Developments in IT are bringing new challenges to academic integrity, ranging from the proliferation of online academic writing services to innovations in AI such as ChatGPT, as well as increasingly sophisticated diploma mills and certification frauds. Threats to academic integrity if left unaddressed risk to undermine confidence in the value of higher education qualifications with serious consequences for our globally interconnected communities.

This INQAAHE Talk explored today’s growing challenges to Academic Integrity from different perspectives:

• Helen Gniel, Director HE Integrity Unit at the Tertiary Education Quality and Standards Agency (TEQSA), and Mairéad Boland, Senior Manager, Academic Integrity Regulation and Strategic Partnerships, Quality and Qualifications Ireland (QQI), offered the perspective of two quality assurance bodies that have been leading on developing national and international responses to contract cheating, including the recently established Global Academic Integrity Network (GAIN).

Check her presentation.

Mairéad works in QQI’s Stakeholder Engagement Unit, where she leads the implementation of the agency’s regulatory responsibilities in relation to academic integrity. She is also responsible for QQI’s programme of engagement with the professional statutory and regulatory bodies (PSRBs). Mairéad has worked in with QQI since 2017 and, during that time, has also managed institutional monitoring and review processes as well as programme validation processes. Prior to working with QQI, Mairéad worked as a research associate at Friedrich-Alexander Universität in Erlangen, Germany, where she also taught legal translation at the Institut für Fremdsprachen bei der Friedrich-Alexander Universität. Mairéad has an LL.B. (ling. Ger.) from Trinity College Dublin and an LL.M. from Friedrich-Alexander Universität, Erlangen-Nürnberg. Mairéad is a member of the board of AQ Austria and of the Education, Training and Standards Committee of the Nursing and Midwifery Board of Ireland (NMBI).

Check his presentation.

Dr. Salim Razı is an associate professor at the English Language Teaching Programme of Canakkale Onsekiz Mart University (COMU), Türkiye. He is the Founder Director of COMU Centre for Academic Integrity. He is also a Founder Board member of the European Network for Academic Integrity. He developed the ‘transparent academic writing rubric’ and struggles to prevent plagiarism through the ‘anonymous multi-mediated writing model’, for which he was awarded the Turnitin Global Innovation Award in 2015. His model was also listed as a good practice by the Australian Government Tertiary Education Quality and Standards Agency in 2017. He is the coordinator of EU Erasmus+ KA2 project “Facing Academic Integrity Threats (FAITH)”. He recently published in THE on training ambassadors of academic integrity and in System on promoting academic integrity during emergency remote teaching. 

Chris Lyons is the Head of External Engagement at UK ENIC / Ecctis. His role focusses on communicating UK ENIC’s work, services and solutions to stakeholders and listening to the challenges faced by different sectors. He is a regular company presenter and speaker.

He has worked at the organisation for 15 years. As Head of Research and Data, Chris supervised the development of grade comparisons, TNE profiles and International Entry Qualifications studies. He led research into benchmarking international secondary schools in the International Research Group (2007-2012).

He is the 2023 Chair of the Standards and Quality Committee for TAICEP; and of the UK ENIC Quality & Standards Group. 

Dr. Fabrizio Trifiro’ is an international expert in quality assurance and international education. He heads Ecctis (formerly UK NARIC) quality benchmark services aimed at supporting the international recognition of qualifications in challenging areas, and leads strategic engagement with key international stakeholders. In this role Fabrizio developed the TNE Quality Benchmark and TVET Quality Review and Accreditation, the only international schemes aimed at improving international understanding and trust of TNE and TVET qualifications respectively, regardless of countries of origin.

Prior to joining NARIC, Fabrizio was with the UK Quality Assurance Agency for over 10 years, where he led on the quality assurance of UK TNE, the international students experience, and cross-border cooperation with international QA bodies and networks.