Why is Academic Integrity important?

Academic integrity is important for you, important for the University, and for new ideas.

It's important for you

It's important to give yourself the best chance of success by doing your assessment tasks with an honest attitude.

It’s also important for you to avoid bad consequences like failing an assignment or being asked to leave the university.

You’re investing your time and effort in studying for a degree, which will be a stepping stone to success in your chosen field or career. What you learn at university will set the foundation for your professional knowledge and practice.

It's important for the university

The way students and staff study and work at University affects how others view the University. The University needs to be consistent and trustworthy in its standards for courses and assessments, so that the community can have confidence in the people who graduate with degrees. That's why the University takes the issue of academic misconduct very seriously.

Also, when you graduate, you’ll be able to feel proud of the high standards you achieved, knowing that your learning was based on the foundations of truth and respect and your degree will be respected.

It's important for new ideas

It’s important to identify your sources correctly in academic assessments because:

• it lets the person marking your work see where the influences for your ideas have come from;
• it shows a path for how new knowledge is built;
• it gives proper credit to the people whose information and ideas you’ve used.

When you learn how to incorporate other people’s ideas and research into your own work, and acknowledge them properly, it shows that you understand the material you’ve read. It also makes your analysis of an issue or topic clearer.

It's also important that you do your tutorial tasks, quizzes and exams honestly. These forms of assessment are designed to test and develop your knowledge, so you’re cheating yourself if you don’t do the task using your own knowledge and abilities.

Drop into a campus library (opens in a new window) and ask Library staff or chat with an Online Librarian (opens in a new window).