Academic integrity events and the perceptions of online nurse practitioner faculty: A mixed-methods survey

BACKGROUND: During restorative justice conferencing, post conferencing instructor surveys of online nurse practitioner (NP) instructors indicated many emotional and cognitive responses when discussing academic integrity events with students. PURPOSE: The current literature has not explored the perceptions of online NP faculty when dealing with academic integrity events. This study was designed to explore the effect of academic integrity events on professional morale, view of students, and the perception of teaching as a profession. METHODOLOGY: A mixed-methods survey was sent to instructors currently teaching in an online NP program. The 14 quantitative questions were proposed in a Likert scale format and analyzed for hierarchical themes. The three open-ended qualitative responses were analyzed for common nodes of expression. RESULTS: Instructors reported no control over the prevalence of academic misconduct and expressed lack of confidence in handling academic misconduct conversations. Strong emotional responses occurred when submitting academic misconduct events for institutional review. Initial feelings were disappointment, shock, frustration, and annoyance with the additional duties. Instructors described the anticipation and apprehension of students' reactions while trying to care for students and addressing the event. CONCLUSIONS: Online NP faculty experience role strain and distress when confronted with academic integrity events. In addition, the stressor of anticipating these high-stakes conversations compounded the feelings of inadequacy in conducting these discussions with students. IMPLICATIONS: These perceptions point to the need for educational institutions to provide practical support to online NP instructors regarding high stake conversation skills and resiliency in the face of academic events.