Importance of Academic Integrity in Higher Education

This report discusses the definition and importance of academic integrity in higher education. It also covers the implications of academic misconduct and the skills learned through designing a game. The report includes references to various books and journals.

BMP3003-1

TABLE OF CONTENTS
INTRODUCTION...........................................................................................................................3
MAIN BODY...................................................................................................................................3
Description of academic integrity-...............................................................................................3
Importance of academic integrity within the higher education ..................................................4
Implications of academic misconduct..........................................................................................5
SECTION 2......................................................................................................................................5
Reflection of the steps which has been taken and the difficulties faced while producing the
game-............................................................................................................................................5
Skills learned through designing this game.................................................................................7
REFERENCES................................................................................................................................1

INTRODUCTION
Academic integrity is basically the term which involves expectation which the teachers,
researchers as well as the students of the academic communities or the areas act with the
fairness, honesty, responsibilities and respect. Breaching the academic integrity is known as
academic misconduct (Chugh and et.al., 2021). This report will discuss the definition of
academic integrity as well as its importance in higher education. Further, the implications of the
academic misconduct will be discussed and the reflection on the skills which were enhanced
while producing the games.
MAIN BODY
Description of academic integrity-
Academic integrity is the term which is referred to as the moral code or the ethical policy
of the academia. Basically, the academic integrity means avoiding or eliminating the plagiarism
and the cheating within the various misconduct behaviours. This is practised in the many of the
educational institutions and its is expressed s the mission statements, policies, honor codes as
well as the procedures. This helps in improving the trust and the honesty for the students as well
as gives them the credits who actually practices this. Academic integrity is commitment to the
fundamental values for the honesty, trust, fairness, respect as well as the courage. By using these
values, the ethical academic behaviour can be defined which creates the community which is
highly dedicated towards the learning and Exchange of the ideas (Tatum, 2022).
As the academic integrity is acting in such as way that honesty, fairness, respect as well
as the responsibilities are practised by the students so this helps In creating the effective
environment within the educational institutions. This term can be explained to the students as to
be honest about the ideas which were derived from other people, acting very fairly by not taking

the advantage for other students work as well as by taking the responsibilities and carrying out
them effectively are the basic values which has to be considered by the students. The fairness,
respect, responsibilities, honesty, trust and the courage are the fundamental principles of the
academic integrity.
Importance of academic integrity within the higher education
As discussed above, the academic integrity is associated with the moral code and ethics
within the individual so this is very important to be maintained by them. Due to the increase in
the technological advancements, the higher education has been challenged much as this has
increased the risks. The higher education must involve the academic integrity as this will help in
protecting the school or the image of the college as well as also helps them in maintaining the
integrity and adds well being. The academic integrity is very important as this will develop the
new ideas and there will be contribution of each and every individual so that the things can be
learnt effectively (Egan, 2018). As while copying the things from the other students this does not
allow them to learn the new things. This enables the students to learn the new things and
ultimately achieve the educational goals and success.
Maintenance of academic integrity within an institution in particular is very necessary
and also very important for the teachers who are teaching as well as the students who are
learning, it is basically important for all the stakeholders of the academic institution in particular
(Bretag., 2016). This is so important because the academic integrity in particular allows the staff
as well as the students to build innovative and new ideas, it gives them that freedom in particular,
also through this they are able to build their knowledge as well as skills and also build creative
works through acknowledging and respecting the work that is done by the teachers or the
students in particular. Due to presence of academic integrity the institutions are able to
efficiently respond to the issues regarding academic misconduct, transparency, etc. Also, the
university ensures the records of the outcomes and the investigations are kept in a safe,
confidential and secure manner. Also, through this the institutions in particular work on the
quality improvisation in the consistent cycle by monitoring as well as overseeing the mature and
the occurrences of the instances that are happening or taking place in the academic institution in
particular.

Implications of academic misconduct
Academic misconduct in particular refer to the cheating in some or the other way which
occurs within the formal academic institution and is regarding the formal academic activities or
exercises in particular (Parnther., 2020). Academic misconduct specifically focuses on the
activities or the tasks that are not within the limits or the boundaries that are set by the academic
institution in particular by implementation or application of academic integrity within the
institution in particular. It includes actions such as, contract cheating, collusion, fabrication of
the data or information, possession of the unauthorized materials at the time of the examination
or the tests in the academic institution in particular. There are many implications of the academic
misconduct, this is precisely and specifically for the reason so that due to these implications none
of the individuals do academic misconduct and also support academic integrity in particular.
The implications of major misconducts that are faced for the reason of academic
misconduct in particular can also be major. For misconducts like plagiarism, cheating, and
academic dishonesty in any form in particular can lead to implications like expulsion or
suspension from the particular institute. Some of the institutions also charge fines from the
individuals that have done academic misconduct and have harmed the overall academic integrity
of the institution. There is also loss of the future projects to the individuals and at times if the
misconduct is very major in case of students, they might not be able to get to the next class or
semester and their whole year, semester and fees of that particular duration is wasted totally. And
these implications are decided on the basis of the institution, the level of education that the
institution in particular is providing, the number of students present in the institution, the number
of teachers and staff members present in the institution, the level of academic integrity the
institution has been following, etc.
SECTION 2
Reflection of the steps which has been taken and the difficulties faced while producing the game-
Name of game:
Dice roll
While producing and designing the dice roll game there were number of the steps which
has been taken and followed such as-

Picking the concept: The first and the initial step is to generate different concepts and the ideas
so that among these one of the most effective and the suitable game concept can be selected. By
conducting the research and exploring various genres and subgenres will help in finding out the
most interested type of the game within the children's. This step has to be performed very
carefully as this is basis of the overall game designing process (Delserieys and et.al., 2019).
Collecting information: After the ideas as been generated, now the nest step is to collect the
information regarding each and every game which has been listed. From the game designer
perspective all the instructions has to be decided and framed so that the game can be understood
and played effectively by the children. It is very necessary for the game designer to collect and
gather the information regarding the games as this enables them to build the best game for the
audience. As the game which was designed by me is the dice roll in which the children's will
play the game through rolling and so all the information and instructions has to be framed.
Collection of resources: The another step is to collect the resources which are available for
building the game. As this will help in finding out what all other resources required as it is very
essential for the designer to understand the availability of the resources.
Initiating the game building: The nest step is to build the framework of the game which has
been selected. This step is basically involves converting the ideas into the action or the reality. At
this stage of the development of game, all the resources must be used effectively and properly.
Testing the games: The last step is to evaluate and test the game from every point of view. This
will enable the designer to make any improvements if required.
There were number of the difficulties faced while developing and designing the game
such as-
Balancing the fun with education: This is one of the biggest challenge or the difficulties faced
while designing the game for creating the balance between the fun factors and the educational
factors (Rodrigues, Conrado and Neris, 2018).
Lack of experience: If the game designer is having the lack of experience they are not able to
produce and develop effective game for the audience. This can only be done when there is good
experience within the game designer.
Collection of data: It is very difficult for the people to acquire the data related to the game. As
specifically, the data cannot be collected for the game, so this becomes very difficult for the
game designer to collect and gather the information.

Skills learned through designing this game
This game helped me in learning a lot of skills in particular. The skills have been in many
sectors and regarding many aspects in particular. The major skill I have learnt through this
project of designing and developing this game in particular is the leadership skills that are
required for the completion of this project in particular and for enhancing the productivity levels
within the team so that people are more interested in working on the project. This also helped in
supporting my team to move towards the common goal that was to be achieved through the
completion of the project in particular (Sousa. and Rocha., 2019). I did this through motivating
and understanding the requirements of the people that worked in my team in particular. Also, this
helped to enhance my motivation skills that are essential or relevant requirements of any leader
or manager and this will help in efficiently working in my future projects. Also, because I know
how to work with a team and manage team efficiently as well as effectively, this will enhance the
quality of my resume too.
Other skill that I have learnt is team work. An efficient, proficient and productive team is
build by a team leader that knows how to lead effectively. The team or the human resource is the
most important and the most complex resource that is required in completion of a particular
project (Guchait. Lei. and Tews., 2016). Through this I got to know how to deal with different
kinds of people and the ways through which I could deal with them. I learnt a lot about
personalities and the way people react to similar situations in a different way. I also got to take
big and small decisions regarding the game development and designing in the process. This also
enhanced my decision- making skills in particular. I took decisions regarding the questions to be
asked, how much time should be invested in particular activities or tasks, what should be the
budget that should be particularly used in each of the activities on the basis of its importance, and
who should be the people working on certain things, etc. Some of these decisions might be small,
but they helped me to learn to take more responsibilities in particular.
Other skills that I have learned are to be kind and generous to the people and also teach
people who might not know about things. Also, through working in a team and with a number of
people, I personally got to learn a lot of new things and knowledge regarding the aspects I never
thought were much important or necessary in particular. Through this my social skills also
enhanced and I learnt how to initiate conversations with people and not be awkward. I also
learned to be more confident in social environments, which will obviously help or support my

future interactions and impact them positively. This will help me to get better opportunities in the
future and I will not lack behind in that situation.

REFERENCES
Books and journals
Bretag, T. ed., 2016. Handbook of academic integrity (p. 463). Singapore: Springer Singapore.
Chugh, R., and et.al., 2021. Back to the Classroom: Educating Sessional Teaching Staff about
Academic Integrity. Journal of Academic Ethics, 19(1), pp.115-134.
Delserieys, A., and et.al., 2019, December. Designing a game for teaching challenging STEM
concepts. In 1st International Conference on Innovation in Learning Instruction and
Teacher Education-ILITE 1.
Egan, A., 2018. Improving academic integrity through assessment design.
Guchait, P., Lei, P. and Tews, M.J., 2016. Making teamwork work: Team knowledge for team
effectiveness. The Journal of psychology. 150(3). pp.300-317.
Parnther, C., 2020. Academic misconduct in higher education: A comprehensive review. Journal
of Higher Education Policy And Leadership Studies. 1(1). pp.25-45.
Rodrigues, K.R., Conrado, D.B. and Neris, V., 2018, July. Lessons learned in designing a digital
therapeutic game to support the treatment and well-being of children with cancer.
In International Conference of Design, User Experience, and Usability (pp. 231-243).
Springer, Cham.
Sousa, M.J. and Rocha, Á., 2019. Leadership styles and skills developed through game-based
learning. Journal of Business Research. 94. pp.360-366.
Tatum, H.E., 2022. Honor codes and academic integrity: Three decades of research. Journal of
College and Character. 23(1), pp.32-47.
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