Academic Honesty and Integrity

There are many forms of academic misconduct that may not be articulated within this policy (NIC’s Community Code of Academic, Personal and Professional Conduct – Appendix B Academic Integrity), but will fall within the scope of this policy.

They will include various forms of academic deception such as transcript forgery, plagiarism, cheating, data use without appropriate acknowledgement or permission, and violations of other NIC policies that impact academic integrity. These actions may be intentional or unintentional.

Here are six core values to guide your actions and behaviours in ensuring you are academically honest during your studies: (ICAI, n.d.).

Students demonstrate honesty by:
  • following their instructor’s guidelines and expectations for assignments and tests
  • submitting original work and completing individual assessments independently
Students demonstrate trust by:
  • being dependable and reliable in their work, commitments and actions
  • following their instructor’s directions and completing work by the set deadline
  • doing readings and pre-class activities on time and in a fulsome way
Students show respect by:
  • consistently and accurately citing the work of others in their assignments
  • keeping academic materials and instructor’s intellectual property private (e.g., class slides, assignments, tests, video recordings of classes etc.), and not sharing these without the instructor’s and/or classmates’ permissions
Students demonstrate fairness by:
  • treating others equally without self-interest or prejudice
  • following the College’s rules and not trying to gain unfair advantages in assessments, mid-terms or tests (e.g., copying someone else’s answers, using their phone to look up information during an exam, emailing someone during a digital exam, taking screenshots of exam questions and emailing to friends etc.)
Students demonstrate responsibility by:
  • completing their individual and group work to the best of their abilities and being accountable to themselves, their instructors, their classmates, and the College
  • Seeking help If they are struggling or are not sure of expectations
Students demonstrate courage by:
  • being brave and standing up for what is right, even in challenging situations. If they think someone has committed an academic offense or is violating a rule – they alert their instructor or a staff member

Credit: University of Waterloo, Academic Integrity for Students

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