Name:

Unnatiben Vijaybhai Parmar

Original Post

Algonquin College’s Academic Integrity Policy AA48 is instrumental in safeguarding

the academic qualities of the institution and transparent and fair interaction of
students. The policy stresses internalization and practice of principles of honesty,
trust, fairness, respect, responsibility, and courage in every aspect of education
(Algonquin College of Applied Arts and Technology, n.d.).

A central motivation of why learners should help students not to plagiarize is that it
can hardly be said to enhance learning. When people write papers and copy other
people’s work pretending that it’s their own, people fail to learn how to think critically
and involve themselves in the work. (LibGuides: Student Survival Guide: Academic
Integrity, n.d.).

Quoting and referencing sources correctly is important due to the following:

1. Credibility: Providing references improves the reliability in one’s work as it

allows most of the arguments to be backed up with legitimate references. It is
also important in establishing that you have done some work in relation to the
proposed ideas, and it is also useful in situating your arguments within the
broader existing arguments.
2. Intellectual honesty: Citation provides proper attribution to the ideas of others
that have been included in your paper. It is only fair and ethical to use ideas
that are not your own and to acknowledge the authors of those ideas (ICAI &
Algonquin College, 2021).
3. Citations: Readers will be able to track down the sources of the ideas or
information put forth in your work thanks to properly compiled references.
This is important in any academic setting because it allows for the
substantiation of facts, further inquiry into subjects, and expansion of
previously established foundations.

Learning about the Academic Integrity policy and exercising appropriate citation in
their work, the students promote academic honesty as well as acquire useful skills
that will help them in their studies and careers in the future. These practices help
develop respect towards the use of other people's resources and enhance the
quality of academic work at Algonquin College.

Reference
Algonquin College of Applied Arts and Technology. (n.d.). Algonquin College
Academic Integrity Office. AC. https://www.algonquincollege.com/academic-
integrity/

LibGuides: Student Survival Guide: Academic Integrity. (n.d.). https://algonquin-

academic-success.libguides.com/ssg/academic-Integrity
ICAI, I. & Algonquin College. (2021). Academic Integrity. In E. Director, S. V.
President, & A. C. E. Team, Algonquin
College. https://www.algonquincollege.com/policies/files/2021/09/AA48.pdf

Post 1 that you replied to including name of student:

Algonquin College's policy on Academic Integrity (AA48)

Alexandra Satizabal Corrales posted Sep 16, 2024 10:49 PM

According to ICAI and Algonquin College (2021), the AA48 Academic Integrity
policy determines academic integrity guidelines that must be applied by the entire
College community and recognized by “…their roles in upholding the fundamental
values of academic integrity: honesty, trust, fairness, respect, responsibility and
courage” (p. 1). The College community must be informed and committed to this
policy and apply it in their academic activities (ICAI & Algonquin College, 2021).
In the AA48 Academic Integrity policy there are several definitions of academic
misconduct, but one of the most frequent is plagiarism, which is defined as:
“whether done deliberately or accidentally, it is defined as presenting someone
else’s work, in whole or in part, as one’s own” (ICAI & Algonquin College, 2021, p.
7).
Exploring a case of academic misconduct is a delicate matter, not only for the
student questioned but also for the professor who questions. “A plagiarism
accusation can have life-altering consequences” (Bailey, 2023, para. 3). Therefore,
it is important that due process is followed as defined in the Academic Integrity
policy and that no rights are violated.
The tool used at Algonquin College to detect plagiarism in academic documents is
the AI of the Turnitin platform, which calculates a percentage of similarity between
the document presented by the student and the bibliographic sources consulted, not
consulted, and referenced. Teachers accept certain percentages of similarity that
can add up to a score between 15 and 20%. However, it is important to highlight
what West-Smith (2022) mentions regarding the concept of similarity and plagiarism
should not be confused. In this sense, to avoid damage, both the professor and the
student must receive training. The professor must interpret the results adequately
because a percentage cannot replace his judgment, and the student must know the
details of what the professor wants in the work, thus avoiding incurring intentional or
unintentional inappropriate behavior. The teacher should allow the student to review
the document together when he or she perceives no deliberate act. This is, in every
sense, a proper construction of knowledge.

Your reply to their post:

Hello Alexandra,
The insights you have provided about Algonquin College’s Academic Integrity
Policy (AA48) are quite comprehensive and enriching. What I found well articulated
was your emphasis on everyone’s role in maintaining and enhancing the academic
integrity within the college. I particularly appreciate your discussion of plagiarism
and the finer points of using tools as Turnitin. Indeed, to your knowledge, a clear
line must be drawn between the scores one obtains and plagiarism or copying. Your
idea of having active conversation between instructors and students especially
when there is a suspicion of misconduct is one of the best ways to transform such
occurrences into teaching moments. In conclusion, you have offered a good
combination of pro- and con-arguments on the matter, highlighting the practicality of
implementing the policy and the need to uphold academic integrity.

Post 2 that you replied to including name of student:

Discussion 1 Academic Integrity and Referencing
Grace Doyle posted Sep 17, 2024 6:25 PM

The Academic Integrity policy stated by Algonquin College is in place to ensure that
individuals act responsibly, completing their own research to submit assignments
that reflect their own efforts (AA48 academic integrity, 2021). This is important
because academic integrity promotes fundamental values, including honesty and
fairness (AA48 academic integrity, 2021; ICAI, 2021). Without academic integrity,
the work that is provided is not credible, and this can negatively impact an
individual’s reputation and academic standing, across academic, professional and
personal environments (AA48 academic integrity, 2021; ICAI, 2021). It is important
for these values to extend to a societal level to maintain the credibility of the
information provided by an individual, as an individual’s reputation will impact how
others view and interact with the individual (ICAI, 2021; Mister Messinger, 2021).
Another aspect of academic integrity that extends beyond the individual level, is
that if an individual were to not comply with policies that address academic integrity,
the actions of the individual will also affect how the organization or institution
associated with that individual’s work will be viewed (AA48 academic integrity,
2021; ICAI, 2021).
Related to maintaining academic integrity is the importance of avoiding plagiarism,
which is described as an individual’s presentation of someone else’s work or ideas
as their own, without giving the other person credit through proper referencing
formats (AA48 academic integrity, 2021). Avoiding plagiarism through properly
paraphrasing and referencing sources of information is important in both academic
and professional environments to ensure that individuals that provided the research
and ideas are being appropriately acknowledged for their efforts (Mister Messinger,
2021). Furthermore, not only is it also considered to be morally wrong to use
someone else’s work as your own, committing acts of plagiarism and failing to
comply with academic integrity policies will prevent the individual from learning the
new information about a given topic (Mister Messinger, 2021). This means that the
main purpose of attending an academic institution, such as Algonquin College,
which is to learn new knowledge and skills, is not being attained by the individual if
they do not comply with academic integrity policies (Mister Messinger, 2021).
References
AA48 academic integrity. (2021, September 8). Algonquin
College. https://www.algonquincollege.com/policies/files/2021/09/AA48.pdf
ICAI The fundamental values of academic integrity. (2021). International Center for
Academic Integrity. https://academicintegrity.org/images/pdfs/20019_ICAI-
Fundamental-Values_R12.pdf
Mister Messinger. (2021, September 21). What is plagiarism and how do I avoid
it? [Video]. YouTube. Retrieved September 10, 2024,
from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EbWKUiLjGBs

Your reply to their post:

Hi Grace, I appreciated your emphasis on the importance of honesty in school. It's

about adhering to the rules, being truthful, and taking accountability for our work. I
agree that our reputation is at risk without it, and it also changes how people see us
in school and at work. Someone who plagiarizes something doesn't understand how
harmful the effects can be. As you mentioned, it's not just about getting caught; it's
also about not learning and not giving credit where credit is due. Thanks for
bringing that up. It helps us remember why we're here: to learn and grow, not just to
finish our work.