Three things considered cheating that may surprise you
It’s an hour to midnight and you’re 500 words away from submitting an assignment. Bleary-eyed you chugg down a coffee and stare into the void that is your computer screen. You pull up some notes and do another Google search as your willpower leaves the building.
You might be tempted to take the easy route by copying and pasting from your friend’s graded assignment into your own, but is that really the right thing to do?
If you are doing one of these three things, pause and rethink.
1. Giving your graded assignment to another student or posting it online.
Passing off another person’s work as your own creates an unfair academic advantage over students, undermining fairness and equality. Also, relying on someone else’s notes prevents students from engaging deeply with the content and developing their own understanding and skills. You can't claim marks for someone else's work.
2. Submitting an assignment that you have already received a grade for in another course.
Students are expected to produce new and original work for each course and reusing assignments by presenting old work as new, is considered dishonest. By reusing old assignments you’ll miss out on the opportunity to learn and demonstrate understanding of new material. Plus, you can’t claim credit for the same work twice.
3. Not attributing information generated by artificial intelligence.
Just as with any other source, failing to attribute information from AI-generated content is a breach of academic integrity, misleading others into believing that the ideas or content are your own work. It’s taking credit for work that you did not independently create, which is unfair to students who engage in the work of original content creation.
Grace Atta
Understanding the new Academic Integrity policy will help you understand the different types of academic misconduct and the penalties.
"As a journalist, having integrity sits at the core of everything I do. In a world of misinformation and endless speculation, it’s essential the public have somewhere where they can access reliable news. This includes ensuring that facts and figures are represented accurately, that we are transparent about our sources of information (while at times managing a legitimate need for anonymity), and that we always prioritise the truth over sensationalism. Integrity also means that we treat people with respect, we quote them accurately and in context, we think about the impact of our questions and our stories on the wider community and ensure we’re reflecting on our own pre-conceptions and bias as we put together our work."
Journalist and Alumni, Grace Atta
How to know what the right thing is
Academic Integrity is a moral code that all universities support to instil students with values such as honesty and fairness. It’s totally valid to use ideas and content from others, including content produced by generative artificial intelligence where permitted, however you need to make sure you attribute and reference them properly. If you present someone else’s work as your own, intentionally or unintentionally there are consequences that can have a negative impact on your academic reputation. Similar to the workplace, if you don't do the right thing by others and act unethically, it may have serious consequences.
Resources:
Academic Integrity Module in MyUni
Academic Integrity Mini-Modules