Toward a Model of Academic Integrity Institutionalization: Informing Practice in Postsecondary Education

Abstract

The strategic choices facing higher education in confronting problems of academic misconduct need to be rethought. Using institutional theory, a model of academic integrity institutionalization is proposed that delineates four stages and a pendulum metaphor. A case study is provided to illustrate how the model can be used by postsecondary institutions as a stimulus for specifying points of change resistance and developing a common understanding of institutionalization challenges. This article bridges theory and practice in the academic integrity movement, questions assumptions about leadership of the process, and anticipates fresher approaches to examining the relationship between the teaching and research missions.