1. Use a direct transmission system for admission applications – Electronic grade submissions reduce tampering. 2. Consider an evaluation service – Evaluate transcripts against program requirements. 3. Know the signs of a fake degree – Check for authenticity, spelling, watermarks, correct language, matching data points. 4. Employ a transcript sharing service – Use secure repositories or verify hand-delivered transcripts. 5. Don't say cheese – Warn students not to post degrees online due to risk of fraud. 6. Compare interim and final grades – Ensures data integrity. 7. Audit your systems routinely – Think like a hacker to uncover weaknesses. 8. Beware of strip mall schools – Diploma mills that mimic real institutions; create internal databases for tracking. 9. Take stock of your transcript paper – Use serial numbers and compare for inconsistencies. 10. Learn how to spot a bogus transcript – Identify fakes by comparing submitted transcripts. 11. Verify education credentials when hiring – Check for linear academic progression and verify references beyond website searches. 12. Investigate whistleblower claims – Some student reports may be legitimate and need proper review. 13. Leverage your professional network – Share practices, investigate cases, or lobby for change. References and contact emails (jamie.carmichael@carleton.ca; seaton@ucalgary.ca) are included for further information.

This infographic is intended mainly for registrars, admissions staff, admissions committees and others whose work involves assessing the credentials of applicants for university and college programs. 

Scholarships Without Scruples

In this infographic, Jamie Carmichael and I share signs of scholarship scams, which is one from of educational fraud:

Infographic titled “Scholarships Without Scruples – 3 Signs of Scholarship Scams.” Credit Card Required: Don’t give out your credit card number. Legitimate scholarship applications never ask for this information. Discount in Disguise: You should not have to buy anything to receive a scholarship. Legit scholarships never require payment for goods or services. Tax Trickery: Legit scholarships are taxed differently than earned income. If proper tax documentation isn’t provided, it may not be a real scholarship. At the bottom: “Find out more” – Contact information for Sarah Elaine Eaton (University of Calgary, seaton@ucalgary.ca) and Jamie Carmichael (Carleton University, Jamie.Carmichael@Carleton.ca). Footer text: “Scholarship scams are real. Learn how to protect yourself!”

When it comes to education fraud, there are many angles to consider. There is certainly a need for more research, awareness, and advocacy on these topics, especially as GenAI can make these types of fraud easier.

Below are some related posts and further resources that I hope you find helpful.

Related posts

References and Resources

  • Carmichael, J. (2023, June 7). Understanding Fake Degrees and Credential Fraud in Higher Ed. The Evollution: A Modern Campus Illumination. https://evolllution.com/programming/credentials/understanding-fake-degrees-and-credential-fraud-in-higher-ed/
  • Carmichael, J. J. (2024). Reframing and Broadening Adversarial Stylometry for Academic Integrity. In S. E. Eaton (Ed.), Second Handbook of Academic Integrity (pp. 1467-1485). Springer Nature Switzerland. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-54144-5_148 
  • Carmichael, J., & Eaton, S. E. (2020). Counterfeit Credentials: Top 13 Recommendations for Higher Education Professionals (Infographic). University of Calgary. http://hdl.handle.net/1880/113042 
  • Clark, A. (2023). Examining the problem of fraudulent English test scores: What can Canadian higher education institutions learn? In S. E. Eaton, J. J. Carmichael, & H. Pethrick (Eds.), Fake Degrees and Fraudulent Credentials in Higher Education (pp. 187-207). Springer International Publishing. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-21796-8_9 
  • Çelik, Ö., & Razı, S. (2023). Avoiding favouritism in the recruitment practice of Turkish higher education institutions. In S. E. Eaton, J. J. Carmichael, & H. Pethrick (Eds.), Fake Degrees and Fraudulent Credentials in Higher Education (pp. 153-167). Springer International Publishing. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-21796-8_7 
  • DeCoster, B. (2023). There is no culture? A framework for addressing admissions fraud. In S. E. Eaton, J. J. Carmichael, & H. Pethrick (Eds.), Fake Degrees and Fraudulent Credentials in Higher Education (pp. 209-226). Springer International Publishing. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-21796-8_10 
  • Duklas, J. (2023). Bridging to tomorrow: A historical and technological review of credential exchange in higher education within Canada. In S. E. Eaton, J. J. Carmichael, & H. Pethrick (Eds.), Fake Degrees and Fraudulent Credentials in Higher Education (pp. 95-113). Springer International Publishing. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-21796-8_4
  • Eaton, S. E., & Carmichael, J. (2020). Scholarships without scruples (Infographic). University of Calgary: http://hdl.handle.net/1880/113044
  • Eaton, S. E., & Carmichael, J. (2022). The Ecosystem of Commercial Academic Fraud. University of Calgary. https://dx.doi.org/10.11575/PRISM/40330
  • Eaton, S. E., Carmichael, J., & Pethrick, H. (Eds.). (2023). Fake degrees and credential fraud in higher education. Springer. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-21796-8
  • Ezell, A. (2023). Yesterday, today, and tomorrow: A tour of Axact, the “World’s Largest Diploma Mill”. In S. E. Eaton, J. J. Carmichael, & H. Pethrick (Eds.), Fake Degrees and Fraudulent Credentials in Higher Education (pp. 49-94). Springer International Publishing. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-21796-8_3 
  • Hextrum, K. (2023). Fair play, fraud, or fixed? Athletic credentials in U.S. higher education. In S. E. Eaton, J. J. Carmichael, & H. Pethrick (Eds.), Fake Degrees and Fraudulent Credentials in Higher Education (pp. 115-132). Springer International Publishing. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-21796-8_5
  • Orim, S.-M., & Glendinning, I. (2023). Corruption in admissions, recruitment, qualifications and credentials: From research into quality assurance. In S. E. Eaton, J. J. Carmichael, & H. Pethrick (Eds.), Fake Degrees and Fraudulent Credentials in Higher Education (pp. 133-151). Springer International Publishing. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-21796-8_6
  • Sabbaghan, S., & Fazel, I. (2023). None of the above: Integrity concerns of standardized English proficiency tests. In S. E. Eaton, J. J. Carmichael, & H. Pethrick (Eds.), Fake Degrees and Fraudulent Credentials in Higher Education (pp. 169-185). Springer International Publishing. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-21796-8_8

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Sarah Elaine Eaton, PhD, is a Professor and Research Chair in the Werklund School of Education at the University of Calgary, Canada. Opinions are my own and do not represent those of my employer. 

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Self-Plagiarism: Publishing Works Based on a Thesis or Dissertation

January 28, 2024

A question I am often asked is: Is it considered self-plagiarism to publish an article or some other output from one’s thesis?

I will start with a disclaimer: The contents of this post may not represent the views of my employer, an editor, or a publisher. There is no singular or universally accepted definition of self-plagiarism (or even plagiarism, for that matter). This post is based on my expertise as a scholar of plagiarism and academic misconduct. I have written about self-plagiarism in this peer-reviewed article and I dedicate an entire chapter to the topic my book, Plagiarism in Higher Education: Tackling Tough Topics in Academic Integrity.

In this post, I use the word ‘thesis’ to include any kind of student final summative written work including dissertations or other forms of final projects. A thesis can refer to undergraduate (often honours) work or graduate work, which is also called post-graduate work in some countries. In this post, I am talking specifically about student academic work that is supervised by a professor and receives approval and validation through formal evaluation such as a written appraisal of the work, an examination, and/or an oral defence.

In this post I am talking more about a thesis with a traditional format (e.g., five or six chapters) than about a manuscript-based thesis (also called ‘thesis by publication’ or ‘PhD by publication’). The queries I get about self-plagiarism are almost always about theses that follow a historically dominant structure with chapters, which is the kind of thesis that remains prevalent in the humanities and social sciences.

With these details covered, let’s get to the good stuff. Firstly, it is both expected and encouraged that students will publish from their thesis. After the oral defence or final thesis evaluation, a student’s work can be further refined and developed in order for it to be ready for publication. In many cases, student work may require substantive revisions (or even a complete overhaul) before it is suitable for publication in a journal or a book. It is foolhardy to assume that just because a student thesis has passed that it is automatically suitable for publication elsewhere. In some cases, there is still a lot of work to be done.

Here are the few things to think about after the thesis has been approved by the university authorities:

Archiving the Thesis in a Digital Repository

Our friendly institutional librarians at the University of Calgary have clarified for me on a previous occasion that theses are considered ‘unpublished’. Adding a thesis to a digital repository means it is archived, but not published. Learning that distinction was helpful for me.

Request an embargo on the release of the thesis into the public domain

Students can ask for an embargo on the release of the thesis until the results are published (e.g., journal article, book chapter or any other format). There seems to be a distressing but growing predatory practice around graduate student theses (or the data therein) being misappropriated, repackaged, and published under someone else’s name. I have heard of two such instances recently and, anecdotally, it seems this practice is growing internationally, though I have no data to substantiate this assertion.

This recommendation stems not from protecting oneself from self-plagiarism, but rather from predatory bad actors who have the intention of harvesting your work before you yourself have published it.

An embargo on a thesis should be requested for a reasonable and finite period of time, with the goal of making the research publicly accessible at some point within a couple of years of graduation, unless there is a compelling reason to extend the embargo longer than that.

Advice About How to Avoid Allegations of Self-plagiarism 

To avoid questions about academic or research misconduct, and specifically self-plagiarism, that can emerge when a student publish works derived from their thesis, there are two points to consider: communication and transparency. Both points should be taken into consideration.

An infographic. There is blue border surrounding a white background. Text is written in black. There is one oval and 8 rectangles, connected by lines. Each shape contains text. The content of this infographic is explained in the blog post.

Communication: Correspond with the Editor Prior to Submission

I recommend that students/graduates correspond with the journal editors prior to, or at the time of manuscript submission, in writing, to ensure full transparency. State clearly that the manuscript is drawn from the thesis and parts of it may be replicated exactly (e.g., methods section). Other parts of the manuscript may be derived (and/or significantly revised) from the thesis and if that is the case, offer some details, but avoid going overboard. Ask directly if such a submission would be considered by the journal / publisher. There is no harm is being clear and transparent with journal editors in this regard.

If the journal editor says no, then consider withdrawing the manuscript and trying a different publication. It is important to recognize that editors have the authority to make such judgements, so don’t be rude or try to convince the editor that their decision is wrong. Maintain a polite and professional tone at all times. Thank them for considering your request and move on.

If the editor says yes, then you are ready to proceed. Ensure you are attending to the matter of transparency during the preparation of your manuscript.

If you communicate with an editor orally (e.g., a face-to-face conversation or a video call), follow up in writing to document the conversation. Ask for confirmation that you have understood the agreement correctly. 

I recommend keeping a record of your written correspondence in case you ever need it again in the future.

Transparency: Declare the re-use of previous content in the manuscript itself

As you prepare your manuscript for submission, ensure you are being transparent about the re-use of content derived from your thesis. This can be done in a couple of ways:

Explicit transparency statement: Add a declaration to the article/chapter/knowledge output stating that it is derived from your thesis. This way, you are declaring there may be some duplication helps to mitigate concerns about self-plagiarizing. You do not need be excessive with your statement. You can keep it short and simple. Here is some sample text that you are welcome to use, re-use, or adapt (as in, I am openly giving anyone permission to use or adapt this statement):

“This work is derived from my doctoral dissertation. Portions of the text resemble or may replicate the original text from my unpublished PhD thesis and have been reproduced as such with the permission of the editors”.

Note that if you use this statement verbatim, it may (ironically) be picked up by text-matching software used by publishers (i.e., flagged for possible plagiarism). I won’t take responsibility for that, so use some judgement in how you prepare your transparency statement.

Attribution: Self-citation is a contested issue in academic publication and it is prudent to avoid over-citing oneself. There are some circumstances in which self-citation is appropriate and this is one of them. When you are deriving work from your thesis, it is appropriate to cite your thesis in the list of references of your publication.

Be careful and attentive when it comes to attribution in publications derived from your thesis. You still need to cite any original works that your thesis drew from. I once saw a manuscript derived from a student thesis and the only work listed in the references was the student thesis! This is disrespectful to the authors of any original works the student thesis was drawn from, so be sure to give credit where it is due. Ensure you give attribution to the authors whose work informed your thesis and any subsequent publications.

This does not mean that you need to replicate the entire bibliography from your thesis in subsequent publications, unless, of course, you are specifically citing every single source in the publication. Instead, be meticulous and mindful to ensure that the specific sources that inform subsequent publications are cited appropriately. Details matter, and if you are going to publish from your thesis, it is worth it to focus on producing the highest quality publication possible.

Finally, assuming that you have a good relationship with your supervisor, I recommend that you keep them informed. In some cases, co-publication with the supervisor may be appropriate, but not in all cases. Co-publishing with one’s supervisor is a topic for another blog post, so I won’t delve deep into those complexities here. Suffice to say that staying in touch with your supervisor about the publication of your work may be beneficial to you, depending on the circumstances.

The bottom line is that concerns about self-plagiarism might be solved with open communication and transparency.

Bibliography and Further Reading

  • Eaton, S. E., & Crossman, K. (2018). Self-plagiarism research literature in the social sciences: A scoping review. Interchange: A Quarterly Review of Education, 49(3), 285-311. https://rdcu.be/YR5u 
  • Roig, M. (2005). Re-using text from one’s own previously published papers: An exploratory study of potential self-plagiarism. Psychological Reports, 2005(97), 43-49. https://doi.org/10.2466/pr0.97.1.43-49
  • Roig, M. (2008). The debate on self-plagiarism: Inquisitional science or high standards of scholarship? Journal of Cognitive & Behavioral Psychotherapies, 8(2), 245-258.
  • Roig, M. (2010). Plagiarism and self-plagiarism: What every author should know. Biochemia Medica, 20(3), 295-300. https://www.biochemia-medica.com/en/journal/20/3/10.11613/BM.2010.037
  • Roig, M. (2024). On Recycling Our Own Work in the Digital Age. In S. E. Eaton (Ed.), Second Handbook of Academic Integrity (pp. 361-380). Springer Nature Switzerland. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-54144-5_15

Related posts

How to Get Your Academic Article Published in a High Quality Journal  https://drsaraheaton.wordpress.com/2024/01/02/how-to-get-your-academic-article-published-in-a-high-quality-journal/

What is the difference between a thesis, a dissertation and a capstone project? https://drsaraheaton.wordpress.com/2018/02/06/what-is-the-difference-between-a-dissertation-a-thesis-and-a-capstone-project/

What’s the difference between a citation and a reference?  https://drsaraheaton.wordpress.com/2013/10/18/whats-the-difference-between-a-citation-and-a-reference/ 

What’s the difference between a manuscript and an article?https://drsaraheaton.wordpress.com/2017/05/08/whats-the-difference-between-a-manuscript-and-an-article

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This blog has had over 3.7 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, PhD, is a faculty member in the Werklund School of Education at the University of Calgary, Canada. Opinions are my own and do not represent those of my employer.

Sarah Elaine Eaton, PhD, Editor-in-Chief, International Journal for Educational Integrity

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Unveiling the Handbook of Academic Integrity (2nd ed.) in Dubai

December 28, 2023
A poster with a blue background. There is a white banner at the top with university logos. The poster contains an image of a book cover and faces of individuals associated with the book.

The 1st Asia -Middle East – Africa Conference on Academic and Research Integrity (ACARI) 2023, 17-19 December at Middlesex University Dubai. It was against this backdrop that the highly anticipated Handbook of Academic Integrity (2nd ed.), published by Springer, was unveiled at a dazzling soft launch, marking a milestone in the book’s journey and the evolution of academic integrity knowledge-sharing and community-building.

The handbook is now in its final stages of production, and the standalone second edition will be released in hard copy in January, 2024. To celebrate, Dr. Zeenath Reza Khan, who serves as one of the handbook’s section editors and contributors, and was a co-chair of the 1st Asia -Middle East – Africa Conference on Academic and Research Integrity (ACARI) 2023, 17-19 December led the organization of the soft launch for the handbook during the conference.

The launch was held during the closing ceremony of the conference on the final day in an auditorium at the prestigious Middlesex University Dubai, was both festive and scholarly, as it brought together educators, researchers, and advocates for academic integrity. In addition to conference delegates, a number of esteemed dignitaries attended including, His Excellency, Jamal Hossain, Consul General of Bangladesh to UAE; Dr. Mohammad Ali Reza Khan, Award-winning Expert Wildlife Specialist, Dubai Municipality, along with Professor Cedwyn Fernandes, Pro Vice Chancellor of Middlesex University and Director of Middlesex University Dubai. Special thanks to Ms. Rania Sheir, Senior Specialist, Entrepreneurship and Innovation, Ministry of Education, UAE, who not only attended the launch, but also posted about it on LinkedIn.

A screenshot of a LinkedIn post.

The Handbook, meticulously curated by leading experts in the field, is a compendium of insights, strategies, and best practices aimed at upholding the ethical practices in academia and research. It covers a diverse range of topics, from plagiarism to artificial intelligence, to the promotion of ethical behaviour in academic research, and much more. The multidimensional approach of the Handbook of Academic Integrity  ensures that it caters to the needs of educators, administrators, and students alike.

A number of contributing authors were in attendance, including:

Dr. Zeenath generously gifted two colleagues and me with authentic saris that we wore during the closing ceremony and the launch. As you can see from the photo below, I was given one in dark green and I just love it! I had an opportunity to say a few words about the book and its importance in the field, and to thank the organizers and authors. Each contributor was gifted a symbolic souvenir cut-out of the front cover of the handbook and following the formalities, we signed the back of one another’s covers.

The book launch culminated in a celebratory atmosphere, with attendees leaving inspired. The Handbook of Academic Integrity (2nd ed.), now poised to be a cornerstone in the field, builds on the first edition and stands as a testament to the collective commitment to nurturing a culture of integrity throughout every level of education and research.

Photo gallery:

Unveiling of the Handbook of Academic Integrity (2nd ed.) Two people are removing a gold-coloured cover from a poster featuring the book cover. People are standing in the background. There are blue and white balloons on the left edge of the frame.
A group of people standing around a large easel. On the easel is a poster.
An easel showing a large poster.
A photo with a group of people. Each person is holding a cardboard cutout of a book cover.
A photo of a group of people. There is an easel with a poster in the centre.
A photo of a group of people. Each person is holding a cardboard cutout of a book cover.

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This blog has had over 3 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, PhD, is a faculty member in the Werklund School of Education at the University of Calgary, Canada. Opinions are my own and do not represent those of my employer.

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New Role: Academic Director, Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion (EDI), Education, and Academic Integrity

August 9, 2023

On July 1, 2023 I started a new role at the University of Calgary as the Academic Director, Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion (EDI), Education, and Academic Integrity. I have the privilege of working with Dr. Malinda Smith, Vice-Provost, EDI, and an entire team of academic and professional staff whose primary focus is on equity, diversity, inclusion, and accessibility.

In this role, I will:

  • Continue to build awareness of equity, diversity, inclusion, and accessibility as they relate to academic ethics across the university.
  • Advise and contribute to the development of resources and supports on academic ethics needed for leaders, academic staff, managers, support staff, students and other university stakeholders.
  • Develop local, regional, and national partnerships that connect initiatives related to academic ethics as they pertain to equity, diversity, inclusion, and accessibility.
  • Facilitate campus conversations related to academic ethics through existing networks, committees, and other informal and formal groups.
  • Develop action-oriented recommendations related to academic ethics from the perspective of equity, diversity, inclusion, and accessibility.
  • Focus on equity-deserving groups that include, but are not limited to, international students, visiting students, post-doctoral fellows, and early career researchers. 

For a few years now, my research and advocacy work as included a more intense focus on social justice, advocacy, and equity. Here is some work I’ve done in the past few years that led to this role that might be helpful if you’re looking for resources on this topic:

The forthcoming Handbook of Academic Integrity (2nd ed.) has a brand new section on Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion in Academic Integrity. Dr. Ceceilia Parnther serves as the Section Editor. Bringing this topic to light in the handbook will help to centre important conversations about discrimination and advocacy for student success and the student experience.

I am excited to take on this work and look forward to the ways in which we can make progress on these important matters.

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This blog has had over 3 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, 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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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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