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Academic integrity is a moral code or ethical policy of
academia An academy (Attic Greek: Ἀκαδήμεια; Koine Greek Ἀκαδημία) is an institution of tertiary education. The name traces back to Plato's school of philosophy, founded approximately 386 BC at Akademia, a sanctuary of Athena, the go ...
. The term was popularized by
Rutgers University Rutgers University ( ), officially Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey, is a Public university, public land-grant research university consisting of three campuses in New Jersey. Chartered in 1766, Rutgers was originally called Queen's C ...
professor Donald McCabe who is considered to be the "grandfather of academic integrity". Other academic integrity scholars and advocates include Tracey Bretag (Australia), Cath Ellis (Australia), Sarah Elaine Eaton (Canada),Eaton, S. E., Guglielmin, M., & Otoo, B. (2017). Plagiarism: Moving from punitive to pro-active approaches. In A. P. Preciado Babb, L. Yeworiew, & S. Sabbaghan (Eds.), ''Selected Proceedings of the IDEAS Conference 2017: Leading Educational Change Conference'' (pp. 28-36). Calgary, Canada: Werklund School of Education, University of Calgary.Eaton, S. E. (2018). Contract cheating: A Canadian perspective.  Retrieved from http://blogs.biomedcentral.com/bmcblog/2018/07/24/contract-cheating-a-canadian-perspective/ Thomas Lancaster (UK),Clarke, R., & Lancaster, T. (2006). ''Eliminating the successor to plagiarism: Identifying the usage of contract cheating sites''. Paper presented at the Second International Plagiarism Conference, The Sage Gateshead, Tyne & Wear, United Kingdom. Tomáš Foltýnek (Czech Republic), and Tricia Bertram Gallant (US). Academic integrity supports the enactment of educational values through behaviours such as the avoidance of
cheating Cheating generally describes various actions designed to subvert or disobey rules in order to obtain unfair advantages without being noticed. This includes acts of bribery, cronyism and nepotism in any situation where individuals are given pr ...
,
plagiarism Plagiarism is the representation of another person's language, thoughts, ideas, or expressions as one's own original work.From the 1995 ''Random House Dictionary of the English Language, Random House Compact Unabridged Dictionary'': use or close ...
, and contract cheating, as well as the maintenance of academic standards; honesty and rigor in research and
academic publishing Academic publishing is the subfield of publishing which distributes Research, academic research and scholarship. Most academic work is published in academic journal articles, books or Thesis, theses. The part of academic written output that is n ...
.


History

During the late 18th century in the United States academic integrity was tightly correlated to the academic honor code. This was monitored mainly by the students and surrounding culture of the time. The honor code focused on duty, pride, power, and self-esteem. Any act promoting the uprising or building of any of these within an individual was the goal. Thus, academic integrity was tied solely to the status and appearance of upstanding character of the individual. Any acts of academic dishonesty performed to maintain their good name was seen as a necessary means to an end. By the end of the 19th century when the goals of the university changed that the concept of academic integrity changed. Academics of this era were required to teach and produce original research. The pressure to acquire
tenure Tenure is a type of academic appointment that protects its holder from being fired or laid off except for cause, or under extraordinary circumstances such as financial exigency or program discontinuation. Academic tenure originated in the United ...
and publish added extra stress to their jobs, though acts of academic dishonesty were viewed as acts of follies. Still, the honor code concept of academic integrity was evolving into a more contemporary concept. Academic integrity began to replace honor of the individual honor to the university as an institution. Such an evolution was important to promote unity throughout the academic institution and encourage students to hold each other accountable for dishonest acts. It also allowed the students to feel empowered through the self-monitoring of each other. As the importance of original research grew among faculty members the questioning of research integrity grew as well. With pressure linked to their professional status professor were under intense scrutiny by the surrounding society. This inevitably led to the separating academic integrity ideals for student and faculty. By 1970 most universities in the United States had established honor codes for their student body and faculty members, although this concept is less prevalent elsewhere in the world. By the early 2020s, there were indications that honor codes diminishing in popularity, though they remain prevalent at many US higher education institutions. Improvements in
information technology Information technology (IT) is a set of related fields within information and communications technology (ICT), that encompass computer systems, software, programming languages, data processing, data and information processing, and storage. Inf ...
have created challenges within academic integrity, especially with respect to increased
plagiarism Plagiarism is the representation of another person's language, thoughts, ideas, or expressions as one's own original work.From the 1995 ''Random House Dictionary of the English Language, Random House Compact Unabridged Dictionary'': use or close ...
and use of poor-quality sources found on the internet. Technology has also increased opportunities for collaborative writing, raising issues of proper attribution of authorship. There are also problems with hyperauthorship, selling authorship, and unearned authorship.


The Impact of Generative Artificial Intelligence on Academic Integrity

The popularization of generative artificial intelligence ( GenAI) apps in education prompted global reconsiderations of policies and procedures relating to plagiarism and other breaches of academic integrity. The impact of large language models (LLMs) has impacted discussions of plagiarism and what constitutes ethical student learning. Although some scholars claim that GenAI exacerbates academic misconduct, others argue that use of GenAI tools does not automatically constitute a breach of academic integrity. There is currently no consensus about whether GenAI is responsible for a decrease in academic integrity.


Impact on academia

Academic integrity means avoiding plagiarism and cheating, among other misconduct behaviours. Academic integrity is practiced in the majority of educational institutions, it is noted in mission statements, policies, procedures, and honor codes, but it is also being taught in
ethics Ethics is the philosophy, philosophical study of Morality, moral phenomena. Also called moral philosophy, it investigates Normativity, normative questions about what people ought to do or which behavior is morally right. Its main branches inclu ...
classes and being noted in syllabi. Many universities have sections on their websites devoted to academic integrity which define what the term means to their specific institution. An honor pledge created before an assignment that is signed by students can help increase academic integrity. Universities have moved toward an inclusive approach to inspiring academic integrity, by creating Student Honor Councils as well as taking a more active role in making students aware of the consequences for academic dishonesty. To promote the academic integrity, publication
ethics Ethics is the philosophy, philosophical study of Morality, moral phenomena. Also called moral philosophy, it investigates Normativity, normative questions about what people ought to do or which behavior is morally right. Its main branches inclu ...
, and responsible research in the higher education system in
India India, officially the Republic of India, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, seventh-largest country by area; the List of countries by population (United Nations), most populous country since ...
, the
University Grants Commission (India) University Grants Commission (UGC; ISO: ''Viś‍vavidyālaya Anudāna Āyōga'') is a statutory body under Department of Higher Education, Ministry of Education, Government of India. It was set up in accordance to the UGC Act 1956 and i ...
enacted the "UGC (Promotion of Academic Integrity and Prevention of Plagiarism in Higher Educational Institutions) Regulations, 2018" on July 23, 2018. The Regulations then recommend some institutional mechanisms to eliminate the scope of
plagiarism Plagiarism is the representation of another person's language, thoughts, ideas, or expressions as one's own original work.From the 1995 ''Random House Dictionary of the English Language, Random House Compact Unabridged Dictionary'': use or close ...
. Despite these advances, academic misconduct continues to preoccupy policy makers and educators all over the world. In the 1990s, the academic dishonesty rates were as bad as, and in some cases, worse than they were in the 1960s. The acknowledgement of this ethics crisis is inspiring many universities to focus more on promoting common values of academic integrity. Conversely, critics have drawn attention to the fact that "teaching and learning are interrupted because faculty, in an effort to control
plagiarism Plagiarism is the representation of another person's language, thoughts, ideas, or expressions as one's own original work.From the 1995 ''Random House Dictionary of the English Language, Random House Compact Unabridged Dictionary'': use or close ...
and protect notions of
intellectual capital Intellectual capital is the result of mental processes that form a set of intangible objects that can be used in economic activity and bring income to its owner (organization), covering the competencies of its people (human capital), the value relat ...
, are forced to engage with the students as detectives rather than as teachers, advisors, or mentors. The focus on controlling plagiarism among students is critiqued as unnecessarily legalistic and the rules more rigid than those necessarily accorded to
intellectual property law Intellectual property (IP) is a category of property that includes intangible creations of the human intellect. There are many types of intellectual property, and some countries recognize more than others. The best-known types are patents, ...
(Marsh, 2004)". Similarly, contributions made from a societal perspective question or critique previously unexamined assumptions of the "inherent goodness, universality, and absoluteness of independence, originality, and authorship (Valentine, 2006). Authors who write about the societal dimension such as Ede and Lundsford (2001) do not suggest the elimination of notions of individual authorship and the unconditional acceptance of copying and collaboration in its place. Rather, the societal dimension highlights the need to consider both and the importance of deconstructing how the idea of the "individual author" might be serving (or not serving) the goals of teaching (learning), service, and research. Postsecondary education institutions are urged to step back from the mindless or fear-based ready adoption of the " turnitin culture" (Maruca, 2005) to allow for such question asking in the spirit of enhancing academic integrity and the teaching and learning environment."


Academic Integrity Policies and Procedures

It is important for schools and higher education institutions to have clear academic integrity policies and procedures to address breaches of student academic conduct expectations. Six core elements of academic integrity policies have been identified as: access, approach, responsibility, detail, support, and equity. Academic integrity policies should clearly define what counts as a violation of academic integrity (e.g.,
plagiarism Plagiarism is the representation of another person's language, thoughts, ideas, or expressions as one's own original work.From the 1995 ''Random House Dictionary of the English Language, Random House Compact Unabridged Dictionary'': use or close ...
, exam cheating, contract cheating, and so on). Policies should be accessible to administrators, staff, and students and should outline the responsibilities for reporting, investigation, and academic misconduct case management. Policies should provide sufficient detail so as to be clear, but not too much detail so as to avoid confusing the reader. Academic integrity policies should be supported by procedures, and educational materials to help students understand what is expected of them. Historical approaches to academic integrity policy have been punitive and focused on punishment of students for misconduct. Since the early 2000s, there has been increasing interest in more supportive approaches such as the use of restorative justice and providing educational supports to help students build academic literacy skills.


Global Perspectives on Academic Integrity

There is no singular or universal definition of academic integrity or related concepts, such as
plagiarism Plagiarism is the representation of another person's language, thoughts, ideas, or expressions as one's own original work.From the 1995 ''Random House Dictionary of the English Language, Random House Compact Unabridged Dictionary'': use or close ...
. Although English-speaking countries such as the United States, Australia, Canada, and the UK have dominated academic integrity discourse, there are emerging perspectives from non-Anglo countries that are providing updated insights and broader perspectives. Experts from Latin America, Africa, Asia, and the Middle EastCinali, G. (2016). Middle Eastern perspectives of academic integrity: A view from the Gulf Region. In T. Bretag (Ed.), ''Handbook of Academic Integrity'' (pp. 113-133). Springer Singapore. are making important contributions to the global discourse on academic integrity.


See also

* Academic dishonesty *
Accreditation mill An accreditation mill is an organization that purports to award educational accreditation to higher education institutions without having government authority or recognition from mainstream academia to operate as an accreditor. Implicit in the ter ...
* Contract cheating *
Diploma mill A diploma mill or degree mill is a business that sells illegitimate diplomas or academic degrees, respectively. The term ''diploma mill'' is also used pejoratively to describe any educational institution with low standards for admission and gradua ...
* Exam proctoring *
Grade inflation Grade inflation (also known as grading leniency) is the general awarding of higher grades for the same quality of work over time, which devalues grades. However, higher average grades in themselves do not prove grade inflation. For this to be grad ...
*
Plagiarism Plagiarism is the representation of another person's language, thoughts, ideas, or expressions as one's own original work.From the 1995 ''Random House Dictionary of the English Language, Random House Compact Unabridged Dictionary'': use or close ...
* Research integrity


References


External links


Rhode Island College LibGuide – Academic IntegrityPublication ethics checklist
(for routine use during manuscript submission to a journal) {{DEFAULTSORT:Academic Integrity
Integrity Integrity is the quality of being honest and having a consistent and uncompromising adherence to strong moral and ethical principles and values. In ethics, integrity is regarded as the honesty and Honesty, truthfulness or of one's actions. Integr ...
Cheating in school Professional ethics