Global award: Tec recognized for promoting culture of integrity

Tec de Monterrey has received the international “Campus of Integrity Award” from the International Center for Academic Integrity (ICAI) for its efforts in promoting a culture of integrity.

ICAI has been a leading international organization in academic integrity studies for thirty years.

“This is an international recognition that evidences the quality of our integrity programs and initiatives,” explained Daniela Gallego, Director of Ethics Management at the office of the Tec’s Vice President of Integrity and Compliance.

The award was presented during the Annual ICAI Conference held on March 7 to 10 in Calgary, Canada.

How integrity is promoted at the Tec

The ICAI award evaluated the Tec’s Academic Integrity Program as robust”, explained Gallego.

“Our program seeks to strengthen academic integrity at the Tec through prevention, training, and management initiatives to generate a culture of honesty, respect, and commitment.”

The program is run by over two hundred and fifty people who perform a variety of roles.

It has two dimensions: awareness, in which teachers receive training on how to prevent breaches of academic integrity; and management to follow up on breaches.

“The idea of the program is that each campus should develop a culture of integrity and that all faculty members should promote it.”

Each campus has two components and a third that is shared nationwide.

Ambassadors of academic integrity:

Teachers who participate as on-campus program spokespersons and advisors. There are currently twenty-four.

Campus Academic Integrity Committees

Groups of teachers and staff who analyze and deliberate on any cases of academic integrity violations reported to them. Campus Academic Integrity Committees currently comprise two hundred and twenty professors.

National Committee for Academic Integrity (CIAN, initials in Spanish)

A body in charge of analyzing and resolving the cases of students who have committed academic misconduct and have been penalized with temporary or definitive suspension.

“The Tec is one of the few universities in Latin America that have academic integrity programs.” - Daniela Gallego

“We are very grateful to all the teachers who participate on Academic Integrity Committees and to the campus ambassadors because their commitment helps strengthen the culture of integrity,” added Gallego.

In addition, the program organizes workshops for students and teachers to promote integrity in the community.

Furthermore, an annually updated integrity code was created that evolved into “My Commitment to Integrity,” an agreement signed by students to commit to the values and ethical actions expected of the student community.

More than thirty-nine thousand students have signed this agreement.

There is also an annual integrity day: in 2023, students organized a session to discuss integrity and artificial intelligence.

The Tec has collaborated on the digital publication Revista de Integridad (Integrity Magazine) since 2017. A total of thirteen issues have been published.

It jointly organizes the Integrity Conference held at the University of Monterrey (UDEM) and is in the process of consolidating the Latin American Network of Academic Integrity.

The integrity of the Tec on the international scene

Tec de Monterrey has been a member of the International Center for Academic Integrity (ICAI) for over five years.

This international organization is made up of more than eighty-six universities and various consortiums.

“The Tec is one of the few universities in Latin America that has an academic integrity program. In fact, we’ve had one since 2017,” stated Gallego.

ICAI granted the institution a seat on the Board of Directors in 2023, after which the Tec’s integrity team applied for the “Campus of Integrity Award.”

Applications for this category must be submitted along with letters of recommendation from other universities. In the case of the Tec, the Pontifical Catholic University of Chile and the Pan-American University sent letters.

“This is also important because it shows that other universities recognize our work and recommend it.”

In the future, in addition to consolidating the Latin American Network of Academic Integrity, they hope to be able to apply for other award categories, such as “Student of Merit” and “Research of the Year,” said Gallego.

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