An integrative review of security and integrity strategies in an academic environment: Current understanding and emerging perspectives

The growing scope and changing nature of academic programs provide a challenge to the integrity of testing and examination protocols, prompting academic administrators to re-evaluate the design of learner performance assessment. This article reviews the research on a number of identity and authorship assurance approaches employed to the bolster security of assessment activities. A total of 54 articles, published between 2000 and 2016, were reviewed. Research in the area of learner identity and authorship assurance is important because the award of course credits to unverified entities raises questions over institutional credibility. We argue that learner identity is composed of two distinct layers: physical and behavioral, where identity and authorship are criteria that both need to be confirmed to maintain a reasonable level of academic integrity.