Tracey Bretag EdD (1958–2020), was an Australian academic and educator, known for her extensive work in higher education, with a particular focus on plagiarism and academic integrity.Bretag, T., Mahmud, S., East, J., Green, M., & James, C. (2011). Academic integrity standards: A preliminary analysis of the Academic integrity policies at Australian Universities Proceedings of AuQF 2011 Demonstrating Quality, Melbourne. https://ro.uow.edu.au/asdpapers/323/Bretag, T., & Mahmud, S. (2016). A conceptual framework for implementing exemplary academic integrity policy in Australian higher education. In T. Bretag (Ed.), Handbook of Academic Integrity (pp. 463-480). Springer Singapore. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-287-098-8_24 Her research and advocacy focused on promoting ethical practices in academia and addressing issues related to academic misconduct.
Early life and education Tracey Bretag completed her Bachelor of Arts (BA - English & History) at James Cook University, an Honours Degree and a Master of Arts (MA) by Research in English from the University of Adelaide. She completed a Doctor of Education (Ed.D.) by research from the University of South Australia, where her research began to concentrate on academic integrity and ethics in education.
Bretag was known for spirited debates with colleagues and others on a variety of topics relating to integrity and ethics. Her commitment to ethics extended to her personal life and she followed a strict vegetarian diet. She was once arrested in Woomera, Australia on charges of trespassing for her support of youth refugees who had gone on a hunger strike. She was later charged with failing to obey the directions of a federal officer.
Bretag died of cancer at the age of 58 on October 7, 2020. Tributes from around the world included an obituary published by Times Higher Education, another from the Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE), tributes from colleagues,Eaton, S. E., Titchener, H., Rogerson, A., Mahmud, S., Prentice, F., Curtis, G., Seaton, K., Awdry, R., Fishman, T., Glendinning, I., Lancaster, T., Morris, E. J., Orim, S.-M., Rowell, G., Draper, M., Newton, P., Foltýnek, T., Shala, S., Leka, D.,…Crotty, R. (2020). In memory of Tracey Bretag: a collection of tributes. International Journal for Educational Integrity, 16(1), 1-20. https://doi.org/10.1007/s40979-020-00066-2Bailey, J. (2020, October 8). Remembering Dr. Tracey Bretag. Plagiarism Today. https://www.plagiarismtoday.com/2020/10/08/remembering-dr-tracey-bretag/ as well as Campus Morning Mail in Australia.
Career Bretag spent much of her career at the University of South Australia, where she served as the director of the UniSA Business School Office for Academic Integrity. Bretag's global influence in the field of academic integrity is evidenced, in part by the founding of the European Network for Academic Integrity in 2015.
Research contributions According to Google Scholar, Bretag is among the most highly cited scholars in the field of academic integrity. Her research has significantly influenced the discourse on academic integrity. She published numerous articles and book chapters addressing topics such as plagiarism and self-plagiarism,Bretag, T., & Mahmud, S. (2009). Self-Plagiarism or Appropriate Textual Re-use? [journal article]. Journal of Academic Ethics, 7(3), 193. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10805-009-9092-1Bretag, T., & Carapiet, S. (2007). A Preliminary Study to Identify the Extent of Self-Plagiarism in Australian Academic Research [Article]. Plagiary, 92-103. http://ezproxy.lib.ucalgary.ca/login?url=http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=ehh&AN=31238756&site=ehost-live and contract cheating.Harper, R., Bretag, T., Ellis, C., Newton, P., Rozenberg, P., Saddiqui, S., & van Haeringen, K. (2019). Contract cheating: A survey of Australian university staff. Studies in higher education, 44(11), 1857-1873. https://doi.org/https://doi.org/10.1080/03075079.2018.1462789 Bretag's work has been instrumental in shaping academic integrity best practices for educators and institutions worldwide, as well as setting a global research agenda for academic integrity.Bretag, T. (Ed.). (2020). A research agenda for academic integrity. Edward Elgar Publishing. Some notable research projects included:
Exemplary Academic Integrity Project Source:
This project was the first of its kind in the world, as team members conducted in-depth policy analysis of academic integrity policies across Australia. The project led to evidence-based recommendations about how to develop and maintain academic integrity policies in higher education.Bretag, T., Mahmud, S., Wallace, M., Walker, R., James, C., Green, M., East, J., McGowan, U., & Partridge, L. (2011). Core elements of exemplary academic integrity policy in Australian higher education. International Journal for Educational Integrity, 7(2), 3-12. https://doi.org/10.21913/IJEI.v7i2.759Mahmud, S. (2024). Transformative Change in Academic Integrity Policy at Australian Universities. In S. E. Eaton (Ed.), Second Handbook of Academic Integrity (pp. 825-839). Springer Nature Switzerland. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-54144-5_119 This project had international influence, as the 'Five Core Elements of Exemplary Academic Integrity Policies' were later used by researchers in other countries such as New Zealand,Möller, A. (2022). An analysis of university academic integrity policies in New Zealand. Journal of Further and Higher Education, 1-13. https://doi.org/10.1080/0309877X.2022.2130195 Canada,Stoesz, B. M., & Eaton, S. E. (2022). Academic integrity policies of publicly funded universities in western Canada. Educational Policy, 36(6), 1529 - 1548. https://doi.org/10.1177/0895904820983032 and throughout South AmericaMoya, B. A. (2024). Academic Integrity Policies in Hispanic South American Higher Education: Status and Recommendations. In S. E. Eaton (Ed.), Second Handbook of Academic Integrity (pp. 911-933). Springer Nature Switzerland. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-54144-5_122Moya, B. A., & Eaton, S. E. (2024). Academic Integrity Policy Analysis of Chilean Universities. Journal of Academic Ethics. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10805-024-09515-w as a framework for policy analysis, development and revision. Although this project began in Australia, it had a ripple effect of influencing academic integrity policy and procedure development across the world. More than a decade after the initial results of the project were published in Australia, the project continues to have an influence in that country.
Academic Integrity online training program Source:
Bretag was the Lead Advisor for the first edition of the Academic Integrity training program for staff and students, published by Epigeum, an imprint of Oxford University Press, at the time of the first edition. This online training program included modules for teaching staff and students. It was widely regarded as one of the most comprehensive online training programs for academic integrity at the time. Epigeum was later sold to Sage Publications, who continued the project into a second edition after Bretag's death. The second edition was led by Thomas Lancaster and Sarah Elaine Eaton, who maintained a focus on quality throughout the process to continue to honour Bretag's original contributions.
Contract Cheating Project Starting in 2011 Bretag led four large Australian Office for Learning and Teaching (OLT) funded research projects. One of these, the OLT project Contract cheating and assessment design: Exploring the connectionBretag, T., Harper, R., Burton, M., Ellis, C., Newton, P., van Haeringen, K., Saddiqui, S., & Rozenberg, P. (2019). Contract cheating and assessment design: Exploring the relationship. Assessment & Evaluation in Higher Education, 44(5), 676-691. https://doi.org/10.1080/02602938.2018.1527892 was co-led with Rowena Harper. This project included the largest survey anywhere in the world of students and teaching staff to gather data about their attitudes towards, and experiences with contract cheating.
Bretag was a former chair of the Asia-Pacific Forum on Educational Integrity, and a past president of the executive board to the International Center for Academic Integrity in the U.S.
International Journal for Educational Integrity Bretag co-founded the International Journal for Educational Integrity (IJEI) in 2005, together with Helen Titchener (formerly known as Helen Marsden).Marsden, H., & Bretag, T. (2005). Editorial. International Journal for Educational Integrity, 1(1), 1-2. https://doi.org/https://doi.org/10.21913/IJEI.v1i1.13 The inaugural issue of the journal included contributions from some of the best known scholars in the field at the time including Donald (Don) McCabe),McCabe, D. L. (2005). Cheating among college and university students: A North American perspective. International Journal for Educational Integrity, 1(1). https://doi.org/https://doi.org/10.21913/IJEI.v1i1.14 Jude Carroll and Jon Appleton,Carroll, J., & Appleton, J. (2005). Towards consistent penalty decisions for breaches of academic regulations in one UK university. International Journal for Educational Integrity, 1(1), 1-11. https://doi.org/http://dx.doi.org/10.21913/IJEI.v1i1.15 Ursula McGowan,McGowan, U. (2005). Does educational integrity mean teaching students NOT to 'use their own words'? International Journal for Educational Integrity, 1(1). https://doi.org/https://doi.org/10.21913/IJEI.v1i1.16 Sue Saltmarsh,Saltmarsh, S. (2005). 'White pages' in the academy: Plagiarism, consumption and racist rationalities. International Journal for Educational Integrity, 1(1), 1-11. http://dx.doi.org/10.21913/IJEI.v1i1.17 and Celia Thompson.Thompson, C. (2005). 'Authority is everything': A study of the politics of textual ownership. International Journal for Educational Integrity, 1(1). https://doi.org/https://doi.org/10.21913/IJEI.v1i1.18
From 2005 to 2015 the IJEI was hosted by the University of South Australia's Open Journal System (OJS), before being moved to Springer. The archives of the first ten years of IJEI remain publicly and freely accessible as open access articles. Bretag served as the sole editor-in-chief of the International Journal for Educational Integrity from 2005 to 2019. Upon learning of her terminal illness she invited Sarah Elaine Eaton (University of Calgary) to join her as co-editor. Eaton carried on as Editor-in-Chief after Bretag's death in 2020.
Handbook of Academic Integrity Another of Bretag's scholarly achievements was the Handbook of Academic Integrity,Bretag, T. (Ed.). (2016). Handbook of Academic Integrity. Springer Singapore. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-287-098-8. published by Springer in 2016. Bretag conceptualized the first edition of the handbook and served as the Editor-in-Chief, as well as a contributing author.Bretag, T. (2016). Educational integrity in Australia. In T. Bretag (Ed.), Handbook of Academic Integrity (pp. 23-38). Springer Singapore. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-287-098-8_2Bretag, T. (2016). Discipline-specific approaches to academic integrity: Introduction. In T. Bretag (Ed.), Handbook of Academic Integrity (1st ed., pp. 673-675). Springer Singapore. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-287-098-8_78Bretag, T. (2016). Contextual Factors which Impact on Academic Integrity: Introduction. In T. Bretag (Ed.), Handbook of Academic Integrity (pp. 305-306). Springer Singapore. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-287-098-8_77 The handbook included more than 70 chapters from experts all over the world and is considered a foundational text on academic integrity.
Leadership and advocacy