As soon as students commence study there should be a focus on academic integrity. We need to develop strategies that provide opportunities to state our expectations and develop our students not only in their chosen discipline but also in their scholarly activities. Communicating the standards and expectation in relation to academic work is not a once-off activity. It should be integrated through the teaching sessions and across the years of study with most work being carried out in the first year. The following strategies may provide a workable model for you to initiate discussion (Davis 1993).

• At the commencement of semester
• Throughout the semester

Developing assessment

One of the key ways to promote academic integrity is to set assessment tasks that encourage original work. Below are some strategies you might consider when designing and setting assessment tasks (Bates & Fain 1999).

• Change assessments as often as possible - take the time to set new assessments tasks each time you deliver the unit.
• Assessment tasks that ask students to critique, analyse and contrast information are more challenging and require thorough research and original thinking.
• Include information gathering as an assessable task in its own right - you might ask students to submit a written proposal for the paper, a working or annotated bibliography, a rough draft or working notes, an outline or copies of cited references.
• Design assessment tasks that are not the same for all students - this may be difficult when working with large groups of students.
• Assess the process - another way to encourage unique work is to ask students, as part of their assessment, to write about how they went about the task that achieved the end result.
• Set a range of assessment tasks - you can design assessment tasks that build upon each other. For example, make an outline or a statement of justification the first assessment.
• Tie essay topics into the class experience - Ask students to include a section in their paper that discusses their topic in light of what was covered in class. Think about using local issues and topics in assessments and asks students to include an analysis of class discussions in their paper.
• Present papers in class - make class presentations of essays part of the assessment task. Ask students to give a talk on the subject of their paper, how they went about researching the topic and the challenges they encountered.
• Become familiar with sources that student might use - this may range from books and journal articles to specific sites on the Internet that provide information on a set topic.

For further information on developing assessment refer to the Assessment for Learning site. You will also find the 'Guide to Assessment Practice' a valuable resource.

Another useful resource is the 'Assessing Learning in Australian Universities' project website, particularly the section on 'Minimising plagiarism' at http://www.cshe.unimelb.edu.au/assessinglearning/03/plagMain.html

Group Work

There appears to be a degree of confusion amongst students at Australian universities as to the distinction between collusion and collaboration. This issue is most evident in group work activities or assignments in which students are required to work together to produce one assessable piece of work (James et al 2002).

The following guidelines may assist you in planning and briefing students around collaborative group work (Davis 1993):

• At the beginning of the unit make clear the distinction between collaboration and collusion.
• When setting assignments that have group work as part or all of the assessment, provide clear guidelines as to how you expect students to work together.
• Consider written contracts - ask students, as part of the group work assignment, to prepare a written contracts that list members' obligations to their group and deadlines for tasks.
• Create group tasks that require interdependence so that students must consult with one another about their specific part in the group assignment/project.
• Have regular check-ins - if group work assignment spans several weeks establish checkpoints with the groups. Ask groups to turn in outlines or drafts or to meet with you.
• Make the group's process an assessable part of the assignment - ask students to write up their experience of the group process, what part they played in it, what the challenges were and how they dealt with them.
• Provide mechanisms for groups to deal with uncooperative members - make sure there is a clear division of labour and provide opportunities for students to speak with you about problems they are having.
• Invite students to provide feedback on the group work assignment - ask them for their ideas on how to improve the assignment.