We are pleased to announce the creation of an Office of Academic Integrity under the Office of the Deputy Provost and Dean of Faculty. This central office will streamline how we adjudicate academic integrity cases, emphasizing consistency and fairness across AU. In addition to university-wide work on graduate and undergraduate cases, the office will also lead the continued work of revising the university’s Academic Integrity Code.

This new office was originally recommended by a university-wide working group as a way to ensure consistent processes and outcomes across units and as part of a larger plan to revise our policies. In November 2019, following extensive discussions, the Faculty Senate approved a resolution “to establish a campus-wide Office of Academic Integrity [to]…manage all AIC cases, including related record-keeping, and coordinate AIC-related teaching and learning support for faculty, staff, and students across the university.” As you will understand, we put this effort on hold during the pandemic.

The evolution of our process for administering AIC cases advances our Plan for Inclusive Excellence by creating a greater focus on fairness, consistency, and equity. In addition, it will allow us to provide greater training and support to faculty and students in the context of new technologies, especially as we develop updated policy. 

We are fortunate that Alison Thomas, Hurst Senior Professorial Lecturer in the College of Arts and Sciences, has agreed to take on the new role of Assistant Dean for Academic Integrity as of July 1, 2023. Since 2015, Professor Thomas has served as Academic Integrity Code Administrator in CAS. She has been leading the ongoing revision of our Academic Integrity Code and has provided university-wide support on AIC issues.

The Office of Academic Integrity will work in close collaboration with the academic units and will require the involvement of faculty, staff, and students from across campus. It will also draw on the expertise of unit specialists as needed throughout the adjudication process. The office will begin taking cases on August 1. While the office will collaborate with colleagues in the Washington College of Law, the adjudication of cases and the honor code policies at WCL will remain under the jurisdiction of the law school.

Please join me in congratulating Alison on her new role. We look forward to working together with all of you to create an even more robust culture of academic integrity at AU!