Academic Integrity:
Purpose and Description

An academic community of integrity:

• advances the quest for truth and knowledge by requiring intellectual and personal honesty in learning, teaching, research, and service.
• fosters a climate of mutual trust, encourages the free exchange of ideas, and enables all to reach their highest potential.
• establishes clear standards, practices, and procedures and expects fairness in the interactions of students, faculty, and administrators.
• recognizes the participatory nature of the learning process and honors and respects a wide range of opinions and ideas.
• upholds personal accountability and depends upon action in the face of wrongdoing.

An academic institution should:

• have clear academic integrity statements, policies, and procedures that are consistently implemented.
• inform and educate the entire community regarding academic integrity policies and procedures.
• promulgate and rigorously practice these policies and procedures from the top down, and provide support to those who faithfully follow and uphold them.
• have a clear, accessible, and equitable system to adjudicate suspected violations of policy.
• develop programs to promote academic integrity among all segments of the campus community. These programs should include discussions about the importance of academic integrity and its connection to broader ethical issues and concerns.
• be alert to trends in higher education and technology affecting academic integrity on the campus.
• regularly assess the effectiveness of its policies and procedures and take steps to improve and rejuvenate them.

(from The Center for Academic Integrity,
Duke University, Durham, NC
http://www.academicintegrity.org)

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