Academic integrity policy and support provisions: are Ontario colleges setting international and multilingual learners up for success?

Abstract

With the meteoric rise of international students on college campuses across Ontario, institutions must be committed to provide support and continued discourse around multiple educational and cultural perspectives. One area of concern that has been overlooked in the literature is how international students are supported in understanding academic integrity from a western perspective. Through a mixed-methods approach, an investigation of the academic integrity policies and available support was conducted on each of Ontario’s 24 publicly funded colleges. Additionally, relationships between regional international enrolment and academic integrity support were analyzed. Findings suggest that most colleges in Ontario do not meet the exemplary elements of academic integrity policy and fail to support their international students to access and understand academic integrity policy. It is suggested that colleges invoke a more holistic approach to academic integrity, involving the voices of the international community to encourage a more anti-deficit and equitable understanding of academic integrity from a western perspective.