Understanding Academic Integrity

Academic integrity is about conducting your academic work with honesty, trust, fairness, respect, responsibility, and courage.[1] All members of the KPU community have a responsibility to contribute to a culture of academic integrity. You demonstrate academic integrity by:

• Acknowledging where the ideas you use come from
• Learning about and following the university’s academic integrity rules
• Respecting copyright laws
• Making sure that the work you submit is your own
• Doing the right thing even when faced with challenges

Why is Academic Integrity important?

Academic integrity is important because:

• Your academic achievements should reflect your own learning and work
• Learning with integrity will ensure that you get the most out of your education and that you acquire the necessary skills and knowledge to succeed not only in your studies but also in your career
• It is a way of showing respect for the hard work of your instructors and other students
• It ensures that KPU degrees and credentials reflect a high quality of education because all graduates will have achieved the necessary learning outcomes
• Breaches of academic integrity can have serious consequences

Academic Integrity at KPU

Requirements and ideas around academic integrity can vary among different universities, cultures, and languages. At KPU, we have specific rules and procedures for academic integrity which can be found here. (https://www.kpu.ca/academicintegrity/policies)

Your instructors will also have specific requirements related to academic integrity. For example, your instructor may tell you to use a specific reference and citation style in your writing to give credit to the authors whose ideas you write about.

Your instructors will also have rules about when you can work on a project with someone else and when you need to do the work by yourself. It is important to ask your instructor about these expectations

Support Resources

KPU has free resources that can support you and help you avoid academic integrity issues.

Student Rights and Responsibilities Office  – The office will provide accurate, consistent, and balanced information on KPU policies and help you understand your rights and responsibilities as a KPU student.

Counselling Services  – Arrange a meeting with a counsellor for emotional support and guidance.

KPU’s 24/7 Student Support Program  – My SSP – Get mental health support by telephone or chat in your preferred language.

Kwantlen Student Association Peer Support Resource Centre – Chat with trained student volunteers about university life and get connected with helpful resources.

KSA Student Rights Centre – Contact the student advocacy coordinator for help navigating the process if you have been reported for an academic integrity violation or if you would like someone to attend a meeting with you for support.

Academic Advising – Meet with an academic advisor who can help you find courses that will help you succeed in your studies.

Learning Strategists – Meet with a learning strategist from the Learning Centres who can help you learn skills to prevent academic integrity violations and succeed in your courses.

The Learning Centres – In addition to learning strategists, access tutoring, workshops, and learning aids that can support you in your studies.

Library Academic Integrity Liaison – Speak with a librarian who can help you learn to avoid plagiarism by citing your sources correctly.

Questions? email: academic.integrity@kpu.ca

Academic Integrity Tutorial

All Peer Tutors complete the KPU Academic Integrity Tutorial. A reminder of the content and the link to the tutorial can be found here: https://libguides.kpu.ca/academicintegrity/tutorial

Topics covered are:

• What academic integrity means at KPU
• Why academic integrity is important
• The most common examples of academic misconduct
• What happens if you are involved in academic misconduct
• Why people might engage in academic misconduct
• Strategies and resources to help you uphold academic integrity

Student FAQ

An excellent series of answers to frequently asked questions can be found here: https://www.kpu.ca/academicintegrity/students/faq Review this material

For detailed examples of Academic Dishonesty review: https://www.kpu.ca/academicintegrity/students/examples-of-ai-misconduct

Academic Integrity Investigation

There is a process that happens when a suspected breach of academic integrity is reported and information on what options and supports are available to students throughout the process. Detailed information is located here: https://www.kpu.ca/academicintegrity/students/what-can-i-do

Academic Integrity and You

Review the information here: https://www.kpu.ca/academicintegrity/students/tips

Activity

Refer to the Ethical scenarios in both Level I and Level II workbooks. Pick one or two that ring true for you in your experience with Academic Integrity. Write a paragraph on what the issue is for you and how you think you should approach that sort of situation. Use this as one of your journal entries.