Enhancing academic integrity in a UAE safety, security defence emergency management academy – the Covid- 19 response and beyond

Globally, academic integrity and misconduct is a continuing conundrum for education institutions. Whilst the online (internet based and remote) delivery of education is not new, the onset of Covid-19 with accompanying health and safety limitations and the consequential rapid transition to emergency online delivery of education has, for many, exacerbated the need to focus on emerging potential for new forms of student academic misconduct i.e., e-dishonesty. This paper presents the strategies developed by a higher education institution specializing in university courses for safety and security professionals in the United Arab Emirates to address academic integrity during Covid-19 and beyond. The fundamental approach draws on lessons learnt from across the education community and focuses on engaging a comprehensive whole of Academy (faculty and student) commitment to a high standard of academic integrity. The research investigated the outcomes of the academic integrity interventions in a total student population of 631. The early trending results of the strategies are encouraging, whilst monitoring of the ever-changing academic assessment landscape is pivotal to ensure these early trends are validated and sustained. The strategies developed and deployed by the Academy are replicable and offer a contribution to the demanding and complex challenge of establishing academic integrity within educational institutions across the world.