Academic Integrity Essay

On a research paper, how much information can you “borrow” with or without citing the original author?  How do you cite the resources you “borrowed” or quoted from the original author?  Will anyone know if you submit a friend’s research paper?  No one can see you taking an online test from your living room – should that change how you take a test?

Rules governing academic integrity among students and schools is a practice deeply entrenched in the American education system and that of those around the world. Likely beginning at the University of Virginia in the United States during 1842 as a way to discourage cheating, dishonesty, and plagiarism, it soon spread throughout the nation. Today, the overwhelming majority of schools in the US, from elementary to collegiate, have their own form of a honor code. Among these schools is Port Charlotte High School, PCHS abbreviated, whose own code of conduct is based heavily on students being educated about the effects that their cheating will have on their academic future and punishing those who are discovered to have cheated in any form. So far, these particular academic regulations have proven successful and because of this, the charge put forward by the school should continue to be maintained. Revising the Code of Conduct into a peer-enforced system creates is statistically inefficient, hostilities between students, and eliminating the honor code would easily produce a school where cheating reigns free.

As college standards increase yearly, students feel greater pressure to succeed. As a result of the rising academic expectations, cheating has become a national issue and most students have admitted to cheating at least once in their educational career. Overloaded with school work, students see cheating as an advantage and step towards academic success. Thus, cheating results from an urgency to do well in school and being overscheduled.

Maintaining academic integrity in today’s age of collaboration, sharing and social networking has been challenging for students, educators, and administrators. These challenges are caused by, among other factors, the increase and availability of new types of technology, the difference in the characteristics and viewpoints of the millennial generation and the changing society and environment in which we are in (Dyer, 2010). To ensure proper academic integrity standards are upheld, all stakeholders need to know the definitions and discussions of the most common types of academic dishonesty, and also understand the

As a student of the Dr. Robert B. Pamplin Jr. School of Business I have read and strive to uphold the University’s Code of Academic Integrity and promote ethical behavior. In doing so, I pledge on my honor that I have not given, received, or used any unauthorized materials or assistance on this examination or assignment. I further pledge that I have not engaged in cheating, forgery, or plagiarism and I have cited all appropriate sources.

Academic integrity continues to be an important issue of public concern especially in higher education institutions. There are countless articles that report students cheating on examinations, plagiarizing written assignments, and collaborating with others when such behavior is prohibited. Conversely, there are reports of viable honor systems that have been implemented in schools that make such unethical behavior less pervasive. Both of these extremes, beg the question whether an honor code, such as the Stevens Honor System, is the most effective way to curb immoral behavior and promote a high regard for honesty. As Henry David Thoreau makes it clear in his essay, “Civil Disobedience,” governments should not be allowed to impede on individuals’ consciences and behaviors. Thus, the honor code should only be a set of minimalistic rules that promote each individual’s personal integrity so they can act honorably based on their own conscience. It should not however, in any way, legislate or seek to punish students for unlawfulness. By drawing from Hsun Tzu’s ideas in “Encouraging Learning,” an honor code ought to be treated as a cornerstone on which a foundation of moral and ethical academic behavior is built. Hsun Tzu, a Chinese philosopher, poses many interesting points about the connection between learning and moral behavior in shaping students into lawful citizens. The success of an honor code depends on the trust it places in individuals’ beliefs and how they are applied to

There is a pressure put on by parents, teachers and the students themselves to maintain high grades when it comes to school. There is a big belief that grades define who a person is and what they will be able to come later on in life. With that logic hanging over their head cheating can become an intentional thing or simple just a calculated decision in order to get ahead. Academic cheating can come from external pressures as I said before; along with unfair professors with their overly harsh grading, and unfair test designed to fail students. This all then causes students to have performance concerns of needing to excel at any cost with cheating being the go to

“It is not a question of who cheats, it is a question of who cheats the most”. If everybody does it then why does it matter if you cheat every once in a while to get by. If students successfully pull it off then they easily slip by on a test or homework assignment without having to do anything, giving them more time to do leisurely activities. The reason some students cheat is deeper than that most of the time, with college requirements becoming higher, students struggle to reach those requirements without a little help sometimes. Students resort to cheating due to GPA’s, the pressure, and the reward.

As technology continues to grow and advance, so does the presence and access to various methods of cheating. In simple terms, cheating is stealing information or work in order to be used for personal gain or to have an advantage against the competition. More and more students are resorting to cheating as the academic competition for college and jobs increases. Although it seems to be common knowledge to students that what they are doing is wrong and severely punishable, most students believe the benefit of cheating trumps the risk, and that they will never get caught or punished anyway. As the amount of academic dishonesty continues to grow amongst students ranging from elementary school to graduate students, it is becoming increasingly apparent

“Have the courage to say no. Have the courage to face the truth. Do the right thing because it is right. These are the magic keys to living your life with integrity.”(W. Clement Stone). A school is a place where you challenge your mind. It is a place where you gain knowledge. You need to have integrity to be successful in school. Academic integrity helps schools confront problems such as cheating, plagiarism, and encourage honesty.

Pressure is one of the major reasons that drives students to cheat. The academic pressure that students in high school and college experience is very intense. They experience academic pressure from their parents. In Doctor Rajjini Dahiya Sarita’s academic journal she discusses some reasons why students cheat, “Many students cheat to impress their parents, hoping to bring home a good grade my lead to them receiving several good compliments and rewards” (Sarita 793). Majority of students try their best in school to get grades that their parents will be proud of. So when students experience this type of pressure to get

Academic integrity is not something that just applies to college students. The method of thinking and attitude should be in the back of most everyone’s mind. To me academic integrity means more than just not cheating in school. When I engage in deep thought about what it means I tend to think honesty and discipline. To have academic integrity you have to be honest. Not only do you have to be honest with yourself but also everyone who surrounds you. Cheating is such an easy way to accomplish something but it often has hard consequences. Even if you are not the type of person who usually cheats but you get in a time crunch and it instantly becomes tempting to do it “just this one time”. The truth is that cheating gets easier after each time you

Academic dishonesty is a growing concern among the undergrad students of the business school in the world. It is a problem that starts in elementary school and goes on through high schools, undergrads and master's level programs. There are many reasons for the rise of the academic dishonesty in the undergrad level.

I completed my second master’s degree in 2011, and considered pursuing a DBA degree but did not proceed. Reason being, my discipline at the time was Accounting and had I been employed by a business consulting firm I would have considered it. I also felt that there was no value to me pursuing a DBA with a discipline such as accounting, and then the cost was also an issue. I also did not feel at the time that incurring student loan debt was necessary. Now, I have changed my tune. After being unemployed

According to a recent poll conducted at Iowa State University, 53% of the upper-class students cheated on a test or plagiarized a paper while at Iowa State and 91% know someone who has (Bishop, 1993). Cheating among students is drastically increasing, evolving, and diversifying in pursuit of that ‘A’ grade. Students are constantly coming up with new innovative methods to accomplish this reprehensible act to suit the need of the specific subject they desire to ace. This prompts the burning questions: what are the effects of an academic career that thrives on cheating, what is compelling this escalation in the lack of academic integrity, and what can the education system/society do to combat it?