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.