Project Summary

Cooperation partnerships in higher education (2021-1-TR01-KA220-HED-000027559)

Co-funded by the Erasmus+ Programme of the European Union, Turkish National Agency

Academic integrity (AI) is a crucial aspect of quality assurance in higher education (HE) institutions. Lack of integrity undermines trust in university diplomas and academia as a whole. Considering the digital transformation of HE institutions by the outbreak of COVID-19, there is an increased concern regarding the violations of academic integrity. All educational institutions need robust policies/procedures for managing suspicions of academic misconduct by students. Previous research has demonstrated that maturity and effectiveness of institutional policies vary greatly across institutions and between countries.

With the implementation of this project, we aim to reach the following objectives that relevant to our project results:

• Establish a benchmark for minimum standards for academic integrity policies in Europe and beyond based on good practice internationally.
• Provide evidence-based guidance and training materials on how to detect and deter plagiarism and contract cheating in education and training stakeholders about academic writing accompanied by good academic integrity samples on the matter.
• Establish a support network and provide an advisory service using an interactive web portal for guidance and sharing experience for anyone affected by unethical academic conduct.

The FAITH project will focus on improving national and institutional policies for AI in HE. Through a review of educational sources globally, we will draw on best practice to create benchmarks for AI standards, policies and approaches, tuned for use in partner countries. Using well-tested questionnaires and focus groups, we will capture factors that influence student conduct. Working internationally, we will collate ideas for best practices on strategies relating to plagiarism and contract cheating. By examining all available evidence, we will formulate a holistic approach for deterring plagiarism and contract cheating. Results will be disseminated within partner countries and beyond through conferences, workshops and scientific papers. Training materials will be developed from the results for guiding managers, teachers and students in higher education. Online courses and face-to-face workshops will be developed and delivered, translated into languages of participating organisations. Course completion certificates will be issued to participants. We will also develop an online platform to provide practical advice and guidance to all victims who seek support.

Project Partners

• Çanakkale Onsekiz Mart University, Turkey (Coordinator)
• European Network for Academic Integrity
• University of Mariboru, Slovenia
• University of Konstanz, Germany
• University of Porto, Portugal

Project Results

PR1: Policy for good practice: Establishing a benchmark for minimum standards for academic integrity policies in Europe and beyond based on good practice internationally

PR1A HEAI Policy Corpus

PR1B Evidence-based Guideline

PR1C A Webinar for HE Policymakers

PR2: Proactive approach to prevent academic misconduct in the digital era: Helping academics and undergraduate students to prevent, deter and detect academic misconduct through evidence-based guidance and training materials.

PR2A Collecting experiences on AI

PR2B Adapting and developing the guidance in the era of digitalization

PR2C Online workshops/interactivities for stakeholders (academics, undergraduates, administrators)

PR3 A support for victims of academic misconduct: an interactive portal and support network will be created to help victims of unethical practice

PR3A Understanding different needs of potential victims.

PR3B Creating an academic support network and an online forum to provide confidential and impartial advice to participants.

PR3C Develop and sustain educational and mentoring support for victims via online discussions.

Multiplier Events

• European Conference on Academic Integrity and Plagiarism
  • ECAIP 2022:
    • University of Porto, Portugal
  • ECAIP 2024:
    • Canakkale Onsekiz Mart University, Turkey

Learning Teaching Training Activities

• ENAI Academic Integrity PhD Summer School 2023
  • University of Maribor, Slovenia
  • August 2023
• ENAI Academic Integrity PhD Summer School 2024
  • University of Konstanz, Germany
  • September 2024

FAITH with Numbers

• 274,709€ budget
• 5 partners
• 3 project results
• 9 outputs
• 2 multiplier events
• 2 learning teaching training activities

Project web page: https://faithproject.info/