Academic Integrity: Importance, Values, and Consequences

This article discusses the importance and values of academic integrity, the consequences of academic misconduct, and a reflection on the steps and difficulties encountered while creating a game on academic integrity. It covers the five pillars of academic integrity, the value of academic integrity for students, universities, and new ideas, and the implications of academic misconduct. The reflection covers the skills developed while creating a game, including communication, technical, and creativity skills.

Academic Integrity

Table of Contents
INTRODUCTION ..........................................................................................................................3
Section-1..........................................................................................................................................3
Value of Academic Integrity.......................................................................................................4
Academic misconduct and its consequences. .............................................................................5
Section-2 .........................................................................................................................................6
Reflection on the steps and difficulties.......................................................................................6
Skills developed while creating a game......................................................................................7
CONCLUSION ...............................................................................................................................8
REFERNCES:..................................................................................................................................9
Books and Journals:....................................................................................................................9

INTRODUCTION
The Universities and broad academic community is based upon shares norms and values
of behaviour, including responsibility, honest and fairness. Academic Integrity can be used as
term that puts values into practices by doing work with honesty in the academy, being fairs to
others, following conventions of scholarship and taking responsibility for learning (Sotiriadou
and et.al., 2020). The following assessment is divided into two parts. In first part, the values of
academic integrity is covered, while discussing consequences of misconduct in the academy. In
second part, a reflection is covered on the steps and difficulties that is encountered in the game
production. It also covers the skills that is learned in the game production.
Section-1
What is academic integrity?
Academic Integrity is the basis of objectives of university that enable a dealing of ideas,
build new ideas and it necessitates that individual learners work with and trust each other. It is
also promoted by avoiding dishonest behaviours in the academy such as falsification, fabrication
and plagiarism.
As per the viewpoints of “The International Center for Academic Integrity, there are five
pillars of academic integrity to make positive conversations about the academic integrity.
 Honesty: It signifies sincerity in the academic work. Honest learners take stock of their
own abilities and shows their effort in a fair manner.
 Trust: It suggests that when an individual build trust on another individual and in the
community soothes the working relationships. It is established where all members
performing their best work and where policies and structures are fair.
 Fairness: It is found in hand with trust. Every learner in the academy must believe that
they will treated and judged fairly in the community and academy (Eaton, Crossman and
Edino, 2019). Suppose, an individual can trust on his teachers that they will assess their
work with honesty and not favour one person over next one.
 Respect: It allows for individual opinions and viewpoints to be shared and valued.
Academic scholars shows respect by listening other viewpoints, being prepared and
performing their best of the work. Professors also show respect by listening ideas of
students and help them by giving suitable feedback.

 Responsibility: It allows an individual to take the responsibility and agency in the
regular actions and work.
Value of Academic Integrity.
Academic Integrity delivers a significant value to the students, university and to build
new ideas.
For students:
Academic Integrity is important for the individuals to give themselves a chance of
success by performing their assigned work with an honest attitude. It is also valuable to avoid
bad implications such as not getting success in the assessment or being asked to leave the college
or organisation (Clarkson, 2021). When an individual doing his tasks with honest behaviour then
it will be stepping stone to success in the selected domain.
For University:
Academic Integrity is important for the universities as well, because the way scholars
study and staff works affects how outsiders overlook the college or university. It is essential for
the academies to be trustworthy and consistent in its values and standards for the courses and
assignments so that outsiders can have a confidence in the people who passed out from the
university with degrees. This is why, it becomes a serious issue for the university if anyone
misconduct in the work. Additionally, when a student becomes graduate from the university, he
will be proud that his work was based on the foundations of respect and fairness and degree will
be respected as well.
For new ideas:
Academic Integrity is vital to acknowledge the sources adequately in academic work as it
provides proper commendation to the people whose knowledge and thoughts have been used. Its
allows the professionals to marking the assessment and see where the ideas have been generated.
It delineates a path for how new ideas is fabricated (Atif and et.al., 2021). It is necessary for the
scholars that when they incorporate ideas and research of other's people into own work, know
them appropriately, it represents that scholar know the material that he used in the work. It also
makes an evaluation of a topic clearer.

Academic misconduct and its consequences.
Academic Integrity can be defined as any kind of cheating that arise in relation to a
formal academic writing. Universities takes all reported cases on a serious note and looks to
ensure that they are dealt with adequately and efficiently.
Examples of Academic Misconduct:
 Plagiarism: It is the most common example of academic misconduct and it is
progressively an issue in the university (Hiebert, 2021). It denotes as the presentation of
another individual's work as self work without giving knowledge of the resource or, with
or without the creator's permission, knowingly or unknowingly.
 Falsification: It is an attempt to show distorted or fictitious information, citations,
references, evidence or experimental outcomes and to intentionally make exploitation of
such sources.
 Collusion: It is kind of plagiarism. It shows an unattributed and unauthorised
collaboration of scholars in a piece of assigned work.
 Cheating: It is an endeavour to gain or give support in an assessment without due
declaration. It comprises submission of work which is not one's own.
Implications of Academic Misconduct:
The most common implications of academic misconduct are the penalties the university
can give on the sinning scholars. The following is the discussion on the bad consequences of
academic misconduct:
 Social consequences: It is found that the moral consequences of cheating, involving
'habit forming' nature of cheating and cheating decreases hard work, fairness and
integrity in the academic (Parnther, 2020). The habitual nature denotes that those
scholars who do not perform their work with honesty in academic activities and thinks
they can rid off with it, chances are they may continue in family life, at work and in
other facets of life.
 Legal consequences: At times, teachers may include students in assessments granted to
the university by outside benefactors such as government agencies, businesses or
professional companies and more in order to facilitate students with chances for
working on real-life circumstances. If learners plagiarise, cheat, falsify and fabricate
information in such assessments, benefactors can take strict actions against the academy

(Velliaris ed., 2019). It may involve loss of future assessments, fines and more. These
actions ruin the goodwill of the college.
 Inaccurate assessment: When learners perform their work with dishonesty or with
cheating, faculty cannot accurately examine the performance or mastery of knowledge
of the students in their domain (Khan, 2020). As a consequence, university may grant
certificates to those who not really merit them, which may have bad implications in the
organisation.
Section-2
Reflection on the steps and difficulties.
From my individual experience, I can say that producing a game is not a handy task,
instead, it requires specific knowledge, research, expertise, planning, skills and many more.
During my learning sessions, I was required to prepare a game for the students to give them
knowledge about the values of academic integrity and the bad consequences of dishonesty in the
academic work. While creating a game, I faced many difficulties such as requirements of proper
knowledge, equipments and guidance to produce an effective game for the students. I researched
every aspect about the academic integrity so that game could match the goals. I was required to
improve my technical knowledge so that I can make the game in which student's interest could
be attained. I was required to make such a game which instructions and steps could be
understood by the students. I was planned the game which was simple and attractive enough that
could gain anyone's attention. I made the game related with the puzzles and questions of the
academic integrity and provides idea of consequences to the students if anyone conduct
dishonesty in the work. The questions asked had four options in which students had to go for the
right options as per their skills and mastery in the area. Every right answer had one mark and
wrong answers had negative marking as well. If any student selected wrong answer, he got
negative marking of 0.5 mark in the game. The game helped to improve the knowledge of the
students and enable them to do their work with honesty in the academy and outside the
university. In the game production, I faced some of the difficulties such as communication with
players. I needed to talk with students to make them understand about the instructions of game. It
was difficult for me to talk with others. I was a introvert person and could not be able to
communicate with others, but this game helped me a lot to improve my communication skills. I

also faced the difficulty of using computer as the game prepared through presentation. I needed
to use technical knowledge in which I was lacking. Somehow, with the help of my mentors and
experts in the technical team helped me a lot, through I was able to make the game effectively.
The instructions were simple, clear and presented in new way so that students do not get bored
while playing. Additionally, while making the game, I came to realise that producing a game was
not only the task, but attracting and targeting the viewers were also hard to me. It increased my
anxiety and stress level. It was also important for me to know how many students are ready to
play the game so that I could attract the remaining ones. It was also important for me to develop
the knowledge of students about the importance of academic integrity so that they work with
fairness, trust and respect in their further life.
Skills developed while creating a game.
Making a game was difficult task for me, but yet, it helped in the development and
improvement of various skills within me which will going to help me in the future. The
discussion on developed skills is mentioned below:
 Communication skills: Producing a game helped me in the improvement of my
communication skills. In the game, I was required to communicate well with other
students to demonstrate the instructions game and the results of game. I explained the
instructions effectively and engaged more with the people so that I can make a bond with
them as well. It also made me to listen other's perspective as well so that I can get new
ideas.
 Technical skills: As I realised that creating an effective game, required me to have
expertise and command on technicality. My mentors and tutors helped me a lot by
providing me knowledge about the use of computer codes, system and other functions as
well. It made me to develop simple yet interesting and attractive game.
 Creativity skills: Producing a game helped me to develop creativity skills within me. It
allowed me to think creative so that new game can be produced which catches student's
attention. It was hard for me to target the players for the game, but as I made an attractive
and interesting game it made me possible.

CONCLUSION
On the basis of above discussion, it is concluded that academic integrity possesses a vital
role for the students, universities and for new ideas. It involves a shared values and norms which
allows an individual to work with honesty, respect and trust. It allows to gain respect from those
who does not hold the values of academic integrity. Conducting work with dishonesty involves
various bad consequences such as loss of intellectual property, fines, loss of goodwill and many
more. In the second part of the report, it is mentioned with reflection on steps and difficulties.
The production of game involves the improvement of various skills within an individual.

REFERNCES:
Books and Journals:
Sotiriadou, P. and et.al., 2020. The role of authentic assessment to preserve academic integrity
and promote skill development and employability. Studies in Higher Education, 45(11),
pp.2132-2148.
Eaton, S. E., Crossman, K. and Edino, R., 2019. Academic Integrity in Canada: An Annotated
Bibliography. Online Submission.
Clarkson, E. L., 2021. Non-Anglophone African Students’ Perception of the Concept of
Academic Integrity: Midwestern American Higher Education (Doctoral dissertation,
Concordia University Chicago).
Atif, A. and et.al., 2021, December. Changing student attitudes and behaviours to Academic
Integrity through reflection with a conversational agent. In Australasian Conference on
Information Systems 2021, Sydney.
Hiebert, R., 2021. Building academic integrity using student centered strategies. Canadian
Perspectives on Academic Integrity, 4(1), pp.138-138.
Parnther, C., 2020. Academic misconduct in higher education: A comprehensive review. Journal
of Higher Education Policy And Leadership Studies, 1(1), pp.25-45.
Velliaris, D. M. ed., 2019. Prevention and Detection of Academic Misconduct in Higher
Education. IGI Global.
Khan, S., 2020. Is ‘clever paraphrasing’a serious academic misconduct? Awareness and
implications.