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What are NDAOs?
The Student Academic Integrity Policy (SAIP) introduces non-disciplinary accountability options (or NDAOs) for resolution of academic integrity concerns. According to the SAIP, their aims in general are to:
educate and develop the student's understanding of the harms caused by academic misconduct and the importance of academic integrity;
provide students with skill-building resources to enable them to align their behaviour with the principles of academic integrity;
create a safer space for students to accept responsibility and be accountable for their academic misconduct and to provide redress to the community affected by the harm resulting from their academic misconduct.
NDAOs are processes that the University can offer, in collaboration with you, to reassure that you are aware of the consequences of violating the SAIP, and that you will avoid future incidents of academic misconduct.
NDAOs are possible when:
A student is accountable for the breach of the SAIP, and
The student is willing to collaborate in a process with University staff to align their future academic behaviour with the SAIP.
NDAOs are voluntary, meaning you will need to agree with the options being proposed.
According to the SAIP, NDAOs are officially defined as:
Voluntary, collaborative facilitated processes to explore personal accountability options outside of a complaint. Designed to assist an individual in identifying and ameliorating negative consequences of their behaviour and/or to align their academic success with the principles of academic integrity. Non-disciplinary accountability options are intended to be flexible and creative, and may include, but are not limited to: remedial, restorative, and other facilitated processes to create space for accountability, with or without a complaint.
In response to the demand from the University of Alberta community for alternatives to formal complaint processes as a way to address interpersonal harm or academic misconduct, Non-Disciplinary Accountability Options (NDAOs) were introduced as a way to address harm that has been caused outside of the complaints process. The Office of the Vice-Provost (Equity, Diversity and Inclusion) has provided a background document for further information on NDAOs, including their purpose, benefits, and limitations as well as the importance of the rich histories of many cultural communities that have used these practices.
Note:
A student that has agreed to, and successfully completed, a NDAO avoids having an official disciplinary file placed on their record. The fact that they completed a NDAO, and the terms of the agreement, are kept on file in the Faculty or College for internal use only. No official record is entered into the Governance database. No official sanctions are imposed. Therefore, the student's academic misconduct record is kept clear of violations.
NDAOs were created as a way to give students a chance to acknowledge their mistake, learn how to be academically success within the bounds of academic integrity, and correct their behaviour as they progress in their program of study WITHOUT HAVING TO GO THROUGH THE DISCIPLINE PROCESS and avoid having an official misconduct record.
NDAOs in the College of Natural and Applied Sciences
At least 50% of the academic integrity concerns reported to the College of Natural and Applied Sciences (CNAS) by instructors in ALES, Engineering and Science involve students that made a mistake -- they didn't know better, they were misled, they misunderstood, they had a moment of weakness, etc. NDAOs provide a meaningful and effective way to help students by giving them a chance to recognize their shortcomings, develop tools to correct their behaviour, and set them on a path to academic success by learning with academic integrity, while avoiding an official misconduct record. NDAOs give students a chance to acknowledge they made a mistake, determine where they went wrong, and take corrective action to ensure they never repeat the behaviour again.
in CNAS, the Dean's Delegate makes the decision on the academic integrity pathway of NDAO vs Complaint. Each academic integrity concern reported by a CNAS instructor is reviewed on a case-by-case basis. However, there are some general guidelines that are *NORMALLY* followed:
How effectively the student demonstrates responsibility and expresses accountable for their actions, identifies the community members affected and understand the harms caused, expresses a desire to correct their behaviour by undertaking skill-building and remedial activities, take steps to align future behaviour with the principles of academic integrity, and repair the harm resulting from their academic misconduct.
Additional factors include whether the student is an undergraduate or graduate student (graduate students are typically held to higher standards), what year of University the student is in (first and second year students are assumed to still be "learning the ropes"), if the student was involved in prior NDAOs or academic misconduct violations (recidivism tends to imply the student did not learn the lesson), the weight of the assessment (higher weight assessments tend to be associated with higher stakes), and the nature of the academic misconduct (e.g. not citing properly on a lab report versus blatantly copying off a neighbour during the final exam).
Remember, the Dean's Delegate's decision on whether the academic integrity concern will be addressed through the NDAO or complaint pathway is final and binding (it cannot be appealed).
When the Dean's Delegate decides to offer a student a NDAO, the agreement will *NORMALLY* include:
a score reduction on the assessment reflecting the student's failure to follow instructions properly or the amount of work that isn’t the student’s own OR that the student must re-do the assessment (only if instructor agrees to read/grade it) with a late penalty
And one or more of the following actions/assignments:
completion of one or more academic integrity online training courses
an apology letter or reflection essay
completion of one or more workshops to support intellectual development and/or mental health/wellbeing
one-on-one writing consultation appointment
Other possibilities that may eventually be adopted include:
anonymized short story of the student’s experience that could be shared with classmates, added to websites or built into educative materials
meetings with the appropriate units on campus to address the challenges the student is facing in completing their educational goals
submission of a detailed plan for addressing and correcting the behaviour and steps to align future conduct with the principles of academic integrity
facilitated discussions with affected members of the University community to repair harm resulting from the academic misconduct
some sort of “community service” (e.g. get involved in some event or group, volunteer for some unit or group on or off campus, etc.)
CNAS may also consider suggestions made by the student and instructor; they must be reasonable, specific and measurable.
NDAO vs Complaint
In choosing the NDAO pathway, the student is acknowledging that the major facts of the academic integrity concern are NOT in dispute. They acknowledge their involvement in the allegation. They are ready to admit they made a mistake, identify what that mistake was and why they made it, and receive assistance in remediating their actions. As such, students must effectively demonstrate accountability for their actions. They should clearly explain what they did or what happened. They should express remorse or regret for their actions. They should identify the community members affected and recognize the harms caused. They should also express a desire to correct their behaviour and make suggestions for how this could be accomplished. This could be through undertaking skill-building and remedial activities or taking the steps necessary to overcome the challenges they are facing, align their future behaviour with the principles of academic integrity, or repair the harm resulting from their academic misconduct.
Opting out of the NDAO pathway means that the allegation will be addressed through the complaint process. Typically, this scenario implies the student disputes some or all of the key factors or evidence associated with the academic integrity concern. Or, if they were offered a NDAO, they do not agree with the terms and conditions outlined in the NDAO agreement. Other reasons are possible. No matter how the complaint process is initiated, the student can rest assured that they will be treated fairly and with due process. The Faculty Decision Maker will give the student the opportunity to share their side of the story. And in making their decision as to whether the SAIP was indeed violated or not, they will act without bias or maliciousness. Any consequences that result from their decision, will be appropriate and consistent with similar past cases.
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