It was an awesome experience hosting our first ever “Debate Night On: Academic Integrity” on March 7th. The turnout and enthusiasm of the students who participate really blew us away. From the start of “The Academic Integrity Project” in August when we were just an idea on a piece of paper. To then have two well-accomplished professors from either side of the country take time out of their busy schedules, help moderate our debate and share the same intrigue on academic integrity was fantastic!
For those that missed the debate here are the Top 5 Quotes From the Night.
1️⃣ “Students feel pressure to take shortcuts.”
2️⃣ “I definitely think mental health challenges are the root cause of a lot of instances of academic dishonestly.”
3️⃣ “The student vs instructors mentality is dangerous.”
4️⃣ “The rules don’t change the adherence to the rules changed”
5️⃣ “There isn’t enough research on academic integrity and mental health in Canada.”
Exercise
If you missed the debate but wanted to participate, feel free to elaborate on some of these quotes with your own opinions. When you are done, you can leave a comment below and we will reply with our own comments. 😁
We would like to send a special thank you to both Dr. Kathleen Fortune & Dr. Sarah Eaton who took time out of their day to help us. We Are Forever Grateful 💙
Come and join us on a fun event 🥳 where you get to voice 🗣 your perspectives as a student on important topics with your peers and faculty members about academic integrity, student wellness, mental health and more!
Special Guests Featured:
Dr. Kathleen Fortune, Assistant Professor in the Department of Psychology and Co-chair of the CEAS Subcommittee on Panel Hearings on Academic Honesty at the Faculty of Health, York University.
Dr. Sarah Eaton, Associate Professor at the Werklund School of Education, University of Calgary and Educational Leader in Residence for Academic Integrity, at the Taylor Institute of Teaching and Learning.
Students and faculty members🧑🎓are both welcome to join!
Join in for an opportunity to win a $25 Gift Card 🤑 of your choice as well!
Academic Wellness is a new term defined by The Academic Wellness Project (TAWP). It is a multifaceted concept encompassing two important topics; academic integrity and mental health.
Academic Wellness
/akəˈdɛmɪk/ – /ˈwɛlnəs/
Noun
The ability to successfully face academic challenges around academic integrity and mental wellbeing.
What is the motivation behind Academic Wellness?🤔
Mental health influences many parts of an individual’s life. For students, that also includes parts of their lives relating to academia. Similarly, students’ progress in academia also influences one’s mental health. This is the relationship The Academic Wellness Project addresses. 🔗
There are many challenges ✋⛔️ that students may face in their academic journey.
Some examples include challenges around time management, transitioning and adapting to university and its demands, mental health, physical health, relationships, budgeting and financing, and effective studying.
The COVID-19 pandemic exaggerated these challenges and also introduced new challenges to both students and instructors. Students had to adapt to ongoing instructional and assessment changes triggered by the COVID-19 pandemic, such as the ongoing shifts between remote learning and in-person learning, and everything in between.
Academic integrity specifically is a crucial point whose misconduct may prevent students from continuing their education or negatively impact their education and career choices as a consequence. Academic misconduct may also negatively students’ mental health in terms of stress, anxiety, depression, self-esteem and perceptions, and much more.
For these reasons, TAWP highlights that it is important for student affairs professionals and administrators to not only acknowledge the importance of academic integrity and mental wellbeing, but also the stem of current issues around academic wellness.
Visit the Resource Hub for resources that you can and stay tuned for TAWP’s next upcoming projects!
This month has been amazing for TAWP. In 20 days, we were able to achieve 100 followers on our page and the feedback we are getting from our small but growing community has been very positive. We currently have multiple exciting projects in the works that we will be releasing in the coming months.
After our launch on January 10, our team came to the realization that Instagram was not sufficient as the ONLY outlet to display our research.
