Academic Integrity
Academic integrity is the commitment to honesty, trust, fairness, respect, responsibility, and courage in all academic work.
Upholding these values ensures that student learning is genuine, and that academic achievements and qualifications are earned fairly and authentically.
At Kaplan Business School, a team of trained professionals ensure these values are upheld by promoting awareness of academic integrity and addressing suspected misconduct through a process that is fair and equitable for all students.
UNDERSTANDING ACADEMIC INTEGRITY
All new students complete an academic integrity module before their first assessment, which is designed to help students understand what is and isn’t considered acceptable academic practice at KBS.
WANT TO LEARN MORE?
- A more in-depth Academic Integrity Policy and Principles module is available in MyKBS for students looking to expand their knowledge.
- The Academic Success Centre and Kaplan library offer specialised workshops to help students develop their academic skills. One-on-one consultations can also be booked with the Academic Success Centre.
- At the start of each trimester, Integrity Officers visit classes to talk about the importance of Academic Integrity.
- The Tertiary Education Quality and Standards Agency (TEQSA) has a range of excellent resources on Academic Integrity.
PRACTICING ACADEMIC INTEGRITY
AUTHENTIC RESEARCH
Students are expected to do authentic research and use sources that are genuine, credible, and aligned to the content referenced in assessments.
REFERENCING
In-text references and reference lists are required unless otherwise stated. Learn more about referencing by checking the KBS referencing guide available in MyKBS.
INDIVIDUAL WORK
Assessments must be completed individually, unless participating in a group assessment.
WHAT IS ACADEMIC MISCONDUCT?
Academic misconduct is any form of dishonesty which gives a student an unfair advantage over others. Common forms of academic misconduct include:
- Plagiarism: Submitting work that is not your own without crediting the original source.
- Collusion: Working with other students to gain an unfair advantage in an assessment.
- Contract Cheating: Outsourcing or attempting to outsource work to a third party and claiming the work as your own, with or without payment or use of said work.
- Fabricated Research: Making up or falsifying information to include in an assessment e.g., false figures and percentages.
- Undue Assistance: Receiving undeserved help in the preparation of an assessment, making it difficult to tell which parts of the assessment were done by you.
The KBS Academic Integrity and Misconduct Policy outlines the academic conduct expected of all students in greater detail.
HOW DOES THE MISCONDUCT PROCESS WORK?
DETECTION, REPORTING AND INVESTIGATION
An Academic Integrity Officer receives a report of suspected academic misconduct, investigates the case and decides whether to issue a notice of alleged misconduct or withdraw the allegation.
NOTICE OF ALLEGED MISCONDUCT
A notice of alleged misconduct will be sent to you by email if the Academic Integrity Officer decides the allegation is supported by their investigation.
WHAT SHOULD YOU DO IF YOU RECEIVE A NOTICE?
Read the notice carefully and make sure you understand the allegation being made and the evidence provided.
Review the challenge preparation guide attached to the email and decide if you are going to accept or challenge the allegation.
- Accepting an allegation: If you admit to the alleged misconduct, the Academic Integrity Officer will immediately issue a formal outcome.
- Challenging an allegation: If you wish to challenge, you must respond to the notice within five business days. Challenging involves booking and attending an online meeting with the Academic Integrity Officer investigating your case. Prepare your evidence before the meeting and be prepared to answer questions relating to your assessment, seeking advice from the Academic Success Centre if needed. You may bring someone with you to this meeting for support.
RECEIVING AN OUTCOME
Once a decision has been made, the outcome of the Integrity investigation will be communicated to you via email. Possible outcomes include, but are not limited to:
- Withdrawal of the allegation with no penalty applied
- A formal warning
- A reduction in marks
- Resubmission of the assessment with or without a reduction in marks
- Zero for the assessment
- Zero for the subject
- Cancellation of your enrolment with Kaplan Business School
APPEALING THE OUTCOME OF A MISCONDUCT INVESTIGATION
If you are not satisfied with the process or outcome of a misconduct investigation, you may lodge a complaint.
Please refer to the KBS Complaints and Appeals page, as well as the Kaplan Grievances, Complaints and Appeals Policy for more information.
GETTING HELP
We have many resources to help if you are facing situations that impact your academic performance: