Academic misconduct is anything which is against the rules which govern the assessment of work, and includes things like plagiarism, commissioning and collusion. There are definitions of all these words in the Regulations on Academic Misconduct which you can find on the University website - you will also be sent a copy or a link.  

The most common types of academic misconduct are:

Plagiarism: This is the presentation of another's work as your own, whether intentional or otherwise. Any work identified as coming from an unattributed source will be classified as plagiarism

Collusion: Working with another student to produce work, in order to obtain an advantage for either or both students

Commissioning: Requesting or engaging another person, or artificial intelligence (AI), to write or re-write work in order to obtain an unfair advantage.  At the most serious end of the scale this offence includes paying an individual or company to produce work for you to submit as your own. However, payment need not be involved and it can also include the situation where you have asked someone (such as a friend, family member or former teacher) to help you write work which you submit for assessment.

Duplication: You can only submit the same work for assessment once. If you do so again, whether it is for the same or another course, this may be considered as duplication.

Unauthorised use of Artificial Intelligence (AI): if you have used generative AI tools such as ChatGPT or CoPilot but have not been authorised to do so in your assessment instructions, or you were authorised to use it but have not referenced its use correctly, then you may have committed an academic offence. 

The University has a reputation for academic integrity and we must take allegations of academic misconduct seriously. The University has to investigate when there’s a suggestion of misconduct, but there is advice, guidance and support available to you at each stage of the process.

When an allegation has been raised, you will be informed by email and given access to a casefile that includes a number of documents which explain the allegation.  You will also be provided with the evidence upon which the allegation is based (usually the Turnitin report). This link will be sent to your University email address only. Read this information carefully as it will show you where things may have gone wrong, which is what you will be asked about in the meeting.

The Students’ Union Advice Centre have advisors who are specially trained and, if you want them to, will attend the meeting with you. They can’t speak on your behalf, but can help you work out what to say beforehand, and give moral support at the meeting. 

Your personal tutor and other academic staff are always available to discuss the principles of academic integrity, and how to avoid future allegations. However, they will not be able to discuss the specific circumstances of a case while it is the subject of an academic misconduct panel.

The Regulations on Academic Misconduct set out the procedure for dealing with academic misconduct. One of the things markers look out for when marking your work is any signs that suggest the work may not be entirely your own. If they notice anything which may be suggestive of academic misconduct they will submit a ‘Request to investigate’.

Every Department has an Academic Misconduct Panel and the Chair of the Panel will be asked to review the allegation and decide how to proceed.  If they decide that the work displays poor academic practice, but that it is confined to a small section of the assessment, they may decide that there is no evidence of misconduct and the case will not be taken any further (although the poor practice will be reflected in your mark).

If the Chair decides that the work shows clear evidence of plagiarism, for example a lack of correct referencing or poorly paraphrased sections, they may decide that an offence has occurred and it does not warrant a meeting with the Academic Misconduct Panel.  The Chair has the authority to decide to impose a penalty at this stage, without requiring a meeting, if this is a first offence. 

However, if the Chair of the Panel decides that a serious offence has occurred, or more investigation is needed, they will ask for an academic misconduct panel to be arranged.

We will notify you of the decision as soon as we can, and give clear information and instructions about what happens next.

There is now an option for the Chair of the Department Academic Misconduct Panel to decide that when a student’s work demonstrates clear evidence of academic misconduct, and its their first offence, that an academic misconduct panel meeting is not required. The Chair may decide to impose a penalty and if this is the case for your work, you will be given plenty of information so that you can decide how you would like to proceed. You will still have the option to attend a panel meeting to consider the allegation, if you choose to do so. 

You will recieve a letter which explains the Chair’s reasoning for their decision and the penalty that has been deemed to be appropriate for your case and level of offence.

Most cases which are suitable for this process will receive a penalty at the lower end of the spectrum, typically a deduction of 10% from the provisional mark, or a cap at the pass mark. However, the Chair will consider your provisional mark when determining the penalty. If your mark is below the pass mark, then obviously a cap at the pass mark cannot be applied. In these circumstances the Chair will probably decide to impose a mark of zero for the assessment to reflect the fact that your work has not satisfied the requirements to pass, and additionally to penalise for academic misconduct.

No, you do not, you can opt instead to meet with the Academic Misconduct Panel. You have 10 working days in which to consider the documents provided and decide what to do. You are advised to read these through carefully as they will outline the allegation and evidence provided by the marker, as well as the reason why you have been offered this option.

If you reject the penalty offered to you, you will be invited to attend an Academic Misconduct Panel meeting which you will be expected to attend. The meeting will be your opportunity to contest the allegation made by the marker or to explain to the Chair of the panel why you believe that the penalty imposed is too severe. You may also disclose any mitigating circumstances which affected you at the time of the offence.

However, before you consider this option, you should think carefully about how you will address the issues raised by the marker, bearing in mind that plagiarism is an absolute, i.e., it has either occurred or it has not. It is not necessary for there to be evidence of intent to commit academic misconduct for it to be proven, and accidental or unintended plagiarism is nevertheless academic misconduct.

Before reaching a decision we strongly recommend that you review the information and guidance available on the Student Intranet, and consider seeking the advice of the Students Union Advice Centre who can help you to consider the evidence and the options available to you.

An academic misconduct panel meeting will be arranged so that this information can be properly considered by the Panel. Similarly, if you have mitigating circumstances which you ask to be considered, a panel meeting will be arranged.