Understanding academic misconduct among IIUM students during RTL phase: the role of social presence & religiosity

• Main Authors: Tengku Mohd Azzman, Tengku Siti Aisha, Sedu, Nerawi, Abu Seman, Muhamad Sadry
• Format: Conference or Workshop Item
• Language: English; English
• Published: 2021
• Subjects: L Education (General); P87 Communication. Mass media; T Technology (General)
• Online Access: http://irep.iium.edu.my/94639/2/PROGRAM%20AND%20ABSTRACT%20BOOK%20CORENA21.pdf; http://irep.iium.edu.my/94639/8/94639%20Understanding%20academic%20misconduct.pdf; http://irep.iium.edu.my/94639/; https://sites.google.com/iium.edu.my/cometiium/corena21

The COVID-19 pandemic has necessitated online teaching and learning in higher educational institutions due to concerns with social distancing and mandated quarantines. In situations rife with academic uncertainties, both faculty and students have had to adjust to learning online due to this new norm. Part of the challenges of online teaching and learning is in dealing with academic misconduct online, which can be more cumbersome to manage as compared to face-to-face proctoring of assessments. Students may also be tempted to engage in online academic misconduct, due to the lack of face-to-face interactions and reduced monitoring by instructors. However, scholars have established that computer mediated communication interactions can be just as fruitful and effective as face-to-face interactions, provided social presence is maintained. Social presence is the degree to which a person is perceived as ‘real and present’ in the online environment (Short et al., 1976). Accordingly, the present study aims to examine the mediating role of social presence and religiosity in influencing the likelihood of engaging in academic misconduct in online classes. Additionally, this study also seeks to establish the relationship between religiosity and academic misconduct. A cross-sectional survey constructed using Google form was distributed among IIUM students from March to May 2021 (N = 470). Findings indicate religiosity negatively predicted frequency of engaging in academic misconduct. Religiosity was also significant as a mediator; social presence and frequent CMC interactions only significantly influenced academic misconduct with the presence of religiosity. The repercussion of these findings on the social presence theory, as well as factors that may influence online academic misconduct will also be discussed.