Regulations on Academic Integrity
at the National Aerospace University
“Kharkiv Aviation Institute”
Approved by:
Academic Council
of the National Aerospace University
“Kharkiv Aviation Institute”
Protocol No. 13 dated June 20, 2019
СУЯ ХАІ-НМВ-П/004:2019
Effective date: June 21, 2019
Revision No. 1 (with amendments)
Amendments were made to Section 4 based on the decision of the University Academic Council dated January 22, 2020
1. General Provisions
1.1. The Regulations on Academic Integrity (hereinafter – the Regulations) at the National Aerospace University “Kharkiv Aviation Institute” (hereinafter – the University) establish the norms and rules of professional communication and behavior among participants in the educational process regarding issues of academic integrity.
1.2. These Regulations are developed in accordance with the Constitution of Ukraine; the Laws of Ukraine “On Education,” “On Higher Education,” “On Scientific and Scientific-Technical Activity,” “On Copyright and Related Rights,” “On Publishing,” “On Preventing Corruption”; the Civil Code of Ukraine; the University Charter; the University’s Internal Regulations; the Collective Agreement; and other regulatory legal acts of current Ukrainian legislation and internal university regulations.
1.3. The University’s academic community recognizes academic integrity as a fundamental value of the educational and scientific processes and is obliged to adhere to generally accepted norms of ethics and morality, standards in educational, research, and educational activities, respect the dignity of individuals working and studying at the University, maintain a system of democratic relations among all members of the university community, contribute to the improvement of the moral and psychological climate within the team, and direct its actions towards strengthening the authority and positive image of the University.
1.4. The system for ensuring academic integrity is an integral part of the University’s internal quality assurance system in higher education and includes:
1) Measures aimed at familiarizing students with the concept and requirements for completing written works;
2) Mechanisms for detecting violations of academic integrity by students;
3) Procedures for holding participants in the educational process accountable for academic integrity violations.
1.5. The requirements of these Regulations apply to all employees and students in the areas of educational, research, and educational activities and are mandatory for all participants in the University’s educational process.
1.6. These Regulations are published on the official University website.
2. Compliance with Academic Integrity
2.1. Participants in the educational process must adhere in their academic activities to generally accepted moral and ethical norms and rules of conduct, and specifically must:
- Independently complete educational assignments, tasks for current and final assessment of learning outcomes (for individuals with special educational needs, this requirement applies taking into account their individual needs and capabilities), except in cases where tasks are intended for group work;
- Cite sources of information when using ideas, developments, statements, or data from other authors;
- Comply with legislation on copyright and related rights;
- Provide accurate information about the results of their own educational (scientific, creative) activities, research methodologies used, and sources of information;
- Lecturers must monitor students’ compliance with academic integrity;
- Lecturers must objectively assess students’ learning outcomes.
3. Responsibility for Violations of Academic Integrity
3.1. A violation of academic integrity at the University is considered to include:
- Academic plagiarism – the publication (in whole or in part) of scientific results obtained by others as the results of one’s own research and/or the reproduction of published texts by other authors without proper attribution;
- Self-plagiarism – the publication (in whole or in part) of one’s previously published scientific results as new scientific results;
- Fabrication – the invention of data or facts used in the educational process or in scientific research;
- Falsification – the deliberate alteration or modification of existing data related to the educational process or scientific research;
- Cheating – completing written assignments using external sources of information not authorized for use, particularly during assessment of learning outcomes;
- Deception – providing knowingly false information regarding one’s own educational and/or scientific activities or the organization of the educational process; forms of deception include, in particular, academic plagiarism, self-plagiarism, fabrication, falsification, and cheating;
- Academic bribery – providing (or receiving), or offering to provide (or receive), money, property, services, privileges, or any other material or non-material benefits to obtain an unlawful advantage in the educational process;
- Unobjective assessment – deliberately inflating or deflating students’ grades;
- Academic fraud – forging signatures on official documents (grade books, reports, acts, agreements, etc.), or having proxy individuals complete procedures for knowledge assessment.
3.2. For violations of academic integrity, academic and research staff of the University may be held accountable in accordance with established procedures, including:
- Denial of awarding a scientific degree or academic title;
- Revocation of an awarded scientific degree or conferred academic title;
- Denial or revocation of a pedagogical title or qualification category;
- Loss of the right to participate in statutory bodies or occupy positions established by law.
3.3. For violations of academic integrity, students may be held accountable in accordance with established procedures, including:
- Retaking assessments (tests, exams, credits, etc.);
- Repeating the corresponding educational component of the study program;
- Expulsion from the University;
- Loss of an academic scholarship;
- Loss of tuition or other benefits provided by the University.
4. Procedure for Detecting and Establishing Facts of Academic Integrity Violations by Students
4.1. In case a violation of academic integrity is detected in written assignments, publications, during current or final assessments, or attestation, the student must be informed about the time, place, and procedure for establishing the fact of the violation and for holding them accountable.
The issue of establishing the fact of a violation and assigning academic responsibility is reviewed by the lecturer conducting the current or final assessment and the head of the corresponding department in the presence of the student. In the case of a final attestation, the matter is considered by the examination committee.
The absence of a student, who has been duly notified about the time and place of the consideration regarding the violation and accountability, does not prevent the substantive resolution of the matter. The student must be informed about the decision made.
4.2. Each person regarding whom an issue of violation of academic integrity is raised has the following rights:
- To familiarize themselves with all materials of the investigation regarding the determination of the academic integrity violation and to submit comments on them;
- To provide oral and written explanations personally or through a representative, or to refuse to provide any explanations, and to participate in the examination of evidence regarding the violation of academic integrity;
- To know the date, time, and place of the consideration of the matter and to be present during the review of the case concerning the establishment of the violation and the assignment of academic responsibility. Notifications are sent to the corporate email address within the khai.edu domain or to the electronic account in the PILOT system; the notification may also be sent to an email address provided by the participant in the educational process. A person is considered to have received the notification from the moment it is sent;
- To appeal a decision regarding academic responsibility to the University body authorized to review such appeals, or to the court.
4.3. Teaching, research, and scientific staff monitor the compliance with academic integrity by students in the educational process and scientific activity.
4.4. Compliance with academic integrity by students during completion of current and final assessments and attestation is ensured by the teacher (examination committee).
4.5. Compliance with academic integrity by students during the completion of coursework (projects) is ensured by the teacher supervising the work (project). The supervisor is obliged, using their corporate email address, to upload the corresponding file to the University’s electronic repository system for plagiarism detection (hereinafter, the KHAI repository) with subsequent verification for textual borrowings compared to the corporate account library of the University.
4.6. Compliance with academic integrity by students when writing qualification works and dissertations is ensured by the academic supervisor (consultant), reviewers (opponents), and the person responsible at the department for the system of prevention and detection of academic plagiarism (hereinafter, the responsible person at the department for anti-plagiarism work). The full procedure for checking dissertations is determined by the Regulations on the dissertation work of the student for a scientific degree.
4.6.1. The student must submit an electronic file of the explanatory note of the diploma project/work (formats .bos/.bosh/.гїґ/.рбО) to their scientific supervisor at least one week prior to the scheduled defense date. Submission of files containing character substitutions, including (but not limited to) characters from other alphabets or their graphical representations, is considered an attempt to conceal academic plagiarism and is penalized according to this Regulation.
4.6.2. The scientific supervisor (consultant) must provide the department anti-plagiarism officer with the electronic files of all students whose works they supervise at least four working days prior to the scheduled defense date.
4.6.3. The department anti-plagiarism officer must promptly upload all received files to the KHAI repository and verify them for textual borrowings against the University’s corporate account library. A technical report generated by the system regarding textual borrowings is sent to the scientific supervisor and reviewers no later than one working day before the scheduled defense date for decision-making purposes.
4.6.4. The person appointed by the Rector as responsible for the plagiarism prevention and detection system in the University must provide department anti-plagiarism officers with mandatory methodological recommendations for system use and monitor the timely submission of electronic versions of diploma works/projects to the repository.
4.7. In case the department (faculty) receives information about violations in an article, presentation theses at a conference, or any other scientific or educational work of a student, the department (faculty) creates a commission that verifies such information.
4.8. Detection of deception or bribery is reported to the faculty dean or rector. In case the violation contains elements of a criminal offense, the information is forwarded to the National Police of Ukraine.
5. Decisions on Establishing the Fact of Violation of Academic Integrity and Holding a Student Academically Accountable
5.1. A decision on establishing the fact of violation of academic integrity and holding a student academically accountable is drafted in the form of a submission addressed to the faculty dean.
5.2. The dean makes a decision regarding holding the student academically accountable and prepares a submission and the corresponding draft order addressed to the Rector of the University. In cases where the dean is unable to make a decision regarding holding the student academically accountable, the case is referred to the University Commission on Academic Integrity with the relevant accompanying documents.
5.3. In the case of applying responsibility in the form of repeated completion of an educational component of the educational program, the teacher (examination committee) makes a note “not admitted” in the grade record (protocol). The student is offered to retake the course in the following academic year.
5.4. If a violation that entails expulsion is detected during the final attestation of the student, the examination committee protocol records the note “not admitted”.
5.5. A decision on establishing the fact of violation of academic integrity and holding a student academically accountable enters into force:
- if it has been appealed to the University Commission on Academic Integrity or in court and the appeal (or lawsuit) was denied – from the moment of adoption of the decision by the University Commission on Academic Integrity (or from the moment the court decision on the denial of the lawsuit comes into force);
- if it has not been appealed to the University Commission on Academic Integrity or in court – from the expiration of the appeal period.
5.6. Decisions regarding established facts of violations of academic integrity and holding students academically accountable, which have entered into force, are published in publicly accessible sources (University website, notice boards, etc.).
6. Appeal of the Decision on Establishing the Fact of Violation of Academic Integrity and Holding a Student Academically Accountable
6.1. A decision on establishing the fact of violation of academic integrity and holding a student academically accountable can be appealed within three working days from the moment the student is notified of the decision of the department (faculty) regarding the establishment of the fact of violation of academic integrity and holding the student academically accountable.
6.2. Procedure for submitting an appeal:
1) An appeal is submitted in writing addressed to the Chair of the University Commission on Academic Integrity through the University administration office;
2) The appeal must indicate: last name, first name, patronymic; all contact details; faculty, department, educational program; the decision of the department (faculty) being appealed; what constitutes the illegitimacy of the decision with justification and corresponding objections; the request of the person submitting the appeal; a list of documents and other materials attached to the appeal;
3) The appeal is submitted by the person filing it or by their representative. In the case of submission by a representative, a power of attorney or other document confirming the authority of the representative must be attached;
4) The appeal must be reviewed within three working days from the date of its submission;
5) Consideration of appeals is conducted openly, in the presence of the student and/or their representative. The absence of the student and/or their representative, who were notified of the time and place of the meeting, cannot prevent the review of the appeal;
6) The decision of the University Commission on Academic Integrity is made in the absence of persons not belonging to the commission;
7) As a result of the appeal review, the commission may adopt one of the following decisions:
- to satisfy the appeal and cancel the decision of the department (faculty) on establishing the fact of violation and holding the student academically accountable;
- to amend the decision of the department (faculty) on establishing the fact of violation and holding the student academically accountable;
- to deny the appeal.
8) Decisions of the University Commission on Academic Integrity are formalized in the form of a meeting protocol, signed by the Chair and the Secretary of the commission, and come into force from the moment of their adoption. The protocol must contain the reasoning on which the commission based its decision. A copy of the protocol is sent to the student or their representative.
6.3. Appealing the decision on establishing the fact of violation of academic integrity and holding a student academically accountable in court can be carried out in accordance with the requirements of the current procedural legislation of Ukraine within three working days from the moment the student is notified of the decision of the department (faculty) regarding the establishment of the fact of violation of academic integrity and holding the student academically accountable.
7. Prevention of Academic Misconduct
7.1. To prevent violations of the principles, norms, and rules of academic integrity at the University, the following set of preventive measures is used:
- informing students, teaching, research staff, and employees about the necessity of complying with the rules of academic integrity and professional ethics;
- distribution of methodological materials;
- conducting seminars with students on the University’s information activities, proper writing of scientific and educational works, rules for describing sources, and citation formatting;
- familiarizing students, teaching, research staff, and employees with this Regulation;
- strengthening control by department heads, scientific supervisors of course papers and diploma projects/theses, and members of examination commissions regarding the correct formatting of references to sources in case of borrowing ideas, statements, data, etc.;
- checking diploma projects/theses for academic plagiarism;
- expert evaluation and/or technical verification (using specialized software tools based on concluded agreements) for signs of academic plagiarism in dissertations prepared for defense, etc.
8. Final Provisions
8.1. This Regulation is agreed upon by the Assistant to the Rector for Quality Assurance in Education, the Chair of the University Student Council, the Chair of the primary student trade union organization, and the lead legal counsel; it is approved by the University Academic Council and enacted by the Rector’s order.
8.2. Control over the implementation of this Regulation is exercised by University officials within the scope of their authority as established in their job descriptions.
8.3. Amendments and additions to the Regulation are reviewed and approved by the University Academic Council and enacted by the Rector’s order in the prescribed manner.