What is academic integrity and why is it important?

Academic integrity means acting in a way that is honest, fair, respectful and responsible in your studies and academic work. It means applying these values in your own work, and also when you engage with the work and contributions of others. These values are expected of both staff and students.

Academic integrity is a set of values and practices that expect us to act with honesty, trust, fairness, respect and responsibility (TEQSA 2021). It means approaching your studies, research and professional life in an ethical way, having the courage to make the right decisions and displaying integrity in your actions as part of the Monash community. Academic integrity is about who you are as a person, and how you act when it matters.

You, along with every student and every staff member at Monash have a part to play in this. Practising academic integrity builds trust in your own work, in the scholarly community at Monash, and in the academic and workplace communities you will participate in as a Monash graduate.

Note

Maintaining academic integrity is important because:

  • good academic work is underpinned by honesty, trust and respect
  • you want to acknowledge who created or developed new ideas or research
  • knowledge is created by many people, and we want to acknowledge each person's contribution
  • when you copy someone else’s work, you don’t actually learn anything.

What does Monash University do to support academic integrity?

At Monash, we use three lenses to teach you about Academic Integrity: Education, Prevention and Discipline.

We help you understand what good academic practice looks like in your discipline field and also more generally. We help you learn about personal and professional integrity and standards and give you opportunities to learn when you might make mistakes. We teach you how to use academic language, conventions (like referencing) and use evidence to back your ideas. We show you who to ask when you need help and how to get support in the right way.

We make it easier for you to do the right thing through our assessment design and work to understand why students might be dishonest (intentionally or unintentionally) so that we can prevent it. We work with you to protect the value of your degree and make sure you don’t get in trouble for misconduct.

We take action when it is reported that someone has gained an unfair advantage through breaching academic integrity. We do this to protect the value of a Monash degree. This means you can be proud to be a Monash graduate. We invite you into a community of graduates who are respected for their integrity and excellence and we protect that reputation.

Taking it further