Good Academic Integrity Essay Example

Academic Integrity

The world academy as we know contemporarily is facing steep challenges concerning ethics and performance. Lack of integrity has been an issue of discussion across several academic institutions including top performing universities, colleges and high schools. Case studies carried out in various universities shows that lack of integrity is growing at an alarming and pervasive rate in the current intellectual world (Pavela, 1997). There are several reasons for such occurrence in top academic institutions of the world, among them laziness, poor role models, peer pressure, inability, poor time management and poverty were quoted as the common causes (Bishop, 2001). Additionally, poor role model can be said to be the major cause of lack of integrity since the seniors in the institutions encourages cheating and lack of integrity in one way or the other (Slobogin, 2002). Though, most of the concerned persons, are aware of the importance honesty in academics, they still encourage cheating in one way or the other (Bishop, 2001). However, an individual who asserts him/herself to excel in life without involving oneself in cheating will surely do so. The paper intends to discuss academic integrity in relation to personal goals in life and how current trends in academic life might impact on one’s goals.
Academic dishonesty involves several activities that the student involves themselves in so as to excel in unethical manner. The most common ones in the academic world, today include impersonation, plagiarism and cheating (Slobogin, 2002). Plagiarism has outweighed the first two in terms of occurrence of occurrence since it is the most committed one among the three in the current computer linked academics (Pavela, 1997). Its definition is varied though the common definition is the used of one's publication, sentence, phrase or taking somebody original idea without properly citing them. Most of the institution views it as unethical practice that deserves punishment however some consider it a crime. All in all plagiarism is an immoral act in the academic field that should be shunned at all cost by academicians so as to improve on integrity. Cheating in an exam is another way through which unethical place in most institutions of higher learning.
Dostoevsky quoted in the early 1800s that when one lies and keeps on lying, the lies will be inborn in that the individual will not be able to differentiate truth and lies (Dostoevsky, 1821-1881). The trend makes one become a perpetual liar like the case of the pilot who risked passengers’ lives yet his health could not let him fly (Slobogin, 2002). From the quote, it is obvious that cheating not only interfere with the institutions ways of operation but also individual’s psychological well-being and self-awareness (Bishop, 2001). Unethical activities that students tend to practice like impersonation will rob them of their own moral values to the point that they will not be able to separate right from wrong as they will consider cheating to be part of the values in the society (Slobogin, 2002). Moreover, unethical practice in school, if not controlled in due time, will spread the moral decay to the general society as well hence polluting all the important sectors of the community. It, therefore, wise to maintain high ethical standards while in school so as to spread the integrity and hence the nature a moral conscious society (Pavela, 1997).

Personal Goal

Conclusion
In the end, unethical way of gaining performance in academics is not advices able since they impact negatively not only in one’s life but also in the society as a whole. The trend shows that scholars should always strive hard to embrace hard work in all aspect of their studies. Embracing hard work is important because any extra help that is unethical will impart dangerously on an individual and society as a whole.

References

Bishop, M. (2001). What’s wrong with cheating. ASJA Law and Policy Report,35.
Pavela, G. (1997). Applying the power of association on campus: A model code of academic integrity. JC & UL, 24, 97.
Ross, S. M. (1996). Stochastic processes (Vol. 2). New York: John Wiley & Sons.
Slobogin, K. (2002). Survey: Many students say cheating's OK. CNN. Com, 5, 24-25.