An Exploratory Study of Senior Computing UK Academic Faculty Perspectives on Academic Integrity and Student Cheating

The expansion of essay mills and the recent emerging opportunities presented by generative Artificial Intelligence tools have led to fresh concerns about the authenticity of students' assessed work. These changes mean it is timely to revisit academic integrity within the UK Higher Education computing community. The aim of this research is to explore the current perspectives of senior computing academics on academic integrity and student cheating, particularly given the rapid development of generative AI tools and resources and the growth in essay mills. An exploratory research approach was adopted using a mixed methods approach. A critical literature review was undertaken and this together with the researcher team's expertise was used to underpin the design of the practical research activities. A survey was conducted of UK higher education senior academics (response rate, <tex xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink">$\mathrm{n}=16$</tex>). The results from this informed a set of in-depth individual semistructured interviews with senior UK computing academics <tex xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink">$(\mathrm{n}=5)$</tex>. Descriptive statistics were used to analyse the quantitative survey data and exploratory thematic analysis undertaken with the qualitative data from the survey and interviews. Methodological triangulation was used across these data sets to inform the key findings and their interpretation and discussion. The findings demonstrate that senior computing academics are concerned about the levels and types of student cheating on their assessed work. The reasons for this are complex and multifaceted, with no simple solution. Academic misconduct is perceived to adversely affect academic standards. Challenges with the detection and investigation of student cheating and the need to ensure consistency of approach by all staff are highlighted. Action is needed urgently and respondents emphasize that this should focus on prevention rather than detection of academic misconduct. These findings have informed a set of recommendations to promote good academic practice and integrity across the UK Higher Education computing community. The findings also highlight that in order to implement these recommendations, staff, students and their departments/institutions need to come together and draw on each others' expertise and experiences to enable a high-quality ethical learning experience.