Journal of Ethics in Entrepreneurship and Technology (Sep 2021)

The relationship between academic integrity of online university students and its effects on academic performance and learning quality

  • Majda I. Ayoub/Al-Salim,
  • Khaled Aladwan

DOI
https://doi.org/10.1108/JEET-02-2021-0009
Journal volume & issue
Vol. 1, no. 1
pp. 43 – 60

Abstract

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Purpose – This paper aims to investigate the relationship between academic integrity of online university students and its effects on academic performance and learning quality. The first hypothesis aimed to see if there is statistically significant relationship between academic honesty of students taking online classes and their apparent academic performance. The second hypothesis aimed to see if there is a statistically significant difference in academic integrity among male and female students. The third hypothesis aimed to see if there was a statistically significant relationship between academic honesty of students and their quality of learning. Design/methodology/approach – This is a quantitative study; data was collected via student emails from 155 active online university students. Findings – There was a positive linear relationship for the first hypothesis, the relationship is relatively weak as the value of Pearson correlation was (0.172). For the second hypothesis, the results showed that there was no significant difference between males and females. The results for the third hypothesis showed that there is a statistically significant relationship between academic integrity of students taking online classes and academic learning quality. This relationship is relatively strong. Research limitations/implications – The sample size may have been a limitation for generalizing the results. Practical implications – As a practical implication, authors recommend that education administrators focus on training their faculty members to stress and instill strong ethical values, such as academic integrity and honesty, in their students all throughout their academic journey. Social implications – As for social implication, the embracing of ethical values in students, graduates may continue to embrace such values in the workplace which may lead to more reputable and profitable work environment where the society at large benefits. Originality/value – This research is among the pioneers that attempted to study the connection of academic integrity and learning quality from the students’ perspective.

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