Policies and Guidelines – Guidance on Academic Misconduct

Overview of the Academic Misconduct Policy

US University of Technology, Science and Arts seeks to promote the highest level of educational standards and will ensure that students who graduate from US University of Technology, Science and Arts achieve their aims on the backdrop of merit.  In this respect US University of Technology, Science and Arts will ensure that no form of inappropriate practices is tolerated.  These include cheating, plagiarism, personating and so on.  These are forms of academic misconduct and are entirely unacceptable for any student of US University of Technology, Science and Arts. 

This Academic Misconduct Policy seeks to:

• Define different categories of academic misconduct that may occur in an academic setting;

• Give guidance to staff to help prevent the occurrence of such misconduct;

• Determine the procedures to be adopted in suspected cases in line with US University of Technology, Science and Arts’ disciplinary procedures.

The use of the word “academic” in the title seeks to define the scope of Academic Misconduct Policy as it relates to the delivery and assessment of the curriculum.  It is intended to include vocational courses and assessed programmes.  It should be noted that this Academic Misconduct Policy is not a contract document and therefore no contractual, remedies could be sought on the basis of this document. 

Purpose of the Academic Misconduct Policy

The Academic Misconduct Policy is aimed at achieving the following objectives:

• To ensure the integrity of the programmes of US University of Technology, Science and Arts.

• To establish clear and equitable channels for addressing allegations of misconduct.

• To provide a fair opportunity for proper investigations of student’s concerns regarding the matters of academic misconduct

• To ensure that all students are fairly treated in academic misconduct investigations.

• To provide adequate flexibility for an aggrieved student to seek appropriate legal redress.

The following forms of academic misconduct are covered in the corresponding numbered sections:

• Plagiarism;

• Cheating;

• Collusion;

• Falsification;

• Personation

• Plagiarism

Plagiarism includes:

• copying another student’s work;

• Aiding another student to plagiarise;

• Taking an essay, wholly or in part;

• Quoting without appropriate referencing from a magazine, a newspaper, a journal, a book, a website or web-based essay bank;

• Obtaining premature access to test or examination papers.

• Violating copyrights and licensing agreements.

The use of US University of Technology, Science and Arts’ equipment to make illegal copies of copyrighted or licensed materials is considered as serious as other forms of academic dishonesty.  In addition to the possible disciplinary action taken by US University of Technology, Science and Arts, the student may be faced with legal action.

• The close paraphrasing or summarising of material from other sources;

• Presenting ideas that were developed in collaboration with other students, with no recognition of the contribution made by other members of the group.

• Self-plagiarism, whereby a student attempts to submit in a particular module a piece of formative work which has already been assessed for another module either at US University of Technology, Science and Arts or any other institution, is equally unacceptable. Work may be based on research previously undertaken by the student, but this should be acknowledged in the new piece of work to show the development in the student’s thinking.  Lecturers may ask to see the original work in order to compare the two. 

Appropriate Practice

In their essays, reports, papers and dissertations, students should always give credit to sources, whether quoting directly or paraphrasing.  Information, ideas or quotations obtained from any primary or secondary source must be acknowledged according to the convention operated for that particular module or programme.  Students who are unclear as to procedure must seek advice from academic staff, as inadequate or lack of appropriate referencing may result in disciplinary action ranging from the failure of a piece of submitted work to permanent exclusion on the grounds of fraudulence.

Cheating

Cheating is acting unfairly, or dishonestly, to gain an advantage.  Cheating by students occurs mainly under examination conditions and is covered by the relevant examination body’s own procedures.  Cheating includes:

• Communicating with, or copying from any other candidate during an examination except insofar as the examination regulations may specifically permit this, e.g. group assessments;

• Communicating during an examination with any person other than a properly authorised invigilator or another authorised member of staff;

• Introducing any written or printed materials into the examination room unless expressly permitted by the partner awarding institution’s course regulations;

• Introducing any electronically stored information into the examination room, unless expressly permitted by the partner awarding institution’s course regulations;

• Gaining access to unauthorised material relating to an examination before or during the examination;

• Obtaining a copy of an “unseen” written examination paper in advance of the date and time of its authorised release;

• In any other ways, the provision, or assistance in the provision, of false evidence or knowledge or understanding in examinations.

Guidance Note:

In this context the term examination is deemed to include tests carried out under examination conditions.

Collusion

Collusion includes situations where a student:

• Submits as entirely his/her own, with intention to gain unfair advantage, work done in collaboration with another person;

• Collaborates with another candidate in the completion of work which is intended to be submitted as that other candidate’s own unaided work;

• Knowingly permits another candidate to copy all or part of their own work, and to submit it as that other candidate’s own unaided work.

Guidance Note:

US University of Technology, Science and Arts encourages all students to share ideas and exchange reference material prior to each student writing up their own personal presentation of an assessed piece of work. 

Falsification

The presentation of data in laboratory reports, projects, etc.  Based on experimental work falsely purported to have been carried out by the candidate or obtained by unfair means.

Personation

“Personation” is the legal term for what is usually referred to as “impersonation”.  Personation is the assumption by one person of the identity of another person with intent to deceive, or to gain unfair advantage.  It may exist where:

• One person assumes the identity of a candidate, with the intention of gaining unfair advantage for that candidate;

• The candidate is knowingly and willingly impersonated by another with the intention of gaining unfair advantage for the person personated.

Guidance on Academic Misconduct – Preventative Action by Staff

To prevent the occurrence of academic misconduct, US University of Technology, Science and Arts staff should:

• Inform students clearly of the Academic Misconduct Policy on academic integrity and honesty and of any guidelines on academic misconduct, recording the date(s) and occasion(s) for future reference;

• Include statements on academic misconduct in the Student Handbook;

• Make students aware of the penalties for academic misconduct at the earliest stage of the course, e.g. a zero mark for the assessment, expulsion, etc.;

• Provide students with guidance on the format of formal acknowledgement of source material;

• Inform students in writing if possible, of the extent to which they can collaborate in coursework:

• Please refer to the notes in the guidelines from the awarding body as to what is, and is not, allowed when collaborating;

• Be aware that most students are very computer literate and can scan text and surf the web for model essays, etc., with ease;

• Ensure adequate access controls are in place and that learners are adequately supervised when using computers (especially when networked) to prevent learners from copying or printing out other people’s work as part of their own;

• Devise procedures for assessing work in such a way that plagiarism, cheating and collusion are more detectable.

Procedures to deal with Academic Misconduct

All instances of suspected academic misconduct should be fully investigated utilising the proper disciplinary procedures.

The determination of whether an instance of academic misconduct has occurred is a matter for the US University of Technology, Science and Arts’s Course Co-ordinator.  The allegations against the student should be provided to the learner in writing before any action is taken, so that the learner is clear of the case to be answered.

Minor instances of academic misconduct

Minor instances may be dealt with in accordance with the informal (verbal) warning section of the Disciplinary Procedures, i.e.  A verbal warning by the tutor, reported to the Academic Head.

Examples of minor cases could include a student:

• Receiving undue help in good faith because instructions have been misunderstood;

• Copying a couple of sentences or using someone else’s diagrams;

• Copying small amounts of text from books without direct acknowledgement,

• But which does not make a significant contribution to the overall work.

• Downloading from the internet without acknowledgement, using another’s disk or copying work from another’s disk;

• Using another’s artwork;

• Not referencing work properly;

• Failing to acknowledge the source of a small section of an assignment;

• Infringing the Academic Misconduct Policy when the assessed work does not contribute to final grade;

More serious cases of academic misconduct

More serious cases of academic misconduct should be dealt with through the formal disciplinary procedure.  The entire process will be governed by the US University of Technology, Science and Arts Disciplinary Procedure as outlined in the Student Handbook.  If the case is proven the following sanctions may be imposed as appropriate:

• Notify the awarding/examining body, in line with their procedures;

• Inform external examiners/verifiers in line with awarding/examining body’s procedures.

• Disqualify the student from the course.