UPHOLDING INTEGRITY IN THE MANAGEMENT OF E-LEARNING IN INSTITUTIONS OF HIGHER LEARNING

Abstract

Integrity in e-learning environments is a major concern to institutions as it is an important value that must be upheld. The principle of integrity is the foundation for the achievement and progress of students. Integrity being upheld results in good citizenship and a better society. The flexibility of e-learning which enable students to learn anywhere at their convenient and preference also result in an increase opportunity of breaching academic integrity. It is therefore imperative to examine the issue of academic integrity in e-learning management. This paper is aimed at identifying integrity issues in e-learning and proposing effective methods of maintaining integrity in the management of e-learning without underestimating its benefits to learning institutions. Relevant research articles relating to integrity in the management of e-learning were searched from the internet using different search keywords such as “integrity in e-learning”, “maintaining integrity in online learning”, “types of e-learning”. Articles that are not from peer-reviewed journals were not included. Some integrity issues in e-learning such as academic misconduct and fraudulent activities in e-learning were highlighted. Two methods of maintaining academic integrity in e-learning proposed in the study are avoidance and implementation. Avoidance is a pre-emptive tactics of making sure that misconduct such as plagiarism, fabrication and cheating are not exhibited at all in e-learning. Implementation method on the other hand entails using software to detect academic misconduct and fraudulent activities. It is recommended that e-learning activities should be properly monitored and controlled.