Abu Dhabi University’s Office of Academic Integrity achieves record drops in academic violations

With Abu Dhabi University recognized as the only university in the UAE to have received institutional recognition and international academic accreditation from the “Western Association of Schools and Colleges: Senior College and University Commission –WSCUC”, ensuring the quality and integrity of its graduates continues to be one of the University’s primary goals. Since its inception in 2009, ADU’s Office of Academic Integrity (OAI) has achieved dramatic drops in the number of academic violations on both Abu Dhabi and Al Ain campuses from 334 cases in 2009-2010 to 30 cases in 2015 -2016.

Commenting on this significant achievement, Dr. Hamdi Al Sheibani Head of the Office of Academic Integrity (OAI) explained that eliminating academic misconduct has been an integral part of the University strategic plans, and its efforts in ensuring the quality and reputation of its graduates and their international integrity were bolstered with the OAI’s inception in 2009. “The Office of Academic integrity has always implemented clear policies and regulations that regulate and respond to academic violations, including the declaration of different sanctions that depend on the severity and type of violation, which in some cases could lead to dismissals as the sanction for the most egregious type of academic integrity violation. These rules mainly aim to instill the values and principles of personal and academic integrity, and professional transparency in our students, ensuring that upon graduation employers are  assured that their future hire earned his/or her degree through hard and honest work; a quality valued by prestigious organizations world-wide”, said Al Sheibani.

He pointed out that cases of academic violations dropped in the pasts year 2015 -2016 to 9% compared to the previously recorded 30% during the 2011 -2012 academic year.  “Cheating violations have decreased from 76 cases during the academic year 2009 -2010 to only 14 cases in the 2015 -2016 academic year. Interestingly, the incidents of plagiarism which is by far the most common type of academic integrity violation have declined from 196 cases in 2009 -2010 to only 14 cases in 2015 -2016.  When compared to worldwide trends, these reduced instances of violations of academic integrity can be considered record-setting, especially if we take into account research and surveys conducted by the International Center for Academic Integrity at Clemson University that state that 71,300 undergraduate university students and 17,000 graduate students admit to cheating in some form during the past 12 years”, added Al Sheibani.

Every new semester, ADU’s Office of Academic Integrity organizes several educational workshops, awareness campaigns and visits to lecture halls and classrooms on both University campuses, to educate newly admitted students and remind returning students of the policies of academic integrity, as well as the violations they might commit if unaware of the penalties that result from them.