1.4 – Academic Integrity

Learning Objectives

  • Explain why academic integrity is essential to your progress in a post-secondary program
  • Review the Academic Integrity regulations in effect at Georgian College
  • Identify examples of the different types of breaches of academic integrity
  • Identify resources and services at your college/university to help you complete your assignments with integrity
  • Describe how the use of artificial intelligence tools in your academic work could be detrimental to your academic progress

Academic Integrity: A shared responsibility

As a student at Georgian College, you are a part of an academic community that is governed by the fundamental principles of academic integrity. It is important for all members of the community, professors and students alike, to uphold these principles for the advancement of academic scholarship and the continued building of knowledge.

Why you should care

A degree, diploma or certificate that is achieved without compromising your own integrity and simultaneously upholding Georgian College’s academic integrity standards, is a true representation of all the hard work and dedication you put into your studies. You can therefore rightfully be proud of your achievement as you have maintained your reputation, as well as that of Georgian College.

You will also be well prepared for success in your career as you have put the necessary time and effort into your work, increased your knowledge and developed many valuable skills, such as research, critical thinking and writing skills and more.

Explore Academic Integrity and Breaches of Academic Integrity at Georgian College

Read Explore Academic Integrity and Breaches of Academic Integrity at Georgian College in Plain text


Academic Integrity Core values

Watch What is Academic Integrity? (2 mins) on YouTube.

Georgian College’s Academic Integrity Regulations

Georgian College’s policies about Academic Integrity are included in the Academic Regulations portion of the college website.

All students are required to:

Breaches of Academic Integrity

7 types of breaches of academic integrity in the college’s regulations are Cheating, Fabrication, Plagiarism, Facilitating a breach of academic integrity, Impersonation, Denying access to information or material and Copyright violation.

Academic Integrity: Terminology

A lot of terminology surrounds academic integrity.

Different academic institutions used slightly different words or definitions. In the following videos, you may hear some of these terms…

  • Academic honesty or integrity
  • Academic dishonesty or misconduct
  • Plagiarism, cheating, impersonation, fabrication, falsification… and many more

While watching the videos on the following slides, try to match the examples to Georgian College’s definitions of Breaches of Academic Integrity [New Tab].

Watch for popups in interactive videos. The video will pause, and you can answer questions to check your learning.

At the end of this slideshow, watch a short video that discusses the Core Values of Academic Integrity before continuing on with your reading.

Identifying Breaches of Academic Integrity: Interactive Video

Watch Academic integrity #2: Types of misconduct (5 mins) on YouTube and/or read the transcript Academic Integrity Part 2: Types of Academic Misconduct [PDF]

At the following times pause the video and compare the example to Georgian’s Academic Integrity regulations and answer a question to check your understanding.

  1. Pause at 0:42: What is another example of cheating noted in Georgian’s Academic Integrity regulations? 
    a. Handing in a paper created by a term paper creation organization;
    b. Using the library database(s) to find research articles for your paper;
    c. Using Google scholar to locate research articles for your presentation. [1]
  2. Pause at 1:07: Which citation style does Georgian College’s Academic Integrity regulations list as an example of how one can cite their sources?
    a. Chicago Manual of Style
    b. Modern Language Association (MLA)
    c. American Psychological Association (APA) Style [2]
  3. Pause at 1:31: Under what section of Georgian’s Academic Integrity regulations would you classify this offence?
    a. 8.2.1 – Cheating
    b. 8.2.4 – Facilitating a Breach of Academic Integrity
    c. 8.2.6 – Denying access to information or material [3]
  4. Pause at 2:10: According to Georgian College’s Academic Integrity regulations, who would be charged with a breach of academic integrity if friend A completes an exam on behalf of friend B?
    a. Friend A
    b. Friend B
    c. Both Friends A & B [4]
  5. Pause at 2:30: Under Georgian College’s Academic Integrity regulations, what breach of academic integrity is committed if a student resubmits previous work?
    a. 8.2.4 – Facilitating a breach of academic integrity
    b. 8.2.3 – Plagiarism
    c. 8.2.7 – Copyright violation [5]
  6. Pause at 3:21: What is an example of fabrication provided in the Georgian College Academic Integrity regulations, but not discussed here in the video?
    a. to invent data based on one experiment, rather than conducting the other experiments required
    b. to create a quote and in-text citation in your paper for a research article that doesn’t exist [6]
  7. Pause at 3:49: Which type of breach of academic integrity from Georgian’s Academic Integrity regulations best matches Improper Research?
    a. 8.2.1 Cheating
    b. 8.2.2 Fabrication
    c. 8.2.3 Plagiarism [7]
  8. Pause at 4:12: Which type of breach of academic integrity in Georgian’s Academic Integrity regulations matches the idea of obstruction?
    a. 8.2.1 Cheating
    b. 8.2.4 Facilitating a breach of academic integrity
    c. 8.2.6 Denying access to information or material [8]
  9. Pause at 4:40: What part of Georgian’s breach of academic integrity definitions include aiding and abetting?
    a. 8.2.1 Cheating
    b. 8.2.4 Facilitating a breach of academic integrity
    c. 8.2.6 Denying access to information or material [9]

 

Activity source: Except where otherwise noted, “Explore Academic Integrity and Breaches of Academic Integrity at Georgian College” is licensed under CC BY-NC 4.0.

Academic Integrity Values

The International Center for Academic Integrity (2013), defines Academic Integrity as a commitment to uphold six fundamental values in the academic community, even when faced with adversity:

  • honesty
  • trust
  • fairness
  • respect
  • responsibility
  • courage

The following sections define the six academic integrity values in more detail and will give you various real life scenarios to illustrate appropriate and inappropriate actions. The scenarios are adapted from the Integrity Matters app (MusicCentric Technologies, 2018).

Honesty

Honest students respect college policies, follow the instructions of their professors and do their work on their own, without any unauthorized help. Dishonest behaviour, such as lying, cheating, fraud, theft, impersonating another person, falsification of data and the like, are morally and ethically not acceptable to a person of integrity.

Scenario 1

Your friend asks you if you want to meet up and do an online quiz together. Somehow you feel uneasy about this. What should you do?

Click on the responses to see the answers to each.

Read Scenario 1 in Plain text
  1. Complete the quiz together:
    You are expected to do your work on your own, unless your instructor tells you specifically that you can work together. Working with someone else on an individual quiz is considered a breach of academic integrity. In Georgian’s Academic Integrity policy, this is called cheating (a breach of academic integrity) (working with someone else on work which was supposed to be done on your own).

Activity source: “Honesty” by Ulrike Kestler In Academic Integrity is licensed under CC BY-NC-SA 4.0. / Text version created.

Trust

If you are always honest, you will be able to build a relationship of trust both with your peers and with your instructors. Trust is established over time and is based mostly on your actions.

Scenario 2

Charlotte has a difficult time writing her essay. She asks you if she can just have a quick look at yours to see how you went about it. As she is your friend, you want to be helpful, and give it to her before you leave for your job. Charlotte is tired and thinks to herself: “I just want to be done with this. I’m going to change a few things. That should be enough to submit it.” Why do you think Charlotte made this choice?

Click on the responses to see the answers to each.

Read Scenario 2 in Plain text
  1. To get a better grade:
    This may or may not give her a better grade. Charlotte would only know how well she really did, if she did her own work. Most importantly though is that she is breaking both her friend’s and her instructor’s trust.
  2. To finish the essay:
    Although Charlotte is able to finish her essay in time, she is doing so by betraying her roommate’s and her instructor’s trust. She could have avoided this by starting her research earlier, visiting the library’s research help service and by getting help at the Writing Centre or the Language Help Centre for her writing.
  3. The essay is too hard for her to do on her own:
    Practice makes perfect! Charlotte can only improve her writing skills if she completes assignments herself. If she needed assistance, she could have asked for help from library professionals for her research and from the Writing Centre or the Language Help Centre for her writing. This is no excuse for betraying her friend’s and her instructor’s trust.
  4. She believes the changes make it her own work:
    Charlotte may believe that by changing the work enough she has made it her own, but this is not the case because it is still essentially someone else’s work that she submits. She not only betrays her friend’s and her instructor’s trust, but by submitting someone else’s work, she is also committing a serious act of plagiarism.

Activity source: “Trust” by Ulrike Kestler In Academic Integrity is licensed under CC BY-NC-SA 4.0. / Text version created.

 

Fairness

A person of integrity is fair. You are fair to your peers – when you do your own work, to authors – when you acknowledge their work by citing it, to the college – when you respect and follow academic integrity standards, and to alumni – when your behaviour helps to support the value of their degree.

Scenario 3

You are a new student and are juggling to keep up with your courses while also working a part-time job. You are a bit stressed about your upcoming exam. A student who is a year ahead of you offers you a copy of the exam questions to one of your courses. What action would be acceptable?

Click on the responses to see the answers to each.

Read Scenario 3 in Plain text
  1. Take the exam copy to help you prepare:
    If you accept the offer, you will put yourself at an unfair advantage over your classmates, as you won’t need to put as much effort into studying your course notes as everyone else in your class.
  2. Decline the offer and keep studying:
    This is the fair and ethical way of responding. It may be very tempting to accept the offer, but you know you would be cheating and have an unfair advantage over your classmates if you did. You may also want to explain Academic Integrity principles to the student and point out that it is a breach of academic integrity to assist another student in cheating.
  3. Don’t take the exam copy, but ask to just take a look at the type of questions asked:
    Although this seems harmless, it still gives you an unfair advantage over your classmates, as you would be aware of the types of questions that will be asked in the exam.
  4. Take the exam copy and look at it, but don’t study from it:
    You may feel that this approach is fair, because you likely won’t remember specific questions, but you’ll remember which aspects of the course you should focus on the most, which is not fair to your classmates.

Activity source: “Fairness” by Ulrike Kestler In Academic Integrity is licensed under CC BY-NC-SA 4.0. / Text version created.

Respect

You show respect when you adhere to your assignment instructions, when you actively participate in learning and show interest in gaining new knowledge, when you contribute your thoughts to the academic discourse while accepting that others may disagree with you, when you credit others for their ideas, and when you show that you are putting your best efforts forward.

Scenario 4

At the end of your class your instructor says: “Don’t forget your assignment is due next class. Remember, this is an individual assignment. You are meant to work on this alone!” You think, “Oh no, I already completed half of the assignment with Jason and Harpreet!” What should you do?

Click on the responses to see the answers to each.

Read Scenario 4 in Plain text
  1. Finish the rest of the assignment with Jason and Harpreet:
    If you complete the rest of the assignment with your classmates, you are not doing the work as an individual as required. You are not only disrespecting the assignment guidelines and your instructor, but you are also Cheating (working with someone else on work which was supposed to be done on your own).
  2. Complete the last half of the assignment on your own:
    In this case, half of the assignment is indeed your original work, but the other half is not. Although this is somewhat better than continuing to finish the assignment with your classmates, you are still disrespecting your instructor and the guidelines given to you, and you are still Cheating (working with someone else on work which was supposed to be done on your own).
  3. Ask Jason and Harpreet what they want to do:
    This is not a decision for Jason and Harpreet to make. You must choose the best option for you and take into consideration the results of your action. If you want to be respectful and uphold academic integrity principles, your only option is to start the assignment over on your own. You should also encourage Jason and Harpreet to do the same.
  4. Start the assignment over on your own:
    Although it will take more time and effort to start over, this is an honest way to proceed. Not only will you demonstrate that you understand the material, but by completing your work individually, you show that you respect your instructor and the guidelines given for the assignment.
  5. Consult with your instructor about your situation:
    This is also a good way to proceed. We all forget or misunderstand instructions sometimes, and only realize our error later. Your instructor will appreciate your honesty and will respect you for respecting their instructions. They may tell you to start over or find another acceptable way for you to finish the assignment.

Activity source: “Respect” by Ulrike Kestler In Academic Integrity is licensed under CC BY-NC-SA 4.0. / Text version created.

Responsibility

You show responsible behaviour when you lead by example, when you resist negative peer pressure, and when you discourage others from violating academic integrity principles. Being responsible means being accountable to yourself and others and to do your work to the best of your abilities.

Scenario 5

You have difficulties with your studies, especially in one of your courses. You have been stuck on your essay for a whole week already. You are afraid that you may fail the course if you can’t turn this situation around. What should you do?

Click on the responses to see the answers to each.

Read Scenario 5 in Plain text
  1. Ask your friends for advice:
    Although this is a good place to start and your friends may have some helpful advice, it is your responsibility to take advantage of all the options available to you, such as looking for advice from your professor and the various student support services offered by Georgian College.
  2. Drop the course in which you are not doing well:
    This may feel like a good solution, but it is likely only a temporary fix. If your issues are related to time-management, effective study skills and needing research and writing help, then it is your responsibility to seek out the college’s support services to overcome these challenges.
  3. Make no change and hope to pass:
    You may choose to hope things get better by doing nothing, but you should take responsibility for your learning and seek out help available to you from various student support services offered by Georgian College.
  4. Spend more time on campus:
    Spending more time on campus and trying to study more to overcome your difficulties may not result in improvement, but rather in increased stress. If you are struggling, you should seek out support from your instructor and from various student support services, such as the Library and Academic Success.
  5. Get a sample paper from an online service:
    These companies often represent themselves as “tutoring” or “writing help” services, but they may try to lure students to buy a paper from them. They often also ask you to upload materials from your courses and sometimes even blackmail students who have used their service. These companies can be highly unethical and you should avoid using them. Instead, if you need help, seek out support from your instructor and from various student services, such as the Library and Academic Success. Remember: you can only improve and learn by doing the work yourself!
  6. Use an Artificial Intelligence tool such as ChatGPT to write some or all of your paper:
    Unless your professor has specifically told you that you may use an artificial intelligence tool such as ChatGPT in your paper, doing so could be considered plagiarism, cheating or another breach of academic integrity. Professors have tools to detect AI writing, and may also recognize that the writing in your paper does not match previous assignments. Choosing to use these tools may result in a serious breach of academic integrity conesequence that can affect your ability to progress in your program. Always seek your professor’s permission before using these tools in your academic work, and always cite any sources that you use.
  7. Take advantage of the support Georgian College offers:
    This would be your best course of action! If you need help, take advantage of all the approved services available to you at Georgian College, such as Counselling, the Library & Academic Success Centre which includes tutoring, the Math Centre, the Writing Centre and Language Help Centre. Remember: you can only improve and learn by doing the work yourself! Getting help from Georgian support services also ensures you are upholding Academic Integrity principles.

Activity source: “Responsibility” by Ulrike Kestler In Academic Integrity is licensed under CC BY-NC-SA 4.0. / Text version created.

Courage

Upholding academic integrity standards requires courage to resist temptations for the “easy way out” and to speak up against wrongdoing.

Scenario 6

You are entering the room to write your final exam. You see a sign that reads “No electronic devices permitted. Please leave them at the front. You may pick them up after you have finished the exam”. As you enter, you see your classmates put their phones in their pockets. What might you do?

Click on the responses to see the answers to each.

Read Scenario 6 in Plain text
  1. Do what your classmates did and put it in you pocket:
    It is important to follow the guidelines of the exam room and have the courage to not simply follow what your friends are doing. Keeping it in your pocket is not a good choice. To avoid being accused of cheating, your phone should not be accessible to you.
  2. Ask if you can take your phone to keep it safe:
    It is always best to ask if you are unsure about something. Also, while you may not want to tell on your classmates, you should not ignore a behaviour that goes against the rules. Having a phone during an exam may lead a student to use it to gain an unfair advantage over others. By alerting the exam invigilator, you show that you have the courage to uphold academic integrity principles and mention that others are doing so.
  3. Leave it in your bag under your seat:
    This may be an acceptable solution, provided the phone is completely turned off and not accessible to you. However, you absolutely need to ask the exam invigilator if you can do so.
  4. Bring it with you in case of emergency:
    Exam invigilators are trained to respond to emergencies. If you need to be accessible by phone during your exam, you need to make arrangements prior to the exam with the invigilator. If possible, however, notify others that you will not be available by phone for a scheduled period of time.

Activity source: “Courage” by Ulrike Kestler In Academic Integrity is licensed under CC BY-NC-SA 4.0. / Text version created.

Hopefully, these scenarios showed you that you always have the opportunity to do the right thing, and that there is help available if you need it. It is up to you to make the appropriate choices.

Artificial Intelligence (AI) Tools & Academic Integrity

Artificial Intelligence (AI) tools, such as ChatGPT, are becoming increasingly popular and more and more widely available. While these tools may be very appealing, the unauthorized use of AI tools, such as (but not limited to) ChatGPT, Copilot, Quillbot, Wordtune, and Textsummarizer, mean that you are not completing assigned work yourself.

Watch Use ChatGPT to write essays for school? Students beware of this (5 mins) on YouTube

Video source: Jeremy’s Tutorials. (2023, February 8). Use ChatGPT to write essays for school? Students beware of this. . . [Video]. YouTube. https://youtu.be/AvhGgqBsMkQ

Thinking of using AI Tools? Check before you do!

Using an AI tool to complete your work without specific permission from your professor:

Using an AI tool? Cite it!
You must cite any work/ideas that are not your own.
Check the APA Guide for tips.

  • Means handing in work that you did not complete yourself
  • Affects your integrity and credibility
  • Prevents you from meeting the learning outcomes of your course/program
  • Can be detected – text written by AI has numerous features that your professor can identify
  • Can result in a Breach of Academic Integrity such as:
    • cheating (using technology inappropriately, handing in someone else’s work)
    • fabrication (AI tools often fabricate sources, invent citations, and use inaccurate information)
    • plagiarism[(AI tools do not properly credit their sources, and you’re plagiarizing if you don’t cite the AI tools yourself)

Reminder – Plagiarism & Breaches of Academic Integrity

  • Submitting work that uses someone else’s words/text without proper citation & referencing is Plagiarism, a breach of academic integrity
  • Submitting work that you didn’t complete yourself is cheating, another breach of academic integrity

Breaches of academic integrity can affect your ability to complete an assignment, a course, or progress through your program to graduation. Always seek your professor’s permission before using any sort of AI tool to complete your assignments

What should students know about AI tools & ChatGPT?

Read what should students know about AI tools & ChatGPT in Plain text
  • Misinformation: ChatGPT uses information from the internet. There is good information online, but there is also discriminatory, outdated and incorrect information as well. ChatGPT is also known to incorrectly explain ideas and misquote sources. ChatGPT will make errors, just as humans do!
  • Privacy: Students must create an account to use ChatGPT, which enables the collection of data, which is a privacy concern. Some AI tools will require students to provide a phone number or other personal information. Students should be mindful of the information they share when creating an account. Please check out the privacy policy and terms of use for ChatGPT. Keep in mind that while using the tools, your conversations are typically recorded and stored by the tool and used for their purposes.
  • Research Skills: AI tools like ChatGPT do not necessarily report the sources they use, and may not use sources that satisfy your assignment requirements. In testing, the sources that ChatGPT produces when prompted have frequently shown to be non-existent or inaccurate at best. ChatGPT may appear to conduct research on behalf of students, and this could mean that important skills — researching, critically evaluating information, and problem-solving — will not be learned by students.
  • Copyright: ChatGPT uses material taken from the internet, generally without the permission of the authors. It has been argued that ChatGPT is ” ‘copyright laundering’ — making works derivative of existing material without breaking copyright” (Hern, 2022, para. 11). Copyright compliance is part of academic integrity, making it very important to be critical about the use of such tools in your academic work.

Source: “What should students know about AI tools & ChatGPT” by Jennifer Easter, licensed under CC BY-NC-SA. / Plain text version added.

Academic Integrity Resources for Students

Student & Academic Success Services that can help

Georgian has many fantastic resources to help you gain the skills you need to be successful in your academic work.

Read more about the following services, or stop by the Library and Academic Success or Student Success at your campus for more information.

Key Takeaways

  • as a student you are a part of the scholarly community
  • Georgian College’s Academic Integrity regulations outline 7 types of breaches of academic integrity: cheating, fabrication, plagiarism, facilitating a breach of academic integrity, impersonation, denying access to information or material, copyright violation.
  • all members of this community must uphold the six principles of academic integrity: honesty, trust, fairness, respect, responsibility, and courage
  • any breach of academic integrity:
    • is dishonest and compromises the worth of other’s work
    • undermines the trust between students and professors
    • is unfair to students who pursue their studies honestly
    • disrespects professors and the institution as a whole
    • is irresponsible to yourself, because it prevents you from meaningfully reaching your own scholarly potential
  • it is your responsibility to uphold academic integrity standards
  • breaches of academic integrity can have severe academic consequences
  • the use of AI tools, such as ChatGPT, to complete assignments without your professor’s specific permission may result in a breach of academic integrity

Attribution & References

Except where otherwise noted, this page is adapted from “Part 1: Academic Integrity: Introduction” by Ulrike Kestler In Academic Integrity, licensed under CC BY-NC-SA. / Adapted to reference Georgian College with addition of services and resources available for students.

References

Georgian College. (n.d.). 8. Academic integrity. Retrieved April 25, 2023, from https://cat.georgiancollege.ca/academic-regulations/integrity/

Hern, A. (2022, December 4). AI bot ChatGPT stuns academics with essay-writing skills and usability. The Guardian. https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2022/dec/04/ai-bot-chatgpt-stuns-academics-with-essay-writing-skills-and-usability

International Center for Academic Integrity. (2013). The fundamental values of academic integrity (2nd ed.). https://www.academicintegrity.org/wp-content/uploads/2017/12/Fundamental-Values-2014.pdf (new version available). CC BY-NC-SA 4.0

MusicCentric Technologies. (2018). IntegrityMatters [Mobile application software]. https://apps.apple.com/ . CC BY-NC 4.0.

  1. a. Handing in a paper created by a term paper creation organization ↵
  2. c. American Psychological Association (APA) Style ↵
  3. a. AND c. If the student used the materials themselves, this could be considered cheating under Georgian's Academic Integrity regulations. If the student shared these materials with others, it could also be 8.2.4 - Facilitating a Breach of Academic Integrity. ↵
  4. c. Both friends A & B. Georgian's Academic Integrity regulations states that both students would be held responsible for the breach of academic integrity. ↵
  5. b. 8.2.3 - Plagiarism. Resubmitting work is considered self-plagiarism under Georgian's regulations. ↵
  6. a. This is covered under 8.2.2 - Fabrication in Georgian's Academic Integrity regulations. b. This may also be fabrication, but it's not listed as an example under section 8.2.2 in Georgian's Academic Integrity regulations. ↵
  7. b. Yes, this scenario of improper research would likely fall under Fabrication at Georgian College. ↵
  8. c. Denying access to information or impeding the learning of others is covered under section 8.2.6. ↵
  9. b. Facilitating a breach of academic integrity covers aiding and abetting. ↵
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Communication Essentials for College Copyright © 2022 by Jen Booth, Emily Cramer & Amanda Quibell, Georgian College is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License, except where otherwise noted.

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