Academic Integrity
CONCEPTUAL FRAMEWORK IN THE SPHERE OF ACADEMIC INTEGRITY
For the purposes of informational and educational materials on academic integrity, the following concepts provided by the legislation of the Republic of Kazakhstan are used.
Academic Integrity
Law of the Republic of Kazakhstan dated July 27, 2007 No. 319-III "On Education", Article 1, sub-clause 2-1): "academic integrity – a set of norms, rules, and values that determine the behavior of participants in the educational process, based on the principles of honesty, fairness, respect, responsibility, and trust, observed by them during learning, upbringing, teaching, and (or) the implementation of scientific activities". The definition is set out in the new version by the Law of the Republic of Kazakhstan dated June 12, 2026 No. 309-VIII RK. Thus, the legislative concept of academic integrity applies not only to students and their completion of written assignments, but generally to participants in the educational process, including their activities in learning, upbringing, teaching, and the implementation of scientific activities.
The Principle of Academic Integrity in Thesis Preparation
Rules for Awarding Degrees, approved by the Order of the Minister of Education and Science of the Republic of Kazakhstan dated March 31, 2011 No. 127, clause 5: The principle of academic integrity is revealed through the author's obligation to respect the rights and legitimate interests of other authors and the absence of forms of academic dishonesty established by the Rules. In particular, the Rules provide for the inadmissibility of using and (or) appropriating material without reference to the author and the source of borrowing, as well as other forms of violation of academic integrity listed below.
Plagiarism
In accordance with clause 5 of the Rules for Awarding Degrees, approved by the Order of the Minister of Education and Science of the Republic of Kazakhstan dated March 31, 2011 No. 127, a violation of the principle of academic integrity includes the use and (or) appropriation of another author's material without reference to the author and the source of borrowing. The concept of material includes, in particular, text, ideas, hypotheses, conclusions, methods, research results, graphs, codes, images, or works of other authors. Plagiarism also includes the use of another author's text with changes to words and expressions without changing the meaning, including the translation of text from another language, if there is no reference to the author and the source of borrowing.
Self-plagiarism
Rules for Awarding Degrees, approved by the Order of the Minister of Education and Science of the Republic of Kazakhstan dated March 31, 2011 No. 127, clause 5: A violation of the principle of academic integrity includes the use of one's own material, factual and digital data without reference to oneself and (or) the source of one's own previously published materials. In other words, the existence of authorship in itself does not exclude the need for proper citation of previously published own material.
Fabrication
Rules for Awarding Degrees, clause 5: A violation of the principle of academic integrity includes the presentation of fabricated data or research results, as well as references to non-existent sources. For the purposes of academic and scientific activity, fabrication means the creation and presentation as reliable information, data, results, or sources that do not actually exist or were not obtained during the stated research.
Falsification
Rules for Awarding Degrees, clause 5: A violation of the principle of academic integrity includes the manipulation of research materials, equipment, images, illustrations, or processes, resulting in the distortion of data or research results. Falsification should be distinguished from fabrication: in fabrication, non-existent information or results are created, whereas in falsification, existing materials, processes, or results are altered or distorted.
Use of Artificial Intelligence Technologies
Rules for Awarding Degrees, approved by the Order of the Minister of Education and Science of the Republic of Kazakhstan dated March 31, 2011 No. 127: The author of a thesis is obliged to comply with the principles, ethical rules, and norms of the higher and (or) postgraduate education organization established by the Rules when using artificial intelligence technologies. When using artificial intelligence technologies, disclosure of the fact of their application is provided for, with an indication of the relevant technology and the nature of its use. The rules for the application of artificial intelligence technologies in thesis preparation are determined by the higher and (or) postgraduate education organization.
Use of Artificial Intelligence for the Purpose of Concealing Plagiarism
In accordance with the Rules for Awarding Degrees, the use of technical means and methods, including artificial intelligence technologies, aimed at reducing or eliminating the possibility of detecting plagiarism is not permitted. Consequently, the use of artificial intelligence in itself is not synonymous with a violation of academic integrity. A violation arises, in particular, when using AI contrary to established rules, when concealing its application in cases provided for by legislation, or when applying the technology to bypass plagiarism checks.
Borrowing
Clause 36 of the Requirements for Educational Organizations on Providing Distance Learning and the Rules for Organizing the Educational Process for Distance Learning and in the Form of Online Learning for Higher and (or) Postgraduate Education Programs, approved by the Order of the Minister of Education and Science of the Republic of Kazakhstan dated March 20, 2015 No. 137: "During online learning, a mandatory check of all types of written assignments for borrowing is carried out in compliance with the principles of academic integrity". Thus, the legislation distinguishes between the mere presence of borrowing and a violation of academic integrity: the presence of borrowed material is subject to verification and assessment taking into account compliance with the rules of academic integrity.
Online Proctoring
In accordance with the requirements approved by the Order of the Minister of Education and Science of the Republic of Kazakhstan dated March 20, 2015 No. 137, online proctoring is defined as: "a system for identity verification and confirmation of online exam results, which ensures the preservation of recordings, recognition and identification of the individual, analysis of head and body movements, with determination of noise levels, multi-face recognition, requests for 360-degree room recording, and logging of suspicious events". When conducting intermediate and final assessments in an online format, online proctoring is applied.
Checking Written Assignments for Borrowing
In accordance with clause 36 of the Requirements and Rules approved by Order No. 137: "During online learning, a mandatory check of all types of written assignments for borrowing is carried out in compliance with the principles of academic integrity". Checking for borrowing is one of the mechanisms for ensuring academic integrity; however, the result of such a check itself requires assessment taking into account the nature of the identified matches, the correctness of citation, and the requirements of the internal documents of the HEI.
Academic Integrity as a Principle of the Educational Process
Model Rules for the Activities of Higher and (or) Postgraduate Education Organizations, approved by the Order of the Minister of Education and Science of the Republic of Kazakhstan dated October 30, 2018 No. 595, establish academic integrity as one of the fundamental principles of the educational process and internal quality assurance of education. Compliance with academic integrity involves the formation of an educational environment based on the integrity of participants in the educational process, objectivity of assessment, the inadmissibility of academic fraud, and compliance with the rules established by the HEI.