University System of Maryland Becomes First System-wide Member of International Center for Academic Integrity
Baltimore, Md. (Oct. 2, 2020) -- Following an agreement between the University System of Maryland (USM) and the International Center for Academic Integrity (ICAI), USM became the first system-wide member of ICAI. This partnership brings the expertise and the benefits of a world-wide group of academic integrity experts to raise the profile of academic integrity efforts across all 12 institutions in the system.
“We are delighted to be the very first System member of ICAI,” said Dr. Joann A. Boughman, Senior Vice Chancellor for Academic and Student Affairs for USM. “We have been working with our institutions as they do the important work of creating cultures of academic integrity that reflect their respective academic contexts and traditions. Partnering with ICAI will allow us to go to the next level in terms of leadership development, data collection, and more.”
The agreement, which took effect in late summer, creates a host of benefits for the USM, including access to the online resources as well as custom webinars developed specifically at the System level to engage USM institutions collectively. Selected faculty, staff, and administrators from each campus also will receive discounts to engage in ICAI’s online courses and its regional and annual conferences.
“We are excited to partner with USM and demonstrate the value of a system-wide approach to academic integrity,” said Camilla Roberts, PhD, ICAI President and Director of the Honor and Integrity System at Kansas State University in Manhattan, Kan.
The two organizations are already off to a strong start. On October 2, ICAI conducted a system-wide webinar introducing the concepts and practices of academic integrity, titled Responding to Academic Integrity Concerns: What Can Faculty Do. In addition, planning is already underway for USM and University of Maryland Global Campus (UMGC), a fully online institution within the system, to co-host the virtual ICAI Mid-Atlantic Regional Conference on February 3-4, 2021.
“With the advent of COVID-19, many universities are looking much more closely at how the online environment can promote academic integrity as institutions support the academic success of faculty and students in that setting,” said Roberts. “UMGC in particular has been a forerunner in promoting academic integrity in online learning.”
The ICAI partnership with USM is a homecoming of sorts. In 1992, Donald McCabe, PhD, a professor at Rutgers University, hosted a conference to discuss the results of his 1990 survey of academic integrity at 31 schools. Six volunteers, including McCabe and Gary Pavela of the University of Maryland, College Park, founded the Center for Academic Integrity (CAI) in October 1992, which was incorporated in the state of Maryland. McCabe became the first President and the other volunteers formed the Board of Directors. The first official Center for Academic Integrity Conference was held in March 1993 at the University of Maryland, College Park.
This group pioneered the concept of academic integrity when they examined levels of cheating in colleges. Their work created the academic integrity field. The Center, now ICAI, focused on combating cheating at the college level in those early years. The field has evolved since then and now focuses on how to create environments that foster a proactive culture of academic integrity, both at the course level and across the whole of an institution.
James Orr, PhD, Vice Provost for Academic Affairs and Strategic Enrollment at the University of Memphis, will be coordinating the USM partnership on behalf of ICAI. “Enhancing academic integrity is about enhancing trust—trust that faculty will be fair and impartial, that students will not cheat, and that a university degree conveys actual achievement,” he said. “ICAI is committed to helping USM and its 12 institutions build that trust with the communities they serve.”
Contact: Mike Lurie
Phone: 301.445.2719
Email: mlurie@usmd.edu
