Academic violations down 80% at varsity
abu dhabi — Academic violations have reduced by over 80 per cent at the Abu Dhabi University (ADU) in seven years, the varsity’s office of academic integrity (OAI) has announced.
The university had seen 334 academic violations in the 20092010 year, which has reduced to just 60 in 2016-2017 “despite the sizeable increase in the number of students”, said the OAI.
“There were no registered cases of data fabrication, falsifying credentials or free riding this year,” the OAI said in a Press statement.
Dr Hamdi Al Sheibani, director of the OAI, said one of the many reasons that enabled the ADU to succeed in achieving international accreditation was the “seamless implementation of effective academic integrity policies across our campuses”.
“Such policies align with the UAE’s national agenda on education and go a long way in promoting transparency, ensuring the quality of education and integrity of our graduates,” said Dr Al Sheibani.
He noted that the “exceptional results the ADU achieved in minimising academic violations” have contributed to boosting the reputation of higher education in the UAE. “Such achievements are increasingly driving the UAE’s emergence as an appealing destination for world-class higher education,” he added.
The OAI managed to reduce the instances of plagiarism from 196 in the academic year of 2009-10 to just 11 in 2016-17. Similarly, cases of collusion dropped from 41 in 2009-10 to just six in 2016-17.
Dr Sheibani stressed the importance of raising student awareness on the various types of academic violations.
“This awareness could provide a basis for scientific research, improve higher education outcomes and protect intellectual property rights.”
In addition to issuing a complete report on academic violations every year, the OAI organises awareness workshops, seminars, and training sessions for students to discuss best practices in academia and also ways to avoid academic violations.
The ADU’s learning community brings together 7,000 students from more than 70 nationalities. The university offers 44 academic programmes — 29 for undergraduate and 15 for postgraduate students.
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