Exploring Factors That Contribute to Nursing Students’ Willingness to Report Peer Academic Integrity Violations

Abstract

The aim of the study was to examine and describe student perceptions of severity of violations, faculty support, and support for program improvement strategies related to willingness to report peer violations. BACKGROUND Peer reporting is important when students witness dishonest behaviors. To foster academic integrity, exploration of the willingness to report is needed. METHOD Using McCabe's Academic Integrity Survey-Modified for Nursing Students, 442 baccalaureate students were surveyed. RESULTS The more students felt faculty supported related policies, the more willing students were to report (r s = .298, α = .05). The more students understood what was considered a violation, the more willing they were to report (r s = .485, α = .05). The more students believed program-wide strategies could prevent violations, the more willing they were to report (r s = .231, α = .05). CONCLUSION Education that helps define academic integrity can contribute to nursing students' willingness to report peer violations. Faculty support of policies and program-wide strategies contribute.KEY WORDS Academic Integrity -Nursing Students -Peer Reporting N ursing is considered one of the most trusted professions according to the Gallup (2022) poll. It is of concern that violations of academic integrity as a nursing student could influence the integrity of one's future nursing practice and the public's view of the profession (McCabe, 2009). According to the International Center for Academic Integrity (ICAI, 2022), academic integrity has six fundamental values: trust, fairness, respect, responsibility, honesty, and courage. Being committed to those values, even in the face of adversity, is what defines academic integrity (ICAI, 2022). Participating in dishonest activities may give one student an academic advantage over another (Waltzer et al., 2021). Krueger (2014) further supports the importance of the six ICAI core values once students transition into clinical practice, explaining that the independence granted to practicing nurses necessitates that nurses possess integrity and promote honesty for the safety of their patients.

Practicality of Counseling Guidance Module Religious Based to Improve Academic Integrity

“…Academic integrity in question is honesty, trust, fairness, respect, responsibility, and courage (Stevenson et al, 2023). Religiosity is influential and significant to cheating behavior, it is said that students who have high religiosity, cheat less often than religiously low students (Onu et al, 2021).…”