What Is Academic Integrity - And Why Is It Important?

By way of definition - Academic integrity is the expectation that students, teachers, researchers and in fact, all members of the academic community act with honesty, respect, trust, fairness, responsibility and - integrity. Breaching academic integrity is also known as ‘academic misconduct’ or ‘academic dishonesty'.

Academic integrity is the moral code or ethical policy of academia. The term was popularised by the late Professor Don McCabe, who is considered the grandfather of academic integrity.

To learn more about Professor McCabe and the International Centre for Academic Integrity go to - https://academicintegrity.org/about/about-the-center

Make sure the work is your own

For MBA and undergraduate students at UBSS integrity is about making sure the work you present for assessment is your own work. Fundamental to academic integrity is a commitment that what you present as your own work – is your own work.

Using work from other sources

If you use work from other sources make certain you acknowledge the source, and the date and of course make sure you put any sentences or phrases in inverted commas to ensure that the reader understands you are quoting a source – other than yourself.

Using source material provides evidence of wide reading – a very positive thing – just make sure you acknowledge it at all times

Policies and procedures to assist

All higher education institutions have policies in place by way of guidance in this space. UBSS has a number of policies to guide you and focus on what is acceptable and what is not.
See the policy on academic misconduct - https://www.ubss.edu.au/media/3020/academic-misconduct-policy-v14-1.pdf

Also, see the policy on the student code of conduct - https://www.ubss.edu.au/media/3001/student-code-of-conductv13-28-sep-2021.pdf

Remember - If you have not got integrity – essentially you have nothing!

View the MBA TV segment on the topic of Academic Integrity for more information.

Emeritus Professor Greg Whateley is Deputy Vice-Chancellor and Vice President (Academic) at Group Colleges Australia