Academic integrity

At AUT, acting with integrity means bringing pono (truth and honesty), tika (doing what’s right) and aroha (care and respect for others) into how you complete your own work and how you treat the work of others. Use what you read, who you talk to and the tech tools available to you as thinking aids. It’s your own thinking, reflections and decisions that make the work truly yours.

Your assessments – written assignments, group work, visual and audio projects, exams and tests – are your chance to grow and show what you know. Showing your learning honestly, in your drafts, reflections and class discussions, is how you demonstrate your real skills and understanding.

How do you demonstrate academic integrity?

• All work you submit is your own
• You acknowledge every source that’s shaped your thinking – whether that’s a person, a publication or a digital tool
• You use AI as a tool to assist you to learn, not to replace or outsource your learning
• You contribute fairly and honestly to group work
• You don’t plagiarise or cheat, even when you’re under pressure

Upholding these values protects the fairness and trust of your whole learning community – for you, and for everyone around you.

Before you submit, use Draft Coach to check the originality of your work. After you submit, you – and your lecturer – may be able to see a Turnitin originality report.

What can happen if you don’t maintain academic integrity

If you use someone else’s work or ideas without acknowledging it – or pay, copy or ask someone to do your work for you – you may be in breach of AUT’s General Academic Regulations [PDF, 3.4 MB].

Outcomes can include:

• An interview with academic integrity staff
• A requirement to complete a course on academic writing or study skills
• A warning penalty
• A warning penalty formally recorded on the university’s academic dishonesty database
• A change to the grade for a piece of assessment
• A change to your overall grade for a paper
• Exclusion from the university

_{References
Eaton, S.E. Postplagiarism: transdisciplinary ethics and integrity in the age of artificial intelligence and neurotechnology. Int J Educ Integr 19, 23 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1007/s40979-023-00144-1
Eaton, S. E. (2024). Decolonizing academic integrity: knowledge caretaking as ethical practice. Assessment & Evaluation in Higher Education, 49(7), 962–977. https://doi.org/10.1080/02602938.2024.2312918}