Each September, Memorial’s campuses teem with new students about to embark on their academic journeys.

For Lorna Adcock, the course co-ordinator of Memorial University’s new academic integrity course INTG 100A/B, it’s an ideal time to build a strong ethical foundation for a student’s academic experience.

Academic integrity

The course examines the full scope of academic integrity and the positive influence it can have on a student’s life that extends beyond the confines of academia.

“We are trying to empower students,” said Ms. Adcock. “We are hoping they will use this knowledge throughout their academic careers and in future work environments.”

Memorial University unveiled its mandatory two-part online course, developed with the Centre for Innovation in Teaching and Learning (CITL), for full-time, first-year undergraduates who started in September 2016.

The course was a collaborative effort between Memorial University Libraries and the Senate Committee on Undergraduate Studies, and aims to create and foster a culture of academic integrity and supplement the existing supports already in place. Over three-quarters of students have completed Part A of the course and more than 250 have already completed Part B.

The right information

“The real focus of this course is to provide students with the information they need to make the right choices, particularly when they are pressured and stressed with assignment deadlines, exams  and the typical pressures of first-year studies,” Ms. Adcock said.

Tackling academic integrity as an institution demonstrates a commitment to the advancement of teaching and learning taking place at Memorial. It is also the first Senate-approved course that Memorial University Libraries has created and co-ordinated.

“We are very proud to be part of Memorial’s efforts to encourage academic integrity,” said Susan Cleyle, university librarian. “By cultivating ethical and thoughtful decision-making in academic scholarship, we are creating informed citizens of the world.”

Learn more about academic integrity at Memorial University here.