Academic integrity is being honest, respectful and ethical in your study and assessments.
At Open Polytechnic, we want you to follow the assessment instructions and to see your ideas and your voice in your assessment answers, not someone else’s. It takes time and courage to put your ideas into your assessments.
As a learner this means that:
- Your assessments must be your own original and independent work.
- You must undertake research and check the information you find before writing your assessments to ensure it is legitimate, accurate, and appropriate to use.
- You must acknowledge the source of information you use when you refer to someone else's ideas or words in your assessment using APA referencing format.
- Take time to read the information in your courses, on this website, and in Te Kawa | Academic Regulatory Framework.
Take a look at this short video to learn more about academic integrity and plagiarism.
What academic integrity means in your study
When you become a student at the Open Polytechnic you become part of an academic community that holds academic integrity (honesty) in the highest regard. It is your responsibility to be honest about the source and the author(s) of information you include in your assessments. You must use the correct referencing when you:
- Paraphrase - put information into your own words.
- Quote - use the exact words of the source.
The Open Polytechnic uses the APA 7th edition referencing system.
Learn more about referencing and how to reference
Plagiarism
Using someone else’s ideas, words or images in your assessment without acknowledging (referencing) the source of the information is considered academic misconduct and plagiarism.
Plagiarism includes:
- Cutting and pasting from course material, previous assessments and online sources, such as webpages and academic journals, without showing where the ideas came from
- Excessive or repeated use of quotes. Quotes should not be more than 10% of your assessment, even if you are using the correct quotation formatting (i.e. quotation marks and in-text citation citations and full references)
- Re-using your own work from a previous assessment. You must treat each assessment as an original piece of work and reference the source material used.
Plagiarism is considered theft. If you benefit from someone else’s work without acknowledging them, you are stealing their intellectual property.
Self-plagiarism
Re-using previously submitted work is discouraged. On the rare occasion you might need to re-use any part of a previously submitted assessment, you must reference yourself.
Cheating
If you intentionally submit work written by someone else as your own, this is considered cheating. This includes using Generative Artificial Intelligence (GenAI) services like ChatGPT to write your assessment answers. Cheating includes:
- copying another learner’s assessment answers.
- allowing another learner to see and copy your previously marked assessment.
- having someone else write your assignment for you.
- buying an assessment online.
- expanding a reference list with sources that weren’t used and validated in your assessment.
- posting or submitting work using another person's online account or allowing another person to post through your account.
- using AI to write your assessment answers and/or references.
What we do about plagiarism and cheating
Open Polytechnic takes academic misconduct and plagiarism very seriously. We use a variety of methods to detect plagiarism and dishonesty on all assessments submitted for marking, including online plagiarism checker tools.
Te Kawa | Academic Regulatory Framework
Te Kawa Part 11 and Part 12 outline the expectations for academic integrity, learner conduct and the process for dealing with misconduct.
Learners suspected of breaching behaviour expectations or academic integrity requirements will be informed of the allegation by email and given a chance to respond within 10 working days. Support is available on request.
Learners can respond and provide relevant evidence or information to support the authenticity of their assessment or explain the situation in their own words.
If after this process, a learner is found to have breached any of the clauses in Te Kawa, having engaged in misconduct (including dishonest or improper behaviour, plagiarism, or failing to follow instructions related to assessments or examinations), penalties may be applied as outlined in Te Kawa Part 12.4. The decision includes details on how to appeal, and will be sent by email.
Please take the time to read Te Kawa | Academic Regulatory Framework Parts 11, 12 and 17.
Guidelines for avoiding academic dishonesty
We have a range of resources to help you develop your academic skills, including information about referencing and plagiarism.
For an overview check the Study Toolkit on your iQualify dashboard. You can also check the information and support below:
Get help with academic writing and research skills
You can also check our library website's referencing information:
Guidelines for maintaining academic integrity
Do your own research and submit only your original work.
- Seek help by contacting our Library & Learning Centre team who offer one-to-one assessment and study support.
- Keep accurate records of all the sources of information you use.
- Cite and reference any ideas, words, or data that aren't your own.
- Save copies of articles or webpages for your records.
- Don't copy from others or allow them to copy from you.
Learning anything new can be difficult and forming a study group or working with a study buddy can make it easier. However, remember that while you can discuss ideas and share information, the work you submit for assessment must be entirely your own work.
Group assessments
In some courses you are required to work in groups for assessment, with all learners contributing. Your contribution must be written by you alone, unless you are explicitly instructed to write as a group and all submit the same work for certain sections.
Make sure you follow the instructions for the assessment carefully for group assessments.
Using a proofreader
Proofreading is when you or someone else reads through your assessment before you submit it for marking to check for errors in format, style, grammar and spelling. If you use someone else to proofread your assessment, it is important that they do not give you guidance on the content of your assessment.
They can only comment on the format, style, grammar, and spelling.
Your rights and responsibilities
You can find out more about your rights and responsibilities on our Learner Rights and Conduct page.