Academic Integrity
at Griffith
Definitions of Academic Integrity and
Misconduct
• Perceptions and definitions vary between cultures
and academic disciplines
• Broadly, academic misconduct covers all
fraudulent behaviour, including misrepresentation,
cheating, fabrication of results, plagiarism,
collusion and duplication
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Academic Integrity at Griffith
• Griffith takes academic integrity very seriously
• The most common breach of academic integrity is
plagiarism
• You need to be aware of what plagiarism is
• You need to know where you can get help if you
don’t understand how to avoid plagiarism
• We want you to be ALERT but not ALARMED!
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Did you know that the following are
examples of plagiarism?
• When an assignment is not all your own work
• When you have not acknowledged the work of others i.e. you
have not named your sources and materials
• When you recycle an assignment that has been previously
submitted for another course
• When you have let another student copy from your
assignment or you have copied another student’s work
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Why is Griffith committed to academic
integrity?
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Because if everyone cheats and plagiarises the University’s
reputation is affected
Because Griffith wants to protect the standard of its awards
Because Griffith wants to ensure that students receive due credit
for their work
Because Griffith wants to protect the interests of students who do
not cheat
Because Griffith wants to provide students with guidance on best
practice in studying and learning
Because Griffith wants to educate students about intellectual
property and legitimate access to it
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How can you avoid plagiarism?
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Select quotes carefully and use minimally.
Words and phrases copied directly from a source must be indicated
as a quote, unless you have completely paraphrased them.
Do you understand that when you use someone else’s idea as your
own it is plagiarism?
Learn how can this be done correctly? In other words learn how to
paraphrase correctly.
Make sure you use the correct citation style that is required by your
School
Always identify where your information came from. We do check!
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Text-matching software
• You should be aware that the University uses textmatching software called SafeAssign to safeguard
the quality of student learning
• This software may be available for you to use to
check your own assignments prior to submission.
Your lecturer will advise you if this is the case.
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Breaches of academic integrity
• Breaches will be given a level of seriousness according to a
matrix that includes a number of factors for consideration,
such as type and extent of the plagiarism and experience
and intent of the student
• There are Level I, II and III breaches
• Level I and II breaches will be dealt with at School level by
the Course Convenor
• The more serious Level II and III breaches will be dealt with
at the Institution level by the Chair of the Assessment Board
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Example of Level 1 breach
• An example of a Level I offence may be: a first
year student who does not understand how to
correctly reference their academic writing and has,
therefore, inadvertently plagiarised
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Example of Level II breach
• An example of a Level II breach would be: a
student who is in second semester of program and
has completed instruction in avoiding plagiarism
but has still plagiarised a significant portion or their
assessment.
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Example of Level III breach
• Some examples of a Level III offence would be: a
second or third year student who has repeatedly
cheated or where plagiarism is deliberate and
planned or where a student has purchased or
stolen another person’s work
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How does the university deal with
breaches
• Firstly you will receive an official letter via email
from your Course Convenor or the Chair of the
Assessment Board advising you of their concern
• You will be given the opportunity to explain
• A decision will be made regarding appropriate
action by your Course Convenor or the Chair of
the Assessment Board
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Possible responses to a breach
Students may:
• Receive a warning
• Be required to seek appropriate study skills
• Be required to undertake online skills module
• Be allowed to resubmit assessment
• Be required to undertake supplementary assessment
• Receive a reduced or nil mark
• Receive a fail for the course
• Be excluded from the University
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Finalising The Process
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All final decisions will be centrally recorded on the
Academic Integrity Management system
Previous breaches will be taken into account
when determining a response to a subsequent
breach
You will receive a letter confirming the outcome
and advising you of your right to appeal
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What can students do to ensure
Academic Integrity in their work
• Talk to your tutors or lecturers
• Ensure that you are not attempting a heavier study load than
you are able to commit to
• Check what information your School provides on referencing
• Go to classes on academic writing and referencing, in
particular, learn how to paraphrase correctly
• Ensure that you understand what is required in a group
assignment
• Use text-matching software (if available) to check your work
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Finally ---Don’t become a statistic on our Academic Integrity Management
System
Be familiar with what constitutes Academic Integrity
Look out for our Academic Integrity website – presently in
development
See http://www.griffith.edu.au/ins/training/ for information on
training provided by Learning Services
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