Academic Integrity is the cornerstone of the academic enterprise. Without high standards of academic integrity the value and credibility of a York Degree would be diminished and with it the reputation of the institute as a foremost centre of research and higher learning. It is therefore incumbent upon the university to provide an environment that is conducive to promoting and ensuring that the highest standards of integrity and honesty in intellectual pursuits are being met. This is to be seen as the core message in the York mission statement - 'The mission of York University is the pursuit, preservation, and dissemination of knowledge ... We promise excellence in research and teaching ... We cultivate the critical intellect.'
As one of the leading research, teaching and learning institutions in Canada, York seeks to enhance Academic Integrity by many processes. We do this by having strong policies and processes that promote the education of our students in high standards of academic integrity. For example, we have a web site dedicated to Academic Integrity and our Senate Committee on Curriculum and Academic Standards requires course outlines to include a paragraph on academic integrity (see Committee on Curriculum And Academic Standards ). Many of the ways by which we seek to ensure all our students are educated in Academic Integrity are to be found in this web site.
We have a Senate Policy on Academic Honesty which includes guidelines and procedures governing a breach of academic integrity. The policy, guidelines and procedures ensure that where students have apparently failed to meet required high standards of academic integrity instructors will pursue appropriate investigations. The policy also enunciates that where a breach of academic honesty is substantiated, students will be significantly penalized according to the severity of the breach.
Moreover, York University affirms that 'all members of the University have the obligation to maintain the highest standards of academic honesty. It is the responsibility of members of faculty and staff to follow acceptable standards of academic conduct [in academic research] and to foster it in others, and of students to be mindful of and abide by such standards.' To support this principle of ethical conduct by faculty staff and students in research practises, the University has a Senate Policy on Misconduct in Academic Research. This policy 'incorporates by reference the regulations on scholarly conduct established by national and international agencies', including the 'Social Science and Humanities Research Council, the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council, the Medical Research Council of Canada and the Canadian Council on Animal Care, and the policies of Senate and the relevant sections of the Collective Agreements between the University and its employees, as they exist from time to time'.
This web site provides a wealth of information and advice on educating students in academic integrity; it is dedicated to articulating, promoting and disseminating helpful and constructive advice on academic integrity to the York community and beyond.
