Academic Integrity and Ethical Boundaries of Academic Assistance among Final-Year Students in Southeast Sulawesi, Indonesia

Abstract

Abstract

University students increasingly access academic assistance through peers, professional services, digital platforms, and academic-support providers. However, the boundary between legitimate academic support and contract cheating is not always clearly understood. This study examined final-year students' perceptions of acceptable academic assistance, academic integrity, and rationalizations for using external assistance to complete final projects. We conducted a descriptive survey among final-year students at higher education institutions in Southeast Sulawesi, Indonesia. Of 213 initial responses, 135 respondents met the eligibility criteria and were included in the analysis. We collected data using an anonymous online questionnaire and analyzed them descriptively using frequencies, percentages, and mean scores. The results showed that students distinguished between supportive academic assistance and full academic outsourcing. Reference-search assistance (32.3%), methodological consultation (27.8%), academic-writing training (24.1%), and formatting assistance (21.8%) were considered more acceptable than having another person complete a final project (5.3%). Furthermore, 63.1% of respondents considered full outsourcing a violation of academic integrity, 62.6% considered it unfair to students who completed their work honestly, and 61.5% believed it could reduce graduate quality. The most common rationalizations were time pressure (32.8%), perceiving assistance as “only technical” (25.2%), and fear of failure (24.4%). The findings indicate that students' ethical judgments are primarily determined by intellectual ownership, understanding, and responsibility. Universities should clearly distinguish legitimate academic assistance from contract cheating and strengthen academic-integrity education and legitimate academic-support services.