Integrity means being trustworthy, reliable, and decent in our dealings with others.
It means being true to ourselves. When we are guided by integrity our actions align with our principles; our thoughts and words are in sync with each other. It becomes the basis for our reputation as well as our self-esteem. Integrity does not mean being perfect, but rather having high moral principles and being trusted in our actions as well as our words. It is something that compels us to do the right thing all the time.

In our day-to-day life, we are presented with different choices. Some are hassle free and are very easy to make, while others may be difficult and requires significant effort. Of all the choices offered, picking the right or the wrong one is often determined by our character, which is based upon the qualities of integrity, accountability, and reliability. For example, if I am on a baseball team and my coach cannot be at practice today. He instructs me what to do and then leaves. Rather than putting a half-hearted effort into it, I decide to stick to those instructions, as I knew that I would be cheating myself as well as my teammates if I don’t follow them. Again, it was my principles that compelled me to do the right thing.
Integrity plays an essential role in a community. It helps establish mutually beneficial relationships, and develop a sense of loyalty and duty amongst people. People who adhere to the principles of integrity will act correctly in academic, personal, and professional settings. In professional community, integrity enhances personal commitments to the code of ethics set forward by the professional organization. It involves decision making in the frame of mind as to what is right, instead of what will make me look better than others. It will help people act in a fair and a responsible manner. In personal settings, integrity leads individuals to understand who they really are, thus they can be honest to their interests. In academic community, integrity will assist students to observe academic standards rigorously, and help them improve the social recognition of the value of their institutions. In other words, the more people have integrity in a community, the more efficiency and productivity we can have, and the more happiness and trust we can enjoy.
Academic integrity means taking pride in our own work. It is a reflection of the students experience at the university. According to me, it is vital for a university to sustain high standards when it comes to academic integrity. If these standards are not maintained then the school’s creditability would not be reliable. Not maintaining high standards would make people think that the education received from the school is not earned. Innovation can continue only in an atmosphere of confidence and fairness. We must be able to trust that our colleagues are honest in presenting their research, and they must have the same trust in our work. The range of research subjects and methods, along with systems of analysis and data presentation that guide each field, give rise to situations of great moral complexity.

Strict actions should be taken against students who do not uphold these standards. For the first violations, students should receive an effective warning that helps them realize their faults. For the second violations, students should receive an F in their courses and their misconducts should be recorded in the file. In the worst cases, students who commit serious violations must be expelled from the university.