Academic integrity refers to the moral ethics and ethical policies that govern academia, such as the avoidance of plagiarism and cheating, the upholding of academic standards, and the rigor with which academic research is conducted. Academic integrity is vital because it allows students and professors to understand each student's learning capacity and protects an individual's as well as the learning institution's reputation. Plagiarism is the act of copying someone else's work or ideas and claiming them as one's own without citing or quoting the original source (Macfarlane & Pun, 2014).
Direct Plagiarism - This is the copying of someone else's work, word for word without quoting or citing from the original source.
Self Plagiarism - Self plagiarism involves mixing part of one's previous work in a current assignment without the permission of the professors involved. It is also the submission of one's previous work without the permission of the professor involved.
Mosaic Plagiarism - This occurs when a student uses phrases from a source without quoting them or using synonyms in place of the author's language while maintaining the structure and meaning of the text (Raines, 2015).
Describe the consequences of academic integrity violations, how they hurt all of us and how academic integrity benefits all of us.
The consequences of academic integrity violations include requiring a student to redo an assignment for a reduced grade, a student being assigned a failing grade, suspension and even expulsion from the institution. It could also lead to a student not being accepted into other institutions after expulsion. This hurts the student because their academic life is interfered with as well as their reputation. In cases of expulsion, they end up studying in institutions that are not of their choice if accepted in another institution. In cases of suspensions, the student misses out on some classes and is unable to learn at the same pace with the rest of the students (Newton, 2016). This means that they lug behind and this reflects negatively in their examination results. In cases of being made to redo the work, students waste time that would have been used in progressing academically or working on their talents.
It hurts parents and guardians in that they end up spending a lot more money in having the student repeat a unit or change schools in order to continue with their education. It also affects the parents' reputation as they are seen to not have taught their children good morals and honesty. Academic integrity benefits all of us in that students and teachers are able to know which areas need to be repeated for better understanding and how to help students in the best way possible. It helps parents in assessing their children's learning capabilities and ways of helping them achieve their goals (Newton, 2016).
On the other hand, it helps teachers in grading the students rightfully and assessing their progress. It also helps them in knowing which areas of the syllabus need adjustment or improvement in order to help the students understand better. Academic integrity helps all of us even in life after school since people are able to work with one another in integrity and achieve their goals without any questions raised. It also helps in making good decisions that affect individuals, communities and the society at large (Newton, 2016).
References
Macfarlane, B., Zhang, J., & Pun, A. (2014). Academic integrity: a review of the literature. Studies in Higher Education, 39(2), 339-358.
Newton, P. (2016). Academic integrity: a quantitative study of confidence and understanding in students at the start of their higher education. Assessment & Evaluation in Higher Education, 41(3), 482-497.
Raines, D. A. (2015, November). Academic Integrity: It's More Than Not Cheating. In 43rd Biennial Convention (07 November-11 November 2015). STTI.
