Code of Academic Integrity
of the National Aerospace University
“Kharkiv Aviation Institute”
Approved by:
the Academic Council
of the National Aerospace University
“Kharkiv Aviation Institute”
Protocol No. 1 dated 23 August 2023
Enacted by: Order No. 187 dated 24.08.2023
СУЯ ХАІ-НМВ-К/001:2023
Effective date: “01” September 2023
Revision No.1
1. General Provisions
1.1. The Code of Academic Integrity (hereinafter referred to as the Code) of the National Aerospace University “Kharkiv Aviation Institute” (hereinafter referred to as the University) has been developed on the basis of the Laws of Ukraine “On Education”, “On Higher Education”, “On Scientific and Scientific and Technical Activity”, “On Copyright and Related Rights”, the “Methodological Recommendations for Higher Education Institutions on Supporting the Principles of Academic Integrity” contained in the letter of the Ministry of Education and Science of Ukraine No. 1/9-650 dated 23 October 2018, the “Recommendations for Higher Education Institutions on the Development and Implementation of a University System for Ensuring Academic Integrity”, approved by the Decision of the National Agency for Higher Education Quality Assurance dated 29 October 2019, Minutes No. 11, as well as on the basis of the Charter and the Code of Ethical Conduct of the University, taking into account the Regulations on Academic Integrity of the University, and defines internationally recognized standards for educational and scientific activities carried out by higher education students and University staff in compliance with fundamental moral and legal norms of academic conduct.
1.2. The Code of Academic Integrity, together with other regulatory documents of the University concerning the organization of the educational process, scientific activity, ethical conduct, and academic integrity, forms part of the internal quality assurance system of educational activities and higher education and contains a set of principles and values whose observance by members of the university community (all staff involved in educational and scientific processes and students) is mandatory both within and outside the University.
1.3. The purpose of the Code of Academic Integrity is to:
- ensure the quality of educational activities and higher education at the University;
- form academic values and a high level of academic culture among participants in the educational process;
- promote moral values, social engagement, and responsibility among participants in the educational process;
- ensure appropriate conditions for participants in the educational process to realize their abilities and talents;
- develop the right of participants in the educational process to academic freedom and the right of the University to institutional autonomy;
- enhance the positive image and business reputation of the University in the national and European educational space.
1.4. The general moral principles that members of the university community shall adhere to include:
- honesty – rejection of any forms of deception, lying, fraud, theft, or other dishonest behavior in educational and scientific activities; honest and open conduct that does not allow knowingly false statements;
- fairness – impartial treatment of participants in the educational process, objective, transparent, and independent assessment of learning and research outcomes;
- trust – the existence of an atmosphere of mutual trust within the university environment that encourages free exchange of ideas and information, promotes cooperation and creativity, free generation of new ideas, and prevents appropriation of others’ results and damage to the reputation of participants in the educational process;
- respect – respect for oneself and others regardless of age, gender, or status, understanding of diverse and sometimes opposing views and ideas, and avoidance of abuse of authority by elected or appointed representatives of the university community;
- competence and professionalism – maintenance of the highest level of competence in work and study, continuous professional and academic development of higher education students and University staff as an implementation of the principle “from education for life to lifelong learning”;
- partnership – focus on cooperation and partnership to improve the quality of educational and research outcomes, resistance to any forms of discrimination, misconduct, or negative influence by others;
- responsibility – conscientious fulfillment of obligations, resistance to discrimination and misconduct, and the ability to take responsibility for the results of one’s activities;
- transparency and information openness – provision of information related to the educational and research activities of the University to participants in the educational process, except for information restricted by law;
- legality – compliance by participants in the educational process with current legislation of Ukraine, including internal regulations of the University, and encouragement of others to do so.
Compliance with the above principles shall be a matter of integrity for all members of the university community without exception. Violations of academic integrity, moral rules, and ethical norms not only damage the reputation of the University but also diminish the value of educational and scientific degrees awarded by the University. Responsibility for adherence to academic integrity values is both a personal obligation of each individual and a shared responsibility of the university community as a whole.
1.5. In this Code of Academic Integrity, the terms are used in the following meanings:
- academic integrity – a set of ethical principles and rules defined by the Laws of Ukraine “On Education”, “On Higher Education”, and “On Scientific and Scientific and Technical Activity” that must be followed by all students, teachers, and researchers of the University during learning, teaching, and scientific (creative) activities to ensure trust in learning outcomes and/or scientific (creative) achievements;
- academic culture – a system of values, norms, rules, behavioral patterns, and principles of communication regulating the activities of participants in the educational process and defining relationships among them and with the external environment in education and science;
- academic freedom – independence and autonomy of participants in the educational process in carrying out academic, scientific, and/or innovative activities based on freedom of speech, thought, and creativity, dissemination of knowledge and information, and free publication and use of research results subject to legal limitations;
- research ethics – a set of norms and rules of conduct recognized by the global academic community for individuals engaged in scientific, scientific and technical, and academic activities;
- university community – academic, academic and teaching, and teaching staff; higher education students and other learners; practitioners involved in educational activities; and other staff involved in educational and research activities of the University;
- quality of higher education – compliance of learning outcomes with legislative requirements and relevant higher education standards;
- quality of educational activity – the level of organization of the educational process in a higher education institution that meets higher education standards, ensures quality higher education, and contributes to the creation of new knowledge.
1.6. In ensuring academic integrity, the University publishes on its official website:
- regulatory documents on academic integrity;
- methodological, informational, and educational materials on compliance with and promotion of academic integrity;
- organizational and administrative documents establishing relevant bodies for academic integrity, their work plans, and minutes related to academic integrity issues.
1.7. From the moment this Code of Academic Integrity is approved, all previously adopted University regulations on academic integrity (the Code of Ethical Conduct and the Regulations on Academic Integrity) shall apply insofar as they do not contradict this Code.
2. Rules of Academic Integrity of the University
2.1. Compliance with academic integrity in the educational process provides for:
2.1.1. On the part of academic, teaching and research staff of the University, in accordance with Part 5 of Article 42 of the Law of Ukraine “On Education”:
- compliance with the provisions of the University Code of Ethical Conduct;
- high-quality preparation for classes and practical activities, in particular taking into account individual needs and capabilities of persons with special educational needs when developing assignments;
- continuous improvement of their general, professional and personal competencies in the field of preventing manifestations of academic dishonesty;
- promotion of preservation, development and popularization of the educational and scientific traditions and values of the University;
- preparation of scientific publications and author’s methodological materials demonstrating academic literacy, with due regard to scientific achievements of other authors on the relevant topic and the use of official and reliable information;
- facilitation of prevention and elimination of various types of violations in educational, teaching, research and other activities, and intolerance to such violations;
- respect for academic achievements of other researchers, proper referencing of information sources when using ideas, developments, statements, data, etc. previously developed or expressed by others;
- compliance with legislation on copyright and related rights;
- provision of reliable information on research methodologies and results, sources of information used, and their own academic, teaching and research activities;
- monitoring compliance with academic integrity by students;
- objective assessment of learning outcomes.
2.1.2. Compliance with academic integrity in the educational process on the part of students of the University, in accordance with Part 6 of Article 42 of the Law of Ukraine “On Education”, provides for:
- compliance with the provisions of the University Code of Ethical Conduct;
- independent completion of academic assignments, tasks for current and final assessment of learning outcomes, except for cases involving group work (for persons with special educational needs, this requirement is applied taking into account their individual needs and capabilities);
- promotion of preservation, development and popularization of the educational and scientific traditions and values of the University;
- facilitation of prevention and elimination of various types of violations in educational, teaching, research and other activities, and intolerance to such violations;
- compliance with legislation on copyright and related rights;
- referencing information sources when using ideas, developments, statements, data, etc. previously developed or expressed by others;
- provision of reliable information on the results of their own educational (scientific, creative) activities, applied research methodologies and sources of information.
2.2. Compliance with academic integrity in scientific activity by all participants of the educational process provides for:
- promotion of dissemination of scientific knowledge and counteraction to the spread of pseudoscientific theories, false concepts and misconceptions;
- responsibility for the consequences of one’s scientific activity, prevention of obtaining results that contradict the principles of academic integrity and may cause harm;
- compliance with the highest professional standards of planning and conducting scientific research;
- ensuring principled honesty and transparency at all stages of scientific research, inadmissibility of dishonest behavior, decisive exposure of facts of plagiarism and other forms of copyright infringement;
- personal responsibility for fair and objective assessment of academic papers, course papers, qualification works and dissertations;
- protection of freedom of scientific thought and condemnation of censorship of scientific creativity.
2.3. Violations of academic integrity (academic dishonesty) in educational and research activities of students and employees of the University include:
- academic plagiarism – disclosure (in part or in full) of scientific (creative) results obtained by other persons as the results of one’s own research (creativity) and/or reproduction of published texts (published works of art) of other authors without attribution;
- academic fraud – use of prohibited auxiliary materials or technical devices during assessment activities (cheat sheets, micro-earpieces, phones, tablets, etc.), participation in knowledge assessment procedures by proxy persons, purchase or receipt of commissioned academic texts from other persons and submission thereof as one’s own educational and/or scientific results, forgery of signatures in official documents (records, reports, acts, contracts, etc.), references to sources not used in the work, submission of identical works by different persons;
- self-plagiarism – disclosure (in part or in full) of one’s own previously published scientific results as new scientific results (self-plagiarism does not include textual overlaps in abstracts and articles published based on conference proceedings, as well as textual overlaps that do not contain the author’s scientific results and relate to the description of the state of the research field and known results of other authors; such prior results of the author do not require references to previous publications);
- fabrication – invention of data or facts used in the educational process or scientific research;
- falsification – deliberate alteration or modification of existing data related to the educational process or scientific research;
- deception – provision of knowingly false information regarding one’s own educational (scientific, creative) activities or the organization of the educational process; forms of deception include, in particular, academic plagiarism, self-plagiarism, fabrication, falsification and cheating, simulation of deterioration of health or illness in order to avoid assessment activities, obtaining copies of examination tickets, questions or tasks before the start of assessment activities;
- bribery – offering, giving, receiving or soliciting money, property, services, benefits or any other material or non-material advantages by a participant of the educational process for the purpose of obtaining an undue advantage in the educational process, including forced charitable contributions;
- biased assessment – deliberate overestimation or underestimation of students’ learning outcomes;
- biased treatment of students – providing assistance or creating obstacles for students during assessment of learning outcomes that are not предусмотрено by the conditions and/or procedures of such assessment;
- unlawful influence on instructors – influence in any form (request, persuasion, instruction, threat, coercion, etc.) on a teaching or academic staff member of the University with the aim of obtaining biased assessment of learning outcomes.
2.4. Any academic dishonesty at the University is inadmissible (including, but not limited to, theft, bribery, purchase and sale of works, presentation of works of other authors as one’s own, unjustified co-authorship, cheating during examinations and other dishonest behavior).
2.5. All participants of the educational process of the University are obliged to:
- comply with the rules of academic integrity;
- respect human rights and freedoms, honor, dignity and personal integrity regardless of gender, age, financial status, social status, race, religious or political beliefs;
- not disseminate and prevent dissemination of unverified information, including false information, information presented with distortion of facts, defamatory information, or information that offends individuals or may damage the reputation of the University;
- promote the establishment and development of partnership relations between academic staff and students, maintain an atmosphere of trust, responsibility and mutual assistance;
- recognize the creative contribution of each author in collective research, and not include in the list of authors persons who did not contribute to obtaining scientific results;
- arrive on time for all scheduled University events and classes and not leave them prematurely;
- adhere to the principles of secularism and religious tolerance in the educational process;
- not use artificial intelligence systems to create academic assignments, qualification (thesis) works, scientific or other works on their own behalf;
- prevent conflicts of interest in their activities, understood as a contradiction between personal interests of a member of the university community and their official or academic duties that may affect objectivity or impartiality of decision-making and harm the reputation of the University, including direct or indirect receipt of gifts or services in exchange for certain actions or decisions;
- promote Ukrainian patriotism and respect for the Constitution and state symbols of Ukraine, respect cultural values, historical and cultural heritage and traditions of the Ukrainian nation, academic traditions of the University, communicate in the state language within the University environment, and care for the culture of one’s own language and that of students or colleagues;
- respect the opinions of other University employees and students, and be able to conduct discussions while reasonably defending one’s point of view.
2.6. Each participant of the educational process has the right and obligation to respond to violations or attempts to violate the principles and rules of academic integrity by others, in particular to:
- indicate to participants of the educational process the inadmissibility of dishonest behavior in educational, scientific and professional activities;
- inform the University administration, faculties/departments or student self-government bodies, including in writing, about violations of academic integrity rules;
- apply to the University bodies responsible for ensuring academic integrity or to officials vested with specific powers in this field to review violations of academic integrity and hold responsible participants of the educational process accountable.
2.7. Any participant of the educational process who has witnessed or has reasonable grounds to believe that a violation specified in this Code has occurred has the right to submit a complaint (notification) addressed to the Chair of the Academic Integrity Commission or to an official authorized to apply the provisions of this Code and the Regulations on Academic Integrity and empowered to impose academic liability. Anonymous reports of violations of academic integrity are not considered.
3. University Academic Integrity Policy
3.1. The University ensures the implementation of a set of measures aimed at guaranteeing compliance with the principles of academic integrity, moral rules and ethical standards by all participants in the educational process and counteracting any manifestations of academic dishonesty. The action plan is approved annually by the Academic Council of the University.
3.2. Academic integrity at the University is ensured by:
- creation and continuous improvement of the regulatory framework governing academic integrity at the University;
- activities of the University bodies responsible for ensuring academic integrity, in particular the Academic Integrity Commission and the University Academic Integrity Support Group;
- performance by employees of their official duties related to ensuring academic integrity by all participants of the educational process at the University;
- ensuring compliance with academic integrity at all institutional levels of quality assurance:
· educational program level,
· department level,
· faculty or other educational, research and/or scientific structural unit level,
· university-wide level;
- establishing special academic integrity requirements for different groups of specialties and educational programs (engineering and mechanical, computer science, economic, humanities, etc.), as well as for different types of educational and scientific works (course papers, tests, qualification (thesis) works, dissertations, articles, monographs, etc.);
- operation of the system for prevention and detection of academic plagiarism at the University, use and further development of technologies for checking students’ and academic staff’s works for plagiarism, mandatory plagiarism checks of qualification works of students, dissertation manuscripts, scientific, educational and methodological literature;
- strengthening measures to combat cheating by students during completion of various types of assignments;
- counteraction to any attempts to obtain undue benefits;
- inclusion of an academic integrity section in educational programs for higher education students, introduction of introductory or elective courses on the basics of academic writing and research;
- informing via the official University website about measures aimed at ensuring compliance with the principles and rules of academic integrity and preventing corruption, establishment and maintenance of publicly accessible informative web pages (faculty, department, student self-government bodies, etc.) containing recommendations on academic integrity and academic writing quality, information on adopted citation standards and examples of identified manifestations of academic dishonesty;
- conducting trainings, lectures, seminars and other events for participants of the educational process to encourage ethical behavior and foster respect for human dignity, non-discrimination and human rights, moral values, academic culture and skills for counteracting academic dishonesty;
- annual surveys of academic and research staff and higher education students on academic integrity issues;
- online communication with participants of the educational and scientific process regarding dishonest behavior, including through reporting mailboxes for academic integrity violations;
- formation of conditions for the development of mutual trust, respect and partnership among participants of the educational process;
- study of the experience of national and international higher education institutions in implementing academic integrity principles in the educational environment.
3.3. All qualification (thesis) works of higher education students of the University, as well as all monographs, dissertations for the degree of Doctor of Sciences or Doctor of Philosophy submitted for defense to specialized academic councils of the University, scientific, educational and methodological works, scientific articles, manuals and other works planned for publication in the University’s professional scientific journals or other publications are subject to plagiarism review to ensure control over compliance with academic integrity.
Other educational, control and course written works of higher education students may also be subject to plagiarism review if provided for by the educational program. Works are checked using specialized software tools based on cooperation agreements in the field of plagiarism detection.
The instructor is responsible for checking course papers (projects) and other types of written works for violations of academic integrity within the educational components taught by the instructor.
3.4. Issues related to compliance with academic integrity principles, moral rules and ethical standards are considered at least once a year at meetings of the Academic Council of the University and faculties, the Scientific and Technical Council of the University, as well as meetings of the Scientific Society of Students, Postgraduate Students, Doctoral Candidates and Young Scientists, editorial boards of scientific journals published by the University, department meetings and student self-government bodies.
3.5. Academic liability of higher education students for violations of academic integrity may include:
- receiving an unsatisfactory grade for the results of an assessment in cases of academic plagiarism, self-plagiarism, fabrication, falsification or academic fraud;
- repeated assessment (test, examination, credit, etc.) in cases of academic fraud during completion of work, including cheating or unauthorized collaboration, as well as unlawful influence on instructors aimed at obtaining biased assessment of learning outcomes;
- repeated completion of the relevant educational component of the educational program in cases of academic plagiarism, self-plagiarism, fabrication, falsification during preparation of scientific works, internships and internship reports, as well as academic fraud in document preparation;
- deprivation of an academic scholarship where such scholarship was awarded based on learning outcomes obtained with violations of academic integrity;
- deprivation of benefits granted in accordance with established procedure for tuition fee payment or dormitory accommodation in cases of deception, bribery or unauthorized collaboration;
- expulsion from the University in cases of academic plagiarism in a qualification (thesis) work, as well as bribery.
3.6. Academic and disciplinary liability of academic staff for violations of academic integrity, depending on the severity of the violation, may include:
- refusal to award an academic degree or confer an academic title in cases of academic plagiarism, self-plagiarism, fabrication or falsification;
- revocation of an awarded educational or scientific degree or conferred academic title in cases where the fact of academic plagiarism, self-plagiarism, fabrication or falsification is established;
- reprimand in cases of humiliation of human dignity or discrimination against any participant of the educational process, violation of human rights, unauthorized collaboration, provision of assistance to students during assessment or creation of obstacles not предусмотрено by the conditions and/or procedures of such assessment;
- dismissal in cases of bribery, repeated violations of academic integrity rules indicating systematic failure to perform official duties, or a single violation that caused significant damage to the reputation of the University and constitutes an immoral offense incompatible with continuation of work.
3.7. Detailed regulation and procedures for imposing academic liability are defined in the Regulations on the Academic Integrity Commission.
4. Bodies Responsible for Ensuring Academic Integrity
4.1. Academic integrity issues are a mandatory component of the activities of all structural units, services and bodies of the University whose functions and tasks are related to the educational process and scientific activity. These issues constitute the main task and core function of specially established working bodies of the University, namely the Academic Integrity Commission and the Academic Integrity Support Group.
4.2. Management and coordination of the process of ensuring academic integrity at the university-wide level are carried out by the Rector and, upon the Rector’s instruction, by the Vice-Rectors for Academic and Research Activities, who coordinate the activities of the Academic Integrity Support Group. The tasks, functions, procedure for organizing the work of the Academic Integrity Support Group, its structure and the procedure for interaction with other structural units of the University are defined in the Regulations on the Academic Integrity Support Group.
4.3. The Academic Integrity Commission has the authority to review cases and submit proposals to the Rector of the University regarding the imposition of academic liability for violations of academic integrity by students and employees of the University. The Commission is established and operates in accordance with the Code of Ethical Conduct and the Regulations on Academic Integrity of the University. The tasks, functions, procedure for organizing the work of the Academic Integrity Commission, its interaction with other officials, relevant rights and limits of responsibility are defined in the Regulations on the Commission.
4.4. The Academic Integrity Commission is a working body of the University responsible for performing control functions related to compliance with academic integrity at the University and is vested with the authority to detect, establish and review facts of academic integrity violations; to review appeals against decisions of officials authorized to apply the provisions of this Code and the Regulations on Academic Integrity and to impose academic liability; as well as to submit proposals to the University management regarding the adoption/approval of decisions on the type of academic liability to be applied to persons who violate academic integrity norms.
Authority to detect and establish facts of academic integrity violations is also vested in University officials in accordance with the Regulations on the Academic Integrity Commission and Section 5 of the Regulations on Academic Integrity of the University “Decision on Establishing the Fact of an Academic Integrity Violation and Imposition of Academic Liability on a Student.”
If an instructor, supervisor of a qualification (thesis) work, Head of Department, Dean of a Faculty, Head of a structural unit or Vice-Rector is not authorized to decide on the imposition of certain types of academic liability, they submit a petition to the Academic Integrity Commission or to the Rector of the University requesting the application or approval of the relevant type of academic liability for the offender.
4.5. Management of the process of ensuring academic integrity in the educational activities of the University and informing higher education students and employees of the University about the inadmissibility of academic integrity violations, as well as implementation of measures to prevent manifestations of academic dishonesty, are carried out:
- with regard to compliance with academic integrity principles by higher education students at the first and second levels of higher education – by the Academic and Methodological Department, Deans, Heads of Departments, Educational Program Guarantors and academic group curators;
- with regard to compliance with academic integrity principles by higher education students at the third and fourth levels of higher education – by the University’s Postgraduate and Doctoral Studies Department and research supervisors.
4.6. Management of compliance with academic integrity principles in all areas of scientific activity is carried out by the Vice-Rector for Research, in particular in the following areas:
- activities of the University’s scientific journals;
- organization and conduct of university scientific, scientific-methodological and other events (conferences, seminars, etc.);
- conduct of dissertation defenses for academic degrees;
- protection of intellectual property rights;
- performance of research projects funded from the state and/or local budgets.
Control functions are exercised by the relevant structural units subordinated to the Vice-Rector for Research.
4.7. Promotion of academic integrity principles, informing higher education students about the inadmissibility of violations of academic integrity principles and implementation of measures to prevent manifestations of academic dishonesty are also carried out on an ongoing basis by student self-government bodies and the primary trade union organization of the University, as well as by the Scientific Society of Students, Postgraduate Students, Doctoral Candidates and Young Scientists of the University.
4.8. The Scientific and Technical Library of the University is responsible for information and technological activities related to the promotion of academic integrity principles, fundamentals of information literacy and work with databases.
5. Final Provisions
5.1. The Code of Academic Integrity is adopted by the Academic Council of the University and enters into force upon issuance of the Rector’s order.
5.2. Amendments and/or additions to this Code shall be introduced in accordance with the procedure established for its adoption.