Improving Academic Skills and Integrity: Arden University Report

This report is a self-assessment of academic skills and integrity, focusing on identifying strengths and weaknesses with reference to Arden University's graduate attributes. The student evaluates their proficiency in information skills, planning/writing skills, independent study skills, and IT skills. Key areas for improvement include navigating iLearn, time management, and evaluating resource credibility. The report outlines actionable strategies for enhancing these skills in the short, medium, and long term. It also summarizes the meaning of academic integrity and provides examples of how Arden University can promote it, such as enforcing attendance, offering student assistance, and providing clear referencing guidelines. The conclusion emphasizes the aim of the report in improving academic integrity policies and conducting a self-assessment.

Academic Skills Practise

Contents
Contents...........................................................................................................................................2
INTRODUCTION...........................................................................................................................1
TASK 1............................................................................................................................................1
✏ Create a list of your strengths and areas of improvement, with reference to Arden
University’s Graduate Attributes (as show in Session 1)............................................................2
✏ What are three key things you can do to improve the areas of improvement identified?.......3
✏ Design a short action plan of how you would improve these areas in the short, medium and
long term......................................................................................................................................3
TASK 2............................................................................................................................................4
Summarise the meaning of Academic Integrity [in your own words].........................................4
Give three examples of how we can achieve Academic Integrity at Arden University..............4
CONCLUSION................................................................................................................................5
REFERENCES................................................................................................................................6

INTRODUCTION
Education plays a significant role in one’s life for which people are required to follow academic
integrity. It’s a means of ensuring the quality of content students are consuming and how
effectively they are able to implement it within their life processes. Academic Integrity portrays
the qualities of honesty, integrity and fairness.
TASK 1
Skills Choose the appropriate response based on your level of
proficiency
Information skills Do not know
about this
Find this
difficult/ can’t
do this
Can partially
do this
Can do this
well
Identify which books/journals/websites to   ☐ ☐
Evaluate the credibility of sources   ☐ ☐
Cite sources using AU Harvard  ☐ ☐ 
Create a reference list using AU Harvard  ☐ ☐ 
Maintain Academic Integrity  ☐ ☐ 
Avoid plagiarism  ☐ ☐ 
Planning / writing skills Do not know
about this
Find this
difficult/ can’t
do this
Can partially
do this
Can do this
well
Brainstorm ideas  ☐ ☐ 
Plan written work  ☐ ☐ 
Paraphrase & summarise ideas  ☐ ☐ 
Reflective writing  ☐ ☐ 
Informal and Academic writing  ☐ ☐ 
Write an introduction & conclusion  ☐ ☐ 
Independent study skills Do not know
about this
Find this
difficult/ can’t
do this
Can partially
do this
Can do this
well
Work independently (without tutors)  ☐  ☐
Use effective note taking method  ☐ ☐ 
Use effective time management method    ☐
IT skills Do not know
about this
Find this
difficult/ can’t
Can partially
do this
Can do this
well
1

do this
Navigate iLearn to find resources   ☐ ☐
Use search engines  ☐ ☐ 
Create word documents  ☐ ☐ 
Use PowerPoint  ☐ ☐ 
✏ Create a list of your strengths and areas of improvement, with reference to Arden University’s
Graduate Attributes (as show in Session 1).
List of my Strengths and weaknesses
Strengths:
1. Citing sources using Au Harvard style
2. Creating reference list using AU Harvard
3. Maintaining academic integrity
4. Avoiding Plagiarism.
5. Brainstorming ideas
6. Developing planned work.
7. Effectively paraphrasing and developing ideas
8. Significant effective writing
9. Writing appropriate introduction and conclusions
10. Academic and informal writing
11. Using note taking methods.
12. Effectively using search engines
13. Creating word document
14. Creating Power Point presentation.
Weaknesses:
1. Navigating iLearn to find resources
2. Effective time management
3. Identifying book/ Journals / sites to be used
4. Identifying the credibility of resources.
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✏ What are three key things you can do to improve the areas of improvement identified?
Areas of Improvement
1. I’m required to analyse well the resources beforehand and will try to derive information from
credible writers, which I can rely on. I’m required to devote a considerable time for determining
the book/ journals and all the resources which I’m supposed to use for creating an effective
document.
2. With the incorporation of the time management modules, I can significantly allot time in
improving my assignment standards while sticking to the academic integrity policies that has
been formulated by my university.
3. I’m required to understand how iLearn works, for which I’m required to start using the
application, which will help me in developing well written assignments along with will help me in
developing mathematical skills.
✏ Design a short action plan of how you would improve these areas in the short, medium
and long term.
Skills to
work on
Navigating iLearn to
find resources
Effective time
management
Identifying
book/ Journals /
sites to be used
Identifying the
credibility of the
resources
My
resources
iLearn Application Time management
method
Online
magazines and
books from
authors
Peer reviews, and
consistency factor.
Action
Plan
Need to start utilising
the tools provided by
iLearn which will
significantly help me in
improving my
performance in
I’m required to
analyse and understand
the areas of weakness
and create a plan,
which will help in
understanding the ways
I’m required to
identify the
credible authors.
I’m required to
overview the
review their
I’m required to
analyse and
identify the peer
review of the
publications. Later
I will be required
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academics. I can adapt for
incorporating the time
management methods.
readers have
posted
to identify the
currency factors,
followed by the
purpose of the
document, along
with the coverage
the author has
covered as lesser
and shallow
information is not
sufficient for one
in understanding
the topic in much
better way.
TASK 2
Summarise the meaning of Academic Integrity [in your own words].
Academic integrity is the value system which all the academic members stick by, it’s essential
for the individuals to hold up these values and ethics as they determine the hard work they
have put in their works. It ensures that people do not get influenced by the malpractices
happening in the academic world.
Give three examples of how we can achieve Academic Integrity at Arden University.
The way by which Arden University can achieve its academic integrity is as follows:
 They are required to make 75% attendance compulsory for the students.
 They are required to provide the right assistance to their students as this will prevent them from
breaching academic integrity.
 A clear format for referencing and paraphrasing should be provided by the university as this will
make the students aware of the right and wrong doing.
4

CONCLUSION
This aim of the report was to identify the areas of improvement for Aden University in respect of
the university’s academic integrity polices, followed by a self-assessment in respect of academic
integrity.
5

REFERENCES
Books and Journals:
Sheard, J., and et.al, 2018, January. Informing students about academic integrity in
programming. In Proceedings of the 20th Australasian Computing Education
Conference (pp. 113-122).
Latopolski, K.E. and Bertram Gallant, T., 2020. Academic integrity. DM Waryold & JM
Lancaster (Ed, 2nd edition). Student Conduct Practice: The Complete Guide for Student
Affairs Professionals. Sterling, VA: Stylus.
Bretag, T. ed., 2020. A research agenda for academic integrity.
Foltýnek, T. and Dlabolová, D., 2020. Academic integrity in Eastern Europe: Beyond corruption
and plagiarism. In A research agenda for academic integrity (pp. 40-54). Edward Elgar
Publishing.
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