We all stand on this pedestal of principles, which include our integrity and moral ethics. Both these things may go hand in hand in our social, as well as our academic life. Academic integrity, in my own simple words, is something we have produced without unlawfully using another person’s work or mind.
In recent news, we have heard much about the Panama Papers, “a giant leak of more than 11.5 million financial and legal records exposes a system that enables crime, corruption and wrongdoing, hidden by secretive offshore companies.” (The ICIJ, Panama Papers). The Prime Minister of my country back home, Nawaz Sharif, was caught in a breach of integrity which got him indicted (The ICIJ, Panama Papers). He not only had forged his signature and dated it back to 2006, but when the document he signed went under investigation, it was found to have been fabricated as the font used in the document was Calibri, which was available to the public by Microsoft in 2007 (Ha, The Global and Mail Inc.). One fabricated document cost a prime minister his seat, so the consequences for such acts can be seen to be very serious for students, employees, or any profession for the matter.
Another form of academic integrity we often see is impersonation, it occurs when students exchange identities to perform on tests. Impersonation sometimes runs alongside bribery. Either the student who has the test bribes another student to lure them into impersonation or the impersonator themselves, ask for a bribe in exchange for their performance. A quite popular SAT (Scholastic Aptitude Test) scandal, was when multiple high school students had paid a great deal of money to a college student to appear for them on the SAT. This only went on for so long until everything came out in the blue and ended with the students being arrested (Nbcnews.com). In no aspect was there any academic integrity maintained, not only was there impersonation and bribery involved, but these students had agreed to terms and conditions when registering for the test, stating that the person taking the test and is you, which they didn’t uphold. As well as when taking the test and signing it in your “own” handwriting – these students also committing forgery which they didn’t uphold. (SAT Terms and Condition, College Board)
In this day and age, we have been exposed to numerous ways in which academic integrity can be exploited. Any type of offense in the direction or area of academic integrity is considered to be very crucial in determining a person’s future. Any employer, firm, school, etc., would want their perspective peer to be an individual who prioritizes moral and ethical values above money or an easier path.
Works Cited:
“7 Students Arrested in SAT Cheating Scheme.” NBCNews.com, NBC Universal News Group, 28 Sept. 2011,
www.nbcnews.com/id/44701102/ns/us_news-crime_and_courts/t/students-arrested-sat-cheating-scheme/#.WizZa7aB2rc.
Ha, Tu Thanh. “How a Microsoft font brought down Pakistani Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif.” The Globe and Mail, 28 July 2017, www.theglobeandmail.com/news/world/how-a-microsoft-font-brought-down-pakistani-prime-minister-nawaz-sharif/article35828938/
“SAT Term and Conditions” College Board. 2017 https://collegereadiness.collegeboard.org/pdf/sat-terms-and-conditions.pdf
The International Consortium of Investigative Journalists. “Giant Leak of Offshore Financial Records Exposes Global Array of Crime and Corruption.” The Panama Papers, 3 Apr. 2016, panamapapers.icij.org/20160403-panama-papers-global-overview.html.