The International Center for Academic Integrity (ICAI) defines academic integrity as the adherence to six values: courage, honesty, trust, fairness, respect, and responsibility.

Courage #

Courage can be thought of as the strength of moral commitment that allows one to remain true to one’s values despite difficulties or challenges. Courage forms the basis for all academic integrity.

We show courage when we are brave in the face of pressure from outside of ourselves, when we maintain and defend our integrity despite risk or cost, and when we withstand discomfort in order enact our moral values.

Honesty #

Honesty is the commitment to being truthful and to eschewing deception, duplicity, and fraud. It requires courage and is the basis for developing and maintaining trust.

We demonstrate honesty in giving proper credit to the authors of ideas and words, by keeping our word, and by the care we take in representing only verifiable facts as evidence for claims we make.

Trust #

Trust is the unwavering belief in the reliability, veracity, character, or strength of somebody or something.

Trust that members of the academic community are committed to standards of honesty, and that their works are truthfully rendered, not falsified or embellished, is essential to scholarly pursuits. Trusting others requires courage, and is necessarily mutual and reciprocal. We cannot trust others unless we are ourselves are worthy of trust.

We establish trust by impartial applications of standards, encouraging mutual understanding, being honest, keeping our word, and promoting transparency.

Fairness #

Fairness is treating others impartially, without favoritism or animus. 

Being fair is important in establishing trust, and often requires courage. It is important in both demonstrating and gaining respect. 

We demonstrate fairness when we apply rules and policies consistently, including to ourselves, as we take responsibility for our actions and accept the consequences of our behaviors. It is manifest when we approach the ideas and works of others with openness and objectivity, and credit others for their work.

Respect #

Respect is the demonstration of high regard or esteem. Like trust, it is mutual and reciprocal; a person is not respected unless they demonstrate respect. 

Respect of self involves adherence to one’s own values. Respect of others involves valuing diversity of ideas and opinions that one may not share. It encourages critical engagement, testing, and thoughtful debate, without denigrating those with different understandings. It underpins our abilities to be fair and to show trust.

We show respect when we behave with empathy and actively listen, when we provide fair and honest feedback, communicate openly, and credit others for their work. 

Responsibility #

Responsibility is the demonstration of accountability for our words and actions. It is directly associated with the reliability and trustworthiness of a person, and often requires courage.

We demonstrate our commitment to responsibility when we accept the consequences of our words and actions, when we confront difficult situations and conversations even though it would be easy to avoid them, when we know and follow institutional rules, when we complete assigned tasks, and when we rise to meet expectations.

References and Reading #

International Center for Academic Integrity [ICAI]. (2021). The Fundamental Values of Academic Integrity. (3rd ed.).