Leveraging Institutional Integrity for the Betterment of Education

Abstract

In both research and practice, the topic of academic integrity is often approached negatively, as if it were synonymous (rather than antithetical) to academic fraud. This chapter posits that academic integrity should be conceived of as integral to every goal in education from improving assessments and student performance to increasing retention, conducting research, diversifying, raising funds, becoming accredited, and competing in national and international rankings. Adopting this perspective, however, is only possible when integrity is positioned as central to the international system of education. This chapter articulates this position, with support from the literature on institutional integrity and human behavior, and then describes how educational institutions must address cheating and plagiarism as a systemic rather than individual conduct challenge if they truly wish to leverage institutional integrity for the betterment of education.