What is Academic Integrity?

You may have heard the term ‘Academic Integrity’ before, but what exactly does it mean?

Academic Integrity is the ability to:

  • Demonstrate honesty in your work – if we read something that does not seem trustworthy, we are unlikely to engage with it effectively
  • Take responsibility for the research you undertake and the skills you need to develop
  • Conduct ethical practice and make good choices throughout your degree
  • Fairly give credit to others when using their words and ideas to support your arguments and research  

According to the International Center for Academic Integrity, there are six fundamental values:

  1. Trust – a commitment to have open conversations
  2. Honesty – being truthful in the work you produce
  3. Fairness – making your work your own
  4. Responsibility – taking responsibility to maintain high standards and obtaining information and asking questions when unsure
  5. Respect – having the ability to respect yourself and your work and making the most of the opportunities presented to you
  6. Courage – holding yourself accountable during your studies and contributing to a positive academic culture

By showcasing all of the above skills, you will demonstrate good scholarship. Being a good scholar at University means you’ll develop a range of transferable core skills (such as credibility, honesty, and fairness) which will help you to excel in your studies and be highly valued in your future workplace by your employers.

Essentially, maintaining academic integrity is producing the best work you can. Here at Loughborough, we pride ourselves on working closely with students and staff to ensure you earn better grades through showing integrity in your academic practice.

Your work will speak for itself, and you won’t need to worry about academic misconduct. This helps Loughborough to be an inclusive, positive and supportive academic community where everyone feels valued and respected.

The University has a robust set of policies and procedures to prevent academic misconduct from occurring, and by registering as a student here, you are expected to adhere to these policies and take responsibility for your own work. 

When poor scholarship does occur, there are two main ways we are able to identify it:

Academic expertise

Your lecturers are experts in their field, and so they are familiar with resources and previous work conducted in their specialism. Therefore, they will often know if the ideas you are expressing are true to you, or actually the work of another person.

Software tools

At university, some of the coursework and assessments you undertake will need to be submitted through software tools, such as Turnitin or JPLag. These tools have the ability to identify and highlight forms of poor scholarship (such as plagiarism) which are present in submitted work.

To help you understand how to demonstrate good scholarship in your work, we have provided a breakdown of key academic skills needed for good scholarship, while also making you aware of practice that is considered academic misconduct. We encourage all students to read through this guide and engage with any integrity teaching provided on your degree as well.

Whether you’re new to studying at university or looking for a refresher to brush up your knowledge, there’s advice and resources available throughout the following pages for all students across a range of disciplines and levels of study.

For a more in-depth understanding of academic integrity, we’d strongly recommend students visit the dedicated Academic Integrity module which can be found on Learn.