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Academic integrity

Last updated on 18 May 2026
Academic integrity means that you act honestly, reliably and ethically while studying at the university and that you submit only work for grading that you have created yourself.

As a student, you will be trained to become an independent thinking professional and scholar. This requires an academic work attitude, in which you learn to rely on your own critical ability and are assessed  on your own performance. Knowingly or unknowingly committing fraud does not fit the future professional you want to become.

Fraud

To commit fraud can sometimes seem tempting, but it is not sustainable - after all, you are only cheating yourself. If you are caught, your work will be declared invalid, or may even affect the entire group of students (if you worked with others). You may also be excluded from participating in any or all exams for up to a year.

But do you actually know when exactly something is considered fraud? You may already have an idea: if the work you turn in is not your own, it is fraud. But so is making up research data.

You commit fraud when you or others make it impossible for an examiner to truly assess your knowledge. This may sound a bit cryptic, but let's examine it. When an examiner cannot determine whether you (or someone else), submitted original and self-made work, the examiner cannot give a grade because it is not actually your actual knowledge that is being assessed. This can happen, for example, if another student copies your work: your work is original, but because the other person copies it, both you and your fellow student are suspected of fraud.

Some students choose to commit fraud. But many do so unknowingly out of ignorance, carelessness, or because they are under pressure. Could the same thing happen to you? How much do you really know about exam fraud? You can prevent unintentional fraud by reading and applying these rules:

It is important to know and understand these, because even if you don't, you can still be held accountable.

Types of academic misconduct

  • Fraud

    The most common form of fraud is pretending that something is your own work when it is not. But there is more, VU's definition of fraud includes: any act or omission by a student that makes it wholly or partially impossible to properly assess the knowledge, understanding and skill of that student or another student.

    What does that include? Here are some examples:

    • Sharing your work or answers with a student who has not completed the course;
    • Exchanging answers during an exam, such as using WhatsApp during an online exam;
    • Impersonating someone else: doing someone else's work for them and vice versa;
    • Publishing an answer model online;
    • Hitchhiking in group assignments: making others do all the work;
    • Using explicitly prohibited materials during exams, for example: books, a cheat sheet, a smartphone or a calculator;
    • Viewing and copying another student's work;
    • Being in possession of exam questions or assignments prior to an exam;
    • Paying someone to write your assignment;
    • Using an AI 'writer' to write your assignment.

  • Plagiarism

    Plagiarism is a form of fraud. It is using someone else's work without proper citation of the source. This is why it is so important to learn the difference between quoting, paraphrasing and plagiarism. Scientific work always builds on the work others have done before us. That means you will often use texts written by others, and if you do so correctly, it is normal and desirable. Therefore, it is vital to know how to apply the rules.

    Examples of plagiarism are:

    • Presenting something as your own work while using someone else's ideas, text, images or code;
    • Forgetting to cite, or give credit to, the original authors;
    • Co-authoring work that contains plagiarism.

  • Self-plagiarism

    Self-plagiarism is the reuse of your own work without observing the general rules of quoting, paraphrasing and plagiarism.

    When you work multiple times on the same topic, you must treat your own work as you would other authors (quote correctly and paraphrase sparingly). If you do not quote correctly, a teacher might conclude that you have committed fraud because the work submitted through Canvas with plagiarism control is compared to all the work you have previously submitted.

    Want to know more? Read the following articles:

  • Violation of research principles

    It can be tempting to alter research results: to omit certain results that do not match your hypothesis, or to inflate the numbers if your survey has only six respondents, for example. Research fraud violates one of the most important research principles: conducting research with care. In your research reports, therefore, clearly explain your assumptions and conclusions, justify them, and be transparent about how you arrived at the results.

    Examples of a violation of research principles are:

    • Tampering with the data or results;
    • Changing citations to align them with your research theory;
    • Distorting the original meaning of a source (for example, by omitting relevant context).

  • Academic integrity - tips & links

    Of course, you may be tempted to cheat because of stress, lack of time or peer pressure. But none of these are reasons to break the rules, so don't be tempted to do so. In the university environment, you are trained to become an academic with an independent mind. This includes developing an academic attitude, learning to trust your own critical ability, accepting failure and taking responsibility for your actions.

    In general

    • Attend classes, study regularly and complete homework assignments;
    • Create a study plan;
    • Make use of online tutorials and practice materials;
    • Attend debriefing or review sessions after each exam so you can learn from your mistakes;
    • Seek support from a student counsellor if you are anxious, find it difficult to plan or to study regularly;
    • Look for a relevant VU Amsterdam course to address your study problems.

    Prior to exams

    • Look on Canvas, in the syllabus of the course or in the study guide for information about the exam. Never skip the cover sheet of an exam;
    • When in doubt, ask your teacher what not to do;
    • Leave the course WhatsApp group prior to the exam. This way you avoid suspicion of fraud, in case the answers are shared in the group during the exam;
    • Avoid peer pressure by putting your phone on silent, in airplane mode and turning off notifications. And keep it out of reach;
    • Avoid panic: try online resources to prepare for the exam.

    Group work

    • In case of group assignments, make good agreements about the tasks (for example, see this information on making group contracts);
    • Try to take a different role on each group assignment so that you learn all the skills needed;
    • If a team member is lazy and talking doesn't help: consult with the teacher.

    Educate yourself

    Make sure you learn how to work with scholarly sources and how to cite sources:

What are the consequences?

Do you know what happens when you cheat? You may find it less tempting if you know the possible consequences. If you are caught, your work will be declared invalid. The action that follows is determined individually and varies by faculty, but all students risk:

  • A reprimand;
  • Exclusion from the exam for the particular course;
  • Exclusion from all exams for up to one year;
  • In the worst case, you may even be expelled from VU;
  • If large-scale fraud is suspected, an exam may be declared invalid for the entire group. Fraud then not only affects you, but can also harm others.

Long-term

If you get your degree through fraud or cheating, you put yourself on the wrong track academically. This is because you have not acquired the knowledge, skills and certainly not the academic competencies and attitude necessary to be successful in the profession and your working life. You will struggle to take more advanced courses, you may face problems in your professional life or academic career. What's more, should it come to light afterwards that you obtained a degree wrongfully, the degree may be revoked.

No reason to panic

If you know the rules, you can act accordingly and avoid suspicion of fraud. If you do get suspected of fraud once, there is no need to panic. A suspected fraud does not always lead to a guilty verdict. You will have the opportunity to make a statement before a verdict is reached.

Know the difference between peer-learning and cheating

Peer-teaching and peer-learning are important and effective study strategies for students. But giving a completed assignment to a friend who then copies the content of your assignment is not peer-teaching. And copying answers is not peer-learning.

By giving the completed assignment to a fellow student, whether intentionally or not, you have enabled cheating, and thus committed a violation. Even if you did not give your friend permission to copy your work.

How do you avoid this?

Peer-learning is encouraged because it helps you learn to teach. Teachers help you do this by explaining effective peer teaching strategies, such as working in pairs, sharing comments on your work, and brainstorming solutions to problems in groups.

The information on this page is courtesy of TU Delft. The content has been adapted to the situation at VU Amsterdam.

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