What is Academic Integrity?
Why is Academic Integrity Important?
Now that you are in college and attending classes, you need to consider what it means to have academic integrity. Whether you are attending Penn State right out of high school or are a student returning to school after having spent some time away from an educational institution, it is important to have a clear understanding of your ethical responsibilities as a student and a member of the Penn State community.
Activity 1:
Integrity can be a difficult quality to define. Take a minute to think about what it means to have integrity. Is there someone in your life or someone you know about who you admire? What are the qualities you admire most? Honesty? Hard work? Dependability? Personal consistency? Selflessness? Behaving responsibility? Do you strive to posses these same qualities? Which qualities do you think are most important to possess in order to have a fulfilling life and a successful career? Use the "My Notes" tool on the right side of the tool bar at the top of the page to jot down some of your ideas.
Academic integrity is one of the four Penn State Principles. The statement in Policy 49-20 of the Faculty Senate reads:"Academic integrity is the pursuit of scholarly activity in an open, honest and responsible manner. Academic integrity is a basic guiding principle for all academic activity at The Pennsylvania State University, and all members of the University community are expected to act in accordance with this principle. Consistent with this expectation, the University's Code of Conduct states that all students should act with personal integrity, respect other students' dignity, rights and property, and help create and maintain an environment in which all can succeed through the fruits of their efforts."
Acts which violate the University's Code of conduct are considered acts of academic dishonesty. These include (but are not limited to) plagiarism, cheating, and copyright violations. Some examples of different acts of academic dishonesty are listed at www.pserie.psu.edu/faculty/academics/integrity.htm.
Did you know that employers are allowed to give tests to candidates for certain jobs to rate their level of integrity? Integrity is a characteristic employers seek just like good work ethics, reliability, and dependability. A personal philosophy of integrity is something that is unique to each individual and takes some time and thought to develop. A university setting provides a rich environment in which to work on developing a personal philosophy of integrity.
As a student at Penn State you will face many challenges, and opportunities to demonstrate integrity in your work. Cheating, plagiarism, and copyright violations are all considered violations of Penn State's academic integrity policy. Academic dishonesty hurts everyone in the community. It not only damages your personal reputation but also the reputation of the entire university.
Unfortunately, many students commit accidental violations of academic integrity simply because they don't know that what they are doing is wrong. Others say they "had" to cheat because they didn't have enough time to complete all of the work, or because "everyone else" is cheating and they won't get a good grade unless they cheat too.
The information in this module will help you better understand what constitutes academic dishonesty and how to avoid committing acts of academic dishonesty.
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