Student Blog: 'Honesty Is The Best Policy' - My Experience With Academic Integrity

Academic integrity is incredibly important to me. It’s resisting temptation to take the easy route while also having the courage to do the right thing. While it may be appealing to look up the answer or have someone else do the work for you, it’s incredibly important to resist doing so. In the long run, you’ll be doing yourself a favor by remaining honest. 

My experience with academic integrity truly began in middle school. Before then, I was blissfully ignorant of any type of malpractice in the classroom. It wasn’t until middle school, when I heard people discussing methods of cheating, that I even began to be aware of it. At first, I was baffled: I couldn’t believe my own classmates would cheat. However, I also knew not to get involved in their business: I just let them be. At the end of the day, you must pick your battles, and snitching on other students knowing I'd face confrontation wasn’t a battle I was willing to fight. It would only result in copious amounts of anger and ultimately wouldn’t change my life for the better in any way.

As a result of maintaining academic integrity, I’ve learned to not worry so much about what others are doing altogether. If someone chooses to cheat, that’s their choice, and if it results in consequences, that’s their adversity to overcome. I, on the other hand, do what I can to maintain my integrity. If that means sacrificing my grade, then so be it. It’s more important to be honest and have good character than get a perfect score while being dishonest. Ultimately, I am more than just a letter on a transcript, and it isn’t worth lacking honesty just to uphold my grades.

Academic integrity is an extremely important foundation for good character that will carry on for the rest of your life. It’s a habit that should be practiced early on so it becomes harder to break. As long as you uphold your morals and remain honest, you will be destined for success. Remember, cheating isn’t worth it in the long run, and as the saying goes, honesty is always the best policy.