Academic integrity

Academic integrity

Learn about academic integrity, what happens if you breach it and where to get help if you're unsure.

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What is academic integrity?

When working on assessments, it’s essential to know your academic integrity responsibilities. In practical terms, academic integrity means developing and submitting for assessment your own academic work. Some breaches of academic integrity include plagiarism, collusion and contract cheating, which all have serious consequences.

Academic integrity has been more formally defined as ‘the expectation that teachers, students, researchers and all members of the academic community act with: honesty, trust, fairness, respect and responsibility.’ 

Be confident that you understand your responsibilities - find out more about academic integrity, what happens if you breach it and where to get help if you're unsure. 

Types of academic integrity breaches

Examples of academic integrity breaches include: 

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Ghostwriting

Ghostwriting is when someone else completes an assignment for you without payment, like having someone else write your essay. 

Your instructor might permit you to use artificial intelligence tools that generate text, such as Val, in your assessments. Make sure that you are following your assessment instructions carefully. For example, when you do use an AI tool, it must be properly cited. Using an AI tool when it’s not permitted could be considered ghostwriting and a breach of academic integrity. Find out more about how to use AI appropriately below.

Contract cheating services

Contract cheating is when you pay another party to complete some or all the work that you submit as your own.

Illegal commercial (or contract) cheating services are targeting RMIT students on and around campus, and online.

These services offer to complete an assessment for you, sometimes asking for payment. Using these services is called contract cheating and is a breach of the Academic Integrity Policy. These services have also been known to blackmail students in Australia.

How to identify contract cheating services

The Tertiary Education Quality and Standards Agency (TEQSA) advises that you should always avoid any service that:

  • promises to help write or improve your essay or assignment or sit an exam on your behalf in exchange for money
  • offers unsolicited ‘study support’ via social media, email or on-campus advertising
  • asks you to upload a previous example of your work, or materials from your course, in order to receive help
  • offers to sell you study notes, exams or other assessment materials
How to avoid contract cheating services
  • Block unsolicited messages received via social media, group chats or email that offer study support, essay writing or other contract cheating services. 
  • Be aware of the information you share on social media networks and consider your privacy settings. This may help you avoid being targeted by illegal cheating service operators.
  • If you become aware of cheating service activities or recruiters on campus, contact Campus Security 
  • If you find yourself vulnerable to predatory behaviour or are experiencing blackmail from commercial cheating services, you can contact Campus Security or Safer Community. These services can support you with taking appropriate steps to remove any risk to your safety and/or the integrity of your studies 
  • If you are experiencing study difficulties you should always speak with your teacher or course coordinator. They can help you access study support and ensure you understand and maintain academic integrity.

Source: Identifying, avoiding and reporting illegal cheating services.

To report a contract cheating service, or if you have any concerns or questions about contract cheating, please email studentconduct@rmit.edu.vn

What is plagiarism?

Plagiarism means using someone else’s work or ideas without giving them proper credit. It's considered a form of theft, because the work doesn't belong to you. It's also fraud, because it means you are claiming someone else’s work or ideas as your own.

Types of plagiarism

  • Intentional plagiarism – when you deliberately use someone else’s ideas, words or images and present them as your own, including failure to appropriately and accurately acknowledge the use of Artificial Intelligence tools.
  • Accidental plagiarism - when you don’t reference sources correctly in an assignment.
  • Self-plagiarism – when you use parts of your old assignments in new assignments without referencing it. Note, many courses do not allow self-referencing.

Avoid plagiarism – reference correctly

The best way to avoid the risk of plagiarism is to reference your work correctly. The RMIT Library has plenty of supports available to help you reference. Visit Referencing or book a consultation appointment with an RMIT Librarian.

What is collusion?

Collaborating is an essential part of studying. However, there are times when helping or getting help from others isn’t allowed. If you’re doing an individual assignment and get help completing it, or help another student complete their individual assignment, that is collusion, which is a breach of academic integrity.

Types of collusion

Collusion can include:

  • working with someone else on an assignment that you are supposed to write individually
  • copying another student’s work, or letting another student copy your work
  • letting someone write part of an assignment for you

When is collaboration permitted?

There are still circumstances where working with others is allowed. You can collaborate with your peers without breaching academic integrity by: 

  • working together on a group assignment with your group members (just remember to credit all group members)
  • helping each other understand the assignment question
  • studying together

If you’re unsure, ask your educator about what kind of collaboration is permitted in your course.

What is fabrication? 

Fabrication is when someone claims to have carried out tests, experiments, research or observations that have not taken place. In other words, ‘making up’ data.

An example might be making up survey responses or lab measurements and writing them in your report as if you really collected them.

It may also include referencing research or research papers in support of an argument that do not exist. This can also happen when generative AI ‘hallucinates’ by creating references by known specialists in a field that have never been published.

What is falsification? 

Falsification involves the manipulation or misrepresentation of research data, source material or results, or the presentation of results that are not supported by the evidence. In other words, changing real data.

An example might be deleting “inconvenient” data points to make your graph look better, or changing dates/times on experiments to fit your hypothesis.

How to avoid fabrication and falsification

  • Only ever use real and credible research, data and information. Don’t make it up!
  • Be open about problems such as missing, messy, or unexpected results, and explain these limitations instead of trying to ‘fix’ them
  • Keep a record of your raw data, and if you make changes, document the rules you used and why.
  • Only cite references that you have found and utilised, and check or validate references cited in genAI output. 

  • Attempting to gain unfair advantage in an invigilated assessment, breaching the rules for the conduct of invigilated assessment in a manner that defeats or compromises the purposes of the task.
  • Behaviour that violates assessment instructions thereby defeating or compromising the purpose of the assessment.
  • Unauthorised sharing of course materials and previously submitted assessment items including via online study platforms.
  • ‘Washing’ - the use of software services to disguise plagiarism.
  • Misuse or unauthorised use of technology or equipment.

Academic Integrity challenge video series

The Academic Integrity Challenge video series features four RMIT Vietnam students participating in a card game dedicated to unveiling the dangers of academic misconduct. Each episode tackles a specific topic - plagiarism, collusion, or contract cheating - to guide students on how to navigate academic challenges with honesty and confidence.

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Academic Integrity challenge - Episode 1: Hidden dangers of buying assignments

Contract cheating is not the shortcut you think it is. Discover the warning signs of contract cheating services, strategies to manage academic pressure, and the importance of seeking help from university support services.

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Academic Integrity challenge - Episode 2: Mastering teamwork without collusion

Teamwork is key, but crossing into collusion can jeopardise your academic success. This episode will discover the differences between them, along with tips on how to collaborate ethically and excel with confidence.

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Academic Integrity challenge - Episode 3: What is considered plagiarism?

Any student can encounter plagiarism, but understanding how to prevent it is the first step toward academic success. Equip yourself with the tools and mindset to succeed with the right approach.

Using Artificial Intelligence (AI) appropriately

AI is rapidly transforming the way we live, work and learn. We want to prepare our students for careers where AI capability is increasingly expected. We’re doing this by helping students develop both the practical skills, as well as the judgment to apply it ethically and responsibly.

Sometimes, inappropriate use of AI in your studies can result in a breach of academic integrity, such as plagiarism or ghost writing.

The use of AI tools in your studies will be guided by your program and course requirements – what’s permitted in one course or assessment may not be allowed in another. So, it's always a good idea to double check your course guide or ask your educator for more information.

When is it okay to use AI tools in my studies?

Depending on your course, AI can support your studies in lots of ways. For example:

  • Explaining concepts: ask AI to explain theories, methods, or terminology in simpler words (like a study aid) 
  • Brainstorming and planning: generating topic ideas, outlines, and question prompts to clarify direction
  • Test your knowledge: creating practice questions, flashcards, or case study scenarios to aid revision 
  • Proofread: get a second pair of eyes over your work to check your spelling, grammar and punctuation
  • Admin help: create time management plans and checklists to help you prioritise and meet your due dates.

Don’t forget:

  • Your course guide is your first stop. AI use varies across courses and assessments, some may ask you not to use it at all. When in doubt, check your course guide or ask your teacher
  • Be transparent about how you’ve used AI. This might mean referencing the tools you used, or reflecting on how they shaped your work. See the Library's AI referencing guide for specific AI referencing information.
  • Keep drafts of your work. To help prove the authenticity and originality of your work, you should keep all draft versions of your work to show how your assessments were developed. These can be requested at any time during your program. 
  • AI can get things wrong. Responses can be outdated, biased, or simply made up (this is called hallucinating). Before including anything AI-generated in your work, check it against a credible source that you can verify.

How not to use AI

You cannot use AI to: 

  • Complete or contribute to an assessment task when it has not been specifically allowed. Check your course guide or ask your educator if you’re not sure
  • Produce ideas that you don't reference and try to pass off as your own
  • Produce content that you are unable to understand or explain in your own words. 

Using AI in these ways is a breach of Academic Integrity Policy and may have serious consequences. 

Want to know more about how to use generative AI tools in your learning? Complete the Generative AI for students at RMIT module.

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Val GenAI Chatbot

Val is an RMIT supported, secure and free-to-use generative artificial intelligence tool that functions just like ChatGPT. Learn how to responsibly use Val to help with your study and learning.

Access Val

What happens if I breach academic integrity?

If you breach academic integrity (even if accidental), this means that you are breaching RMIT’s Academic Integrity policy. This can lead to serious consequences, including: 

  • the forfeiture (loss) of results
  • failure
  • suspension
  • expulsion from your program

The consequences for breaching academic integrity requirements are serious, but, if you’re not sure or need help, there are lots of student support services to help you.

Complete the Academic Integrity Awareness module

The Academic Integrity Awareness module will help you understand what academic integrity is, how to maintain it, your responsibilities as a student, and how to protect yourself from accidental breaches.

Complete the module

Already completed the module?

To refresh your understanding of academic integrity, you can take the Acting with Academic Integrity online tutorial. 

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Contacts, resources and support

In addition to completing the Academic Integrity Awareness module, there are plenty of resources and support services available to help you better understand your responsibilities as a student and how to avoid academic integrity breaches.  

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From study tips, planning your assignments to writing and learning support, Student Academic Success (SAS) offers a wide range of learning support for your academic journey. 

Explore SAS services

Not sure about finding credible sources or doing your citations correctly? You can find online resources, chat with a librarian, or book a consultation with our liaison librarians for your studies. 

Discover our library services

The Tertiary Education Quality and Standards Agency (TEQSA) is Australia’s independent national quality assurance and regulatory agency for higher education. TEQSA has developed the following resources for use by students, academics and teachers to promote understanding of academic integrity.

If you’re feeling a bit overwhelmed, whether it be with your studies or life outside of uni, we’re here to support you.

Find out more about our wellbeing supports. 

RMIT’s Academic Integrity Policy outlines the behaviours required in an academic community: acting with honesty, fairness, respect and responsibility. 

Related policies:

    If you'd like to talk to someone about academic integrity or misconduct, contact the Student Conduct Team for a confidential discussion.

    Email studentconduct@rmit.edu.vn

    The Student-Staff Consultative Committee provides a platform for open dialogue between students and faculty and helps address student concerns to improve their academic experience.

    Learn more about SSCC.

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