Academic Integrity in the United Kingdom: The Quality Assurance Agency’s National Approach

Abstract

This paper provides an overview of the steps taken by the United Kingdom’s Quality Assurance Agency for Higher Education (QAA) to promote academic integrity and prevent academic misconduct, since it was founded in 1997. These actions needed to take account of the high level of institutional autonomy in the UK higher education sector, which is an essential prerequisite for success but which poses a challenge to tackling academic misconduct. Consideration is also given to the impact of shifts in higher education policy and practice over the last 25 years, especially the way in which the higher education sectors of the four UK nations have diverged. This provides the context for exploring the role of QAA in maintaining a coherent UK-wide system of quality and convening collaborative partnerships between autonomous providers to address inconsistencies and work together on shared challenges. Finally, the paper examines the recent criminalization of essay mills in England through the Skills and Post-16 Education Act 2022. It reviews QAA’s planned program of work with its member institutions to consider the impact of the legislation and presents the views of student representatives on potential next steps. Having advocated a punitive approach to tackling cheating in the early 2000s, the agency’s approach has evolved considerably, and it now looks ahead toward effecting more positive culture change across the sector.