Academic Integrity

When you chose to become a member of the University of California San Diego community, you made a commitment to complete all of your academic assignments and tests with integrity. Integrity means only submitting work for academic credit that is an honest reflection of your knowledge and ability. Integrity means that you can be trusted to complete your academic work according to the instructions. Integrity means that you are fair to your classmates, refusing to cheat or get an advantage over them. Integrity means respecting yourself, your instructors, and your classmates by not engaging in academic dishonesty. Integrity means that you choose to be responsible, planning your time to avoid a situation where you’ll be tempted to cheat. Integrity means that you will have the courage to do all of the above, even when it is difficult (adapted from the definition of academic integrity provided by the International Center for Academic Integrity).

Think about why you chose UC San Diego. Perhaps it was for the tremendous learning opportunities we provide. Perhaps it was for our stellar international reputation. Regardless of your reason, integrity will be critical to achieving your goals. You cannot learn without integrity. You cannot benefit from what we offer if there is no integrity. And you cannot depend on a degree that you received without integrity.

But you will be tempted to cheat. So, what can you do to resist those temptations?

Be informed. UC San Diego is a unique community. Discover how you can choose integrity and help others do the same. You can learn more about academic integrity at UC San Diego by visiting the peer educators and resources in the Academic Integrity office, exploring the academic integrity website, taking the integrity tutorial, or reading UC San Diego’s Policy on Integrity of Scholarship. Also, be sure to talk with your instructors and teaching assistants for the integrity standards specific to your classes. In order to choose integrity at UC San Diego, you must make sure that you understand what constitutes honest, trustworthy, fair, respectful, responsible, and courageous academic behaviors in each and every class.

Be involved. Living, working, and studying with integrity is a continuous process that requires your active involvement and commitment. You can volunteer or apply for a paid position with the Academic Integrity office, become an AS student advocate, or take on an ethical leadership role with another campus unit or student organization.

Be mindful. Studying during the pandemic throughout 2020–2021 revealed new temptations and opportunities for cheating. Online sites and companies encouraged students to use their services to cheat by receiving answers to assessment questions or purchasing an entire paper written by someone else. Platforms like Discord were intended to enable honest collaboration for learning but easily turned into sites for cheating during exams. Be mindful about your use of these sites and platforms. Stay away from sites (e.g., Chegg, Coursehero, Bartleby, Quizlet) that allow you to post questions for quick answers or find answers to questions others have posted. If you are getting the answer from anyone else, that is cheating, not learning. So, know where the line is between learning and cheating and do not cross it.

Be informed. Be involved. Be mindful. Take the pledge to choose integrity.