Academic integrity can make or break a scientific career
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EmailMaintaining academic integrity, or “honest and responsible scholarship,” should be a priority for every scholar.
Maintaining academic integrity, or what Michigan State University (MSU) defines as “honest and responsible scholarship,” should be a priority for every scholar, including those in the Borlaug Higher Education for Agricultural Research and Development (BHEARD) program.
Because BHEARD scholars come from 11 countries and study at dozens of universities around the world, each with its own academic integrity standards, it’s essential that scholars familiarize themselves with their school’s unique academic integrity policies and inform BHEARD of what those policies are.
In addition to that, BHEARD scholars are expected to hold themselves to a certain standard as members of the program. BHEARD expects responsible and ethical research conduct from its scholars, which means academic dishonesty, plagiarism, and research misconduct will not be tolerated. Research proposals will be run through plagiarism detection software prior to obtaining BHEARD approval, and students are responsible for obtaining legal and proper permissions for their research work.
MSU has further examples of what maintaining academic integrity looks like:
- Creating and expressing your own ideas in course work
- Acknowledging all sources of information
- Completing assignments independently or acknowledging collaboration
- Accurately reporting results when conducting your own research or with respect to labs
- Honesty during examinations
“Academic integrity is the foundation of university success. Learning how to express original ideas, cite sources, work independently, and report results accurately and honestly are skills that carry students beyond their academic career,” according to MSU.
As stated above, BHEARD scholars should familiarize themselves with their school’s academic integrity policies. For more general information, the following sources are recommended:
