Academic Integrity and Creative Order: A Case from South Africa

This chapter delves into the significance of adopting a holistic approach toward academic integrity development, advocating for a balance between proactive and reactive measures to achieve academic wholeness. This chapter emphasizes the importance of proactive planning and preventive measures, in contrast to reactive conduct, to cultivate a balance between the two approaches toward academic integrity. The authors use allegory to initiate a conversation about holistic academic integrity. In addition, the authors highlight some challenges South African higher education faces and how the North-West University (NWU) is responding to these demands by promoting academic integrity. To demonstrate the NWU’s journey toward holistic academic integrity, the authors advocate the establishment of a “creative order.” The chapter, through the notion of “creative order,” emphasizes the need for institutions to continuously review and align their academic integrity strategies with the principles of academic integrity, emphasizing the importance of supporting students’ pursuit of academic excellence and knowledge acquisition through robust student support frameworks. Institutions can create a sustainable and ethical academic environment conducive to student success by taking a well-rounded approach that balances proactive and reactive measures.