eCampus NZ is aware that there are websites through which you can sell and purchase completed assignments. Selling, buying, submitting, or downloading work from these websites is academic misconduct and may lead to your exclusion from your course. We use powerful plagiarism detection software that alerts us when material from these sites is used in assessments, and who submitted the assessment to the site. Note that some of these plagiarism web sites market themselves as ‘assignment help services’ – do not be fooled! Asking your facilitator for support is a much better option.
It is the basis for ethical decision-making and behaviour in an academic context.
Academic integrity is informed by the values of honesty, trust, responsibility, fairness, respect and courage.
Academic misconduct is any action which gains, attempts to gain, or assists others in gaining or attempting to gain an unfair academic advantage. It includes plagiarism, collusion, contract cheating, and the fabrication of data.
Academic misconduct can be unintentional or deliberate.
Consequences will vary, depending on the extent of the breach, the proportion of the assessment affected, and the intent behind the breach of academic integrity. You may be asked to resubmit your assessment or, in serious cases, be referred to your enrolling institute who will follow their academic misconduct process, which may include exclusion from the programme.
It’s best to avoid this scenario altogether. Luckily, we have plenty of support materials available to help you avoid academic misconduct.
eCampus NZ uses an online tool called Turnitin to check your assignment files against the content of other websites and databases. Turnitin will help you to find any examples of plagiarism within your document before you submit it for assessment. Visit our Turnitin page for more information.
Referencing is used to show your reader where ideas from your research and sources have been used in your writing. We call this ‘citing your sources’. Taking the time to cite your sources carefully is the best way to avoid plagiarism.
There are several different referencing styles, each with its own rules. At eCampus NZ, we use a referencing style called APA (version 7). Visit our APA Referencing page for more information.
