SumDU introduces the best practices of academic integrity

At the end of 2020, Sumy State University joined the new project of the American Councils for International Education “Academic Integrity and Quality Initiative - Academic IQ”.

The purpose of the project is to form a new academic culture. The project will have four main areas of activity: educational campaign, practical training course, dissemination of international practices in Ukrainian universities, work on the regulatory framework and mechanisms. The main attention will be focused on the development and implementation of tools for internal institutional analysis of HEIs; training of the representatives of the centers of internal quality assurance of education methods of data analysis and management decisions based on the analyzed information to strengthen the culture of academic integrity.

During the first stage of the project, from December 1^st, 2020 to February 5^th, 2021, it is planned to conduct a survey of teachers and students of 60 universities of Ukraine regarding the practices of academic integrity. The survey organizers will then provide information on the results to each university for thorough analysis.

Adherence to the principles of academic integrity by all participants in the educational process is the key to quality learning outcomes and competitiveness in the labor market. Sumy State University pays considerable attention to the development of academic culture and the development of appropriate institutional support.

Particular attention is focused on teaching students academic writing, working with sources of information and citations. First-year students take the courses of "Fundamentals of Information Culture" and "Fundamentals of Academic Writing". The university regularly conducts specialized seminars, training, and webinars for students, teachers, and researchers on digital scientific tools, resources, copyright, data handling, and specialized software. In addition, everyone has access to thematic guides for researchers on the library's website, which is constantly updated. SumDU Library also provides relevant consultations online via web-chat.