Exploring Issues Challenging Academic Integrity in South East Europe

This paper reports on the South-East European Project on Policies for Academic Integrity (SEEPPAI) research study on academic integrity in higher education, which was conducted in Europe in late 2016. The study was funded by the Council of Europe. The data collection methods and results build upon the success of the Impact of Policies for Plagiarism in Higher Education across Europe (IPPHEAE). Conducted between 2010—2013, IPPHEAE explored how higher education institutions (HEIs) in 27 European Union member states were managing student plagiarism and academic misconduct.

The SEEPPAI research covers six further countries in south-east Europe: Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia, The former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia, Montenegro and Serbia. A mixed method research approach was adopted, utilising on-line questionnaires, student focus groups and interviews with senior managers and national policy advisers. Visits to the region to collect data also afforded the research team the opportunity to offer workshops to students and teachers surrounding aspects of academic integrity.

This paper draws on the full research report (SEEPPAI 2017) created for the Council of Europe to present key findings and insights. Central to this is the use of Academic Integrity Maturity Model (AIMM) evaluation tool to analyse the data and provide profiles of the countries participating in the research. Parallels are drawn throughout with the IPPHEAE research. The full report provides further details of the research findings and makes specific observations and recommendations appropriate to each country in the study.