Oxford Brookes Professor awarded prestigious National Teaching Fellowship award

Professor Mary Davis from Oxford Brookes University has been awarded a National Teaching Fellowship award for her pioneering and inclusive approach to academic integrity.

The award celebrates individuals who have made an outstanding impact on student outcomes and teaching in higher education. It is the latest in a series of accolades for Professor Davis who joined Oxford Brookes University in 2002 as an associate lecturer, progressing her career to become the Academic Integrity Lead and Professor (Education and Student Experience). 

Professor Davis said: “Getting this award is incredibly exciting and surreal. I’m deeply honoured and delighted. I have been a National Teaching Fellowship reviewer for the last two or three years and I have seen how outstanding the applications are for the award, so to achieve it is amazing to me.

“All my career over 22 years at Brookes has been developing my expertise in academic integrity. My PhD in Education was about finding out how international students learn how to use sources at postgraduate level. I use my knowledge of how students develop academic integrity skills in everything I do. 

“So many universities focus on telling students what not to do, warnings and punishments. Getting a more positive approach to teaching academic integrity is something I have really worked on at Brookes. We can’t assume students know how they are expected to approach their assignments, and how to use citations and references. They need to have opportunities to learn, understand and practise.” 

Professor Davis is an expert in the formative use of Turnitin, a text-matching tool used to check student work. She supports students in understanding good practice, as well as identifying possible plagiarism in their work to help them improve their academic writing. 

Professor Davis has developed courses to help students understand how to correctly use source material and revised policies to provide educational routes for those with minor academic conduct breaches. She has also created a groundbreaking course to guide ethical decision-making in the use of artificial intelligence at Oxford Brookes. 

Her efforts have led to the development of inclusive and accessible teaching resources that are now being adopted nationally and internationally. 

Professor Davis holds a Principal Fellowship of the Higher Education Academy (PFHEA), and has achieved internal awards, including the Brookes Teaching Excellence Fellowship (BTEF) and the Brookes Teaching Innovation Project (BTIP).

As well as a lead role at Oxford Brookes, Professor Davis is a member of the Quality Assurance Agency for Higher Education UK Advisory Group on Academic Integrity, the Board of Directors of the International Centre for Academic Integrity, and co-chair of the International Day of Action for Academic Integrity. Additionally, she serves on the editorial board of the International Journal for Educational Integrity and as editor of the ‘Integrity Matters’ blog, which promotes global perspectives on academic integrity, especially those of students.

Professor Davis worked on rebranding the ‘International Day of Action against Contract Cheating’ to the ‘International Day of Action for Academic Integrity’  in order to emphasise a positive and inclusive approach to promoting good practice, rather than a fight against cheating. As co-chair of this annual event, she engages hundreds of students and staff globally in activities that champion academic integrity.

Professor Tim Vorley, Pro Vice-Chancellor and Dean of Oxford Brookes Business School, said: "Academic integrity is vital if students are to do the best they possibly can. Mary’s hard work and commitment really helps them to do this and I am genuinely delighted to see her work and contribution recognised by the National Teaching Fellowship.”