Do you know what academic integrity means?
No.
What do you think it means?
If I had to guess, I would say it has something to do with honesty? Doing the right thing in an academic way? I have no idea.
Reem Abutalib, third year studying business management
So, I toured the university asking students about academic integrity and what it means to them. Shock horror- nobody really knew. I encountered a girl named Nadia who assumed integrity had something to do with organisational skills. Uh, close… but not really. That’s very important though, keep it up.
The university has created an entire online course just to help you understand academic integrity. It is located, of course, on My Learning, under My courses.
One student got it though, Nafeesa Spalding (third year student studying psychology with criminology), big shout out to you. There’s no prize. Just give yourself a pat on the back. She said “It means don’t cheat and make sure your work is your own.” Which, honestly, is the main gist. But do we all know how important it really is? Because I definitely didn’t.
Let me give you a run down. Make sure you’re paying attention.
Remember, stay honest. Academic integrity is important. Not just within the confines of Camelot- for us, university, but outside in your professional environments too. King Arthur himself said so.
Integrity means honesty, honour, strong moral principles. All of that noble stuff. So we’re kind of like knights but educational ones. Sorry to break it to you but knights don’t plagiarise, cheat or buy work from somebody else and pretend it’s their own. King Arthur told me himself. In fact, it was clearly stated as the rules at the beginning of every round table meeting.
He also told me that between jousting and protecting the realm, the knights had to practise other skills. Skills like independent thinking (comes in very handy when fighting dragons) and producing original work with clear references to places you found the information. And whenever the knights did their own research they had to do so according to correct ethical practise.
Illustration by Rimsha Razwan
Why is all of this so important, you ask? Well aside from the very obvious fact that cheating is not at all honourable, there are disciplinary actions that come along with it. You may be given a low grade, asked to repeat a module (I’m quivering at the thought) or the absolute worst of all, worse than being restrained in wooden stocks and getting tomatoes thrown at you - have your degree revoked.
I know what you’re thinking. Nobody wants to retake their entire degree! We’d be in so much debt our grandchildren would feel it. So how do you prevent this all from happening? We live in 2018 and thankfully, we don’t have to attend round table meetings anymore so the university has created an entire online course just to help you understand academic integrity. It is located, of course, on My Learning, under My Courses.
The course is designed to aid you in recognising your strengths and weaknesses and helping you level up your skills. While making sure you understand the consequences and jeopardy you put your education in if you don’t adhere to the regulations. If you ask me, we have it easy. Go back a few years and you had to fight a lion to prove your honour. All we gotta do is, well, you get it.
Remember, stay honest. Academic integrity is important. Not just within the confines of Camelot- for us, university, but outside in your professional environments too. King Arthur himself said so.
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