Academic integrity affects both students and parents with short- and long-term results.

Short-term results include the:

• Development of family and personal values
• Qualification for scholarships, post-secondary school admissions, and internships

Long-term results include:

• Professional integrity
• Potential criminal offenses and consequences

Parents should help their children to avoid negative, short- and long-term consequences of the lack of personal and academic integrity.  What can parents do to train their children in academic integrity?

• Discuss instances of good integrity and unacceptable behavior with children
• Guide students in completing assignments without doing the work for children. 
• Model mutual respect for school policy and teacher guidelines for assignments.
• Offer constructive advice when children have violated the policy of academic integrity.
• Support student accountability and responsibility for completing assignments and answering charges of violating the academic integrity policy.

The 21st century global environment of open access to information and the work of others offers unlimited temptations, pitfalls, opportunities for violating academic integrity, and the resulting consequences which will increase in seriousness.  Parents must reinforce the necessity for students to be responsible citizens who exercise sound judgment and appropriate behavior.

Resources

(2008). How to avoid plagiarism. Retrieved September 9, 2008, from College Board Web site: http://www.collegeboard.com/student/plan/college-success/10314.html

Collier County Public Schools Plagiarism Committee, (2007 March 23). The library media center and citing sources. Retrieved September 15, 2008, from Naples High School Library Media Center Web site: http://www.collierschools.com/nhs/lmc/citations.htm 

(2008). North Carolina graduation project. Retrieved September 4, 2008, from Public Schools of North Carolina Web site: http://www.ncpublicschools.org/graduationproject/

2008). Parents centre: plagiarism. Retrieved September 11, 2008, from Department for Children, Schools and Families (UK) Web site: http://www.parentscentre.gov.uk/usingcomputersandtheinternet/plagiarism/ 

(2003). Writing-plagiarism advice for lessons. Retrieved September 15, 2008, from Teaching & learning: Apple Learning Interchange Web site: http://ali.apple.com/edres/ellesson/elem-writplagerism.shtml