What is academic integrity?

The University and wider academic community is built on shared values and norms of behaviour, including honesty, fairness and responsibility.  Academic integrity means putting those values into practise by being honest in the academic work you do at university, being fair to others, and taking responsibility for learning, and following the conventions of scholarship.  It is the University's responsibility to award credit for honestly conducted work, and it is your responsibility to ensure that you demonstrate academic integrity by:

• using information appropriately, according to copyright and privacy laws
• acknowledging where the information you use comes from
• not presenting other people's work as your own
• conducting research ethically, in line with the University's regulations on human research ethics
• reporting truthfully on your research
• acting in an ethical manner in all your academic endeavors

You are here to learn:  if you try to present other people's work as your own, you are not learning!

The University must ensure the quality of its teaching and learning:  La Trobe's qualifications mean that those graduates have successfully completed the necessary learning.  If the University allowed cheating or plagiarism, it would mean no guarantee of the quality of learning.

You will need to demonstrate integrity in your future employment:  If you do not demonstrate honesty, fairness and responsibility in the workplace, the consequences could be very serious, from losing your job to facing legal action.

There are rules, laws and regulations:  The University has policies, procedures and guidelines about academic integrity and requires all staff and students to follow them.

There are penalties for academic misconduct:  If you do not demonstrate academic integrity as required by the University, you will be guilty of academic misconduct. The penalties for this range from failing an assessment task, to being excluded from the University without readmission.

If you are a new undergraduate or postgraduate coursework student, you must complete this in your first semester of enrolment.  This fully online module will take about one hour to complete.  The Academic Integrity website provides further details.

Still have questions? Do you want to talk to an expert? Peer Learning Advisors or Academic Skills and Language Advisors are available.