To enable contextualisation of the following discussion of data collection tools, data analysis and results as applied to this research it is appropriate to present the rationale for utilising a case study approach to the research study. The seminal work of Yin (2003) suggests a researcher would use the case study method when they deliberately plan to cover contextual conditions on the understanding, they may be highly informative to the phenomenon under study. Merriam (2009) in discussing the selection of case studies, suggests this form of research methodology is particularly appropriate for exploring problems related to education practice. Similarly, the work of Simons (2009) offers a valuable rationale for the use of a case study in the context of this current study:
…[a] case study using qualitative methods in particular enables the experience and complexity of programs and policies to be studied in depth and interpreted in the precise socio-political contexts in which programs and policies are enacted; through closely describing, documenting and interpreting events as they unfold in the ‘real-life’ setting, it can determine the factors that were critical in the implementation of a program or policy and analyse patterns and links between them (p. 179).
Simons (2009) further suggests case studies are appropriate to enable dissemination of findings beyond the case to inform on decision-making, policy and practice.
The perspectives of Yin (2003), Merriam (2009) and Simons (2009) in reference to data collection methods have informed on the data collection for this research. Whilst Yin (2003) advocates for scientific methods reliant on collecting empirical data to test hypotheses and challenge hypotheses, this current research does not readily lend itself to the development of specific hypothesis or theory.
The seminal work of Robert Burns for understanding research (2000) proffers the case study is a ‘portmanteau term’ (p.459) that in the main typically involves the observation of an individual unit. Appreciatively, the study of Rabdan Academy’s approach towards and the subsequent outcomes associated with managing academic integrity fall within this concept of a case study.
The data associated with this study has been drawn from previously collected data by the Institution for administrative purposes. Human Research Ethics approval to utilise the anonymised data was confirmed by the Rabdan Academy Research Ethics Committee. The data utilised in this study included end-of-term student satisfaction surveys (the surveys are a mandatory requirement within Rabdan Academy conducted by the Institutional Effectiveness Unit); Academy faculty survey designed to understand their experience with transition to online learning (secondary data for this paper); student course grade achievements; violations of academic integrity (number and format); analysis of the data collected over the terms prior to implementation of the emergency distance learning, during the period of distance learning and the application of a range of strategies to reduce academic integrity violations.
The strategies are discussed in detail in the case description and refer to workshops conducted for faculty and students, authenticity check interviews and Respondus Lockdown mechanisms. The data is secondary in nature and is collective, whereby no faculty member, individual student or class specific data is captured, rather it is whole of Academy per term data. Comparison of changes in the respective data is utilised to understand the impact of the academic integrity mitigation strategies. The following case description offers insight into the environment and circumstances under which developing an operational understanding and culture of academic integrity was applied at Rabdan Academy.
Case description
The onset of the Covid-19 pandemic in the UAE led to urgency in managing the design and delivery of education through the online (internet) environment – a previously generally unfamiliar pedagogy in the UAE. Whilst more than 58% of Rabdan Academy faculty had working experience with online course delivery, the transition preparation was required to be achieved in a two-week period and involved:
-
14 dedicated workshops for faculty professional development in designing teaching and assessment materials for the online platforms were presented;
-
Development and dissemination of an online assessment manual for faculty;
-
Development and dissemination of detailed proctoring guidelines for faculty to support them with the reporting of incidents taking place during online examinations.
-
Development and dissemination of detailed, bilingual proctoring guidelines for students to support them with using online assessment tools and raise their awareness about possible offences.
The student cohort of 631 received approximately 30 learning opportunities focused on supporting students to utilize the range of software programs (Specialized software in combination with the Moodle Learning Management System, Webex, MS Teams, Respondus Lockdown, Turnitin, and Screen-o-Matic). These software programs were either in place within the institution pre the pandemic (Covid-19) or readily available and commonly being adopted by academic institutions within the UAE. and
-
30+ group/individual sessions to prepare the students for the 100% online learning and assessment environment; and
-
A set of 30 instructional videos were developed to support the workshops and build a resource collection.
Establishing confidence for faculty and students in the online learning environment was paramount and the number of workshops, instructional videos and documented guidelines were critical to the preparation approach (Davies and Al Sharefeen 2021).
In the assessment strategies applied during the Spring 2020 – Fall 2020 period, two key approaches were employed i.e., Respondus Lockdown software for online examinations and Turnitin text-matching software for assessments requiring written papers and presentations, e.g., case studies and short research papers. The selection of these two tools was premised on (a) commonality with other United Arab Emirates education institutions, (b) Turnitin was in place at the Academy, however, prior to Summer 2020 it was not a mandatory requirement for assessments to be submitted through Turnitin. Post Spring 2020, all written assessments (except for handwritten examination papers and where applicable laboratory or similar physical assessment activities) were mandated to be submitted through the Turnitin text-matching software.
Due to several academic misconduct incidents during Spring 2020 and Summer 2020, three actions were taken at the start of Fall 2020:
-
Introduction of a detailed academic incident procedure that clearly defines face-to-face and online academic misconduct incidents, categorizes them into major and minor, and provides examples of incidents and disciplinary action to be taken for each incident based on its seriousness (major vs minor), category, and frequency (first, second, etc.,).
-
Moving all written examinations from online to Rabdan Academy’s campus starting Fall 2020.
-
Introduction of an authenticity interview whereby faculty are required to conduct a 5-minute interview with each student who submits an assignment through Turnitin.
-
Requiring faculty members to increase the percentage of open book assessments to promote critical thinking and limit opportunities for academic misconduct.
A brief explanation of the number of academic misconduct incidents at Rabdan Academy offers contextualising and insight into the subsequent focus on academic integrity undertaken by the Academy. The deployment of online assessment tools introduced during the transition to online learning (in response to Covid-19 health and safety requirements) resulted in an increase in the number of academic misconduct incidents, particularly notable in the Spring and Summer terms of 2020 at the Academy. The number of incidents were 486 (18% per registration record) in Spring 2020; 282 (26% per registration record) in Summer 2020; 268 (10% per registration record) in Fall 2020; and 49 (2% per registration record) in Spring 2021 as reported by faculty members. Prior to the deployment of distance education (Spring 2020) RA recorded only 55 incidents between Fall 2017 and Fall 2019. During that period, using Turnitin for all written assessments was an expectation rather than a requirement and the Academy did not have clear assessment guidelines or a student discipline procedure. Worth noting here is that only 67 incidents in Spring 2020 were for plagiarism and suspicious behaviour while the remainder were for dress code violation, tardiness, and technical issues. These latter types of incidents were not normally recorded prior to Spring 2020. In Summer 2020, 193 were recorded for academic misconduct, the remainder being for dress code violation, tardiness, and technical issues. A possible contributing factor for the sudden increase is the fact that conducting a correct environment check using Respondus Lockdown browser for online (internet based) assessments was not recorded as an incident in Spring 2020 however, commencing in Summer 2020 it was recorded as an academic integrity incident. The number of incidents associated with the Respondus Lockdown browser environment check in Summer 2020 stood at 91. A reduction in the number of incidents in Fall 2020 coincided with the introduction of the new academic discipline procedure and moving examinations from online to Rabdan Academy campus. Birks et al. 2020, suggests an increase is expected in academic misconduct with increased motivation for students to pay others to do their assessed written work and the new opportunities provided by the switch to online assessment. Similarly, the work of Amzalag et al. 2021 identified that students are more likely to engage in integrity misdemeanours during online assessments.
The deployment of Respondus Browser Lockdown and Monitor, an online proctoring solution, commencing in Spring 2020 for the Academy, proved to be challenging for both students, faculty, and administrative staff. Such challenges including the time taken to review camera recordings of individual students taking the exams (the system automatically highlights if there is a break in the recording during the exam – flagging a potential violation by the student); internet connectivity breakdown; incomplete setup procedures by the student (potential error vs purposeful misconduct).
Several strategies were employed to mitigate the challenges associated with the use of Respondus Lockdown Browser and Monitor. First, a dedicated page was created for faculty members on Moodle including videos and manuals on how to deploy the tool on course shells and how to design online assessments. Second, workshops were held for both faculty and students to understand the process. Third, a dedicated faculty member was assigned to check each online examination to ensure compliance with the guidelines. Fourth, each proctored group (size between 15 and 25) was assigned to one faculty member who conducted a 10-minute briefing via MS Teams to students about the test to be taken and reminding of the use of the online proctoring system. Students received invitations to those sessions and were provided with the opportunity to ask any questions they had about the examination procedures. During the conduct of an examination, phone numbers were provided to students to call the dedicated help desk if they were experiencing internet connectivity issues. The help desk logged the student ID and time of the call to enable alignment with the checking of the footage of the student taken by the Respondus System during the examination to exclude it from any potential misconduct incident. The fifth and final step included provision of five IT support staff members made available during each examination timeslot (a ratio of 30 students per IT support staff member) to assist with any technical issues that may arise during examinations. Appreciatively, this process was labour intensive and resulted in a significant increase on the workload of faculty and administrative staff.
To avoid academic misconduct incidents, four actions were taken at the Academy in the commencement of Fall 2020:
-
Introduction of a detailed academic incident procedure that clearly defines face-to-face and online academic misconduct incidents, categorizes them into major and minor, and provides examples of incidents, and disciplinary action to be taken for each incident based on its seriousness (major vs minor), category, and frequency (first, second, etc.).
-
Transfer of all written examinations (i.e., mid-term and final exams) from online to Rabdan Academy’s campus commencing in the Fall 2020 term.
-
Introduction of an authenticity interview whereby faculty are required to conduct a 5-minute interview with each student who submits an assignment through Turnitin.
-
Requirement for faculty members to increase the percentage of open book examination formats.
-
Introduction of detailed Assessment Guidelines that articulate clear expectations for online (internet based) and face-to-face assessments.
To offer a holistic and supportive approach to students and faculty regarding academic integrity, the Academy conducted twice weekly presentations for all students for the first 4 weeks of the Fall 2020 term. Workshops familiarizing and reinforcing the whole of Academy commitment to high standards of academic integrity were conducted at the commencement of the Fall 2020 term for faculty. In addition, copies of all presentations and guidance for academic referencing were uploaded to the online Moodle sites for all courses, undergraduate and graduate conducted in the Fall of 2020. Faculty undertook to support the students through referral and explanation of referencing at the time of releasing written assessments requiring submission through Turnitin portals. All students at the Academy study a course of English Language 2; within this course there are topics focused on academic writing and referencing protocols using the Academy-preferred American Psychological Association referencing standards.
The new student discipline and academic integrity procedure enforced during Fall 2020 defined academic integrity categories, clear courses of action for violation of academic integrity and the respective process depending on the level and frequency of the incident by a student. The procedure categorized incidents into major and minor, outlined a new process for investigation, and provided examples of offences and associated consequences based on seriousness and frequency. Additionally, the procedure provided an authority matrix for decision making to support the institution to take timely decisions.