Abstract

The increasing reliance on artificial intelligence tools has increased pressure on academic standards, making breaches of academic integrity a clear threat to research quality and scholarship. By using a quantitative survey, this study investigated and compared beliefs, motivations, and behaviors of students from both public and private universities regarding academic dishonesty. The participants were postgraduate students enrolled in six universities, including three public and three private institutions in Punjab, Pakistan. The study found that a lack of instructor guidance on plagiarism, a desire to improve grades, and a fear of failure are significant factors contributing to academic misconduct. Students’ behavior, including copying from sources without proper citation and copying from peers, is a common occurrence. Furthermore, the findings suggested that curriculum-embedded integrity education, active supervisory guidance, fostering healthy student-teacher relationships and strong anti-plagiarism policies can build a culture of academic integrity in universities. The research provides evidence-based strategies to promote integrity and reduce misconduct in higher education. It offers a localized perspective on a phenomenon that is rarely explored within the Pakistani higher education landscape.