Plagiarism and cheating
Approved Definitions
Plagiarism
Plagiarism means to take and use another person's ideas and or manner of expressing them and to pass them off as one's own by failing to give appropriate acknowledgement.
Cheating
Cheating means seeking to obtain an unfair advantage in an examination or in other written or practical work required to be submitted or completed by a student for assessment.
Hence if the passing off was:
- done intentionally, the student has cheated;
- not intentional, the only offence the student has committed is the academic misdemeanor of failing to reference a source correctly.
The university policy makes a distinction between plagiarism and cheating. Essentially, plagiarism by itself is not grounds for disallowing work or failing an assessment task. Only 'cheating'-which means plagiarism that can be shown to be 'deliberate', or that involves some intent to deceive or to gain unfair advantage, or that is done despite prior warnings and instructions-can be a grounds for disallowing work. This is the relevant university policy statement:
"Plagiarism does not always amount to cheating. The definition of cheating requires that the student was "seeking" to obtain an unfair advantage in the assessment. As it is not possible to seek something unintentionally, plagiarism cannot constitute cheating unless the student knew that the material copied should have been acknowledged, therefore the passing off was intentional. A charge of cheating will not succeed unless there is some evidence of intention: for example, the student had received written information on how to reference correctly, or the student had received a prior warning about plagiarism, or the student is in the second or third year of the course which would normally raise a presumption that he/she was aware of plagiarism."
Collaboration/Collusion
Plagiarism frequently takes the form of similar work submitted by students who may have worked together. It is essential that the Lecturer provide students with clear instructions as to whether they have been permitted to work on the assignment jointly, or individually.
What will happen
If plagiarism, cheating or collusion is suspected the following process will occur:
-
Any cases of suspected plagiarism will be referred to the unit coordinator: the essay and a written statement as to why plagiarism is suspect will be forwarded to the unit co-ordinator.
-
The unit coordinator , will identify the sources that have been plagiarised where possible, and then speak to the student to ascertain how the plagiarism occurred and whether there are grounds for believing it to be intentional. Students must be given an opportunity to explain the suspected plagiarism.
-
If it is believed that the plagiarism was not intentional(that it was perhaps a result of poor noting skills or other errors, that an inexperienced student has made a mistake, or that the student was unaware of the nature of plagiarism), the unit co-ordinator will discuss these issues with the student and allow them to resubmit the essay. Students may also be referred to the Language and Learning Unit of the Faculty or the University, which offer individual guidance and group training in effective note-taking and essay writing.
NOTE When a student is counselled about unintentional plagiarism, the unit co-ordiantor must write to the student, confirming that the counselling has taken place, and send a copy of the letter to the Associate Dean (Teaching). Students who have already been counselled, and who continue to plagiarise, will face disciplinary action.
-
If the plagiarism is considered was intentional, on any of the grounds described in the policy, the unit co-ordinator must then decide to either disallow the piece of work or to refer the matter to the Faculty Manager.
-
If the decision is to disallow the piece of work, the unit co-ordinator must take the following steps:
-
Inform the student in writing that the assessment task has been disallowed on the grounds that it contains plagiarism sufficient to merit a charge of cheating;
-
Include in the letter the following statement: "Should you wish to appeal this decision, you may do so by writing to the Faculty Manager within 28 days of receiving this letter. Your written appeal must set out the grounds upon which you appeal this decision"; and
-
Send a copy of the letter to the Associate Dean (Teaching) and the Faculty Manager.
If the student decides to appeal, the Faculty Manager or nominee establishes a Faculty Discipline Committee and sends the student a more formal 'charge letter' setting out the details of the accusation and setting a date for a hearing. The student then prepares a reply and may consult a student rights officer. If the charge of cheating is upheld, the student may be subject to further penalties such as a reprimand, suspension or exclusion. The student also maintains a right of appeal to the university's Central Discipline Committee. If the charge of cheating is not upheld, the student's work must be assessed. If the student decides not to appeal, and therefore admits the charge of cheating, then the disallowing of the work stands, with whatever consequences for the overall subject grade, and a record is kept of the fact that the work was disallowed.
-
-
If the unit co-ordinator decides to refer the matter to the Faculty Manager, this is the process:
-
Cases should be referred to the Faculty Manager only where the nature of the plagiarism or the circumstances of the case are particularly severe. Please consult the Associate Dean (Teaching) before embarking on this more formal process;
-
The unit co-ordinator informs the Faculty Manager in writing of the charge of cheating, setting out the details of the accusation, and sends a copy to the Associate Dean (Teaching);
-
The Faculty Manager or nominee then establishes a Faculty Discipline Committee and sends the student a 'charge letter' setting out the details of the accusations and setting a date for a hearing. The student then prepares a reply and may consult a student rights officer;
- If the charge of cheating is upheld or if the student admits the charge, the student may be subject to further penalties such as a reprimand, suspension or exclusion. The student maintains a right of appeal to the university's Central Discipline Committee. If the charge of cheating is not upheld, the student's work must be assessed.
-
Repeated cheating
-
A Faculty Discipline Committee will normally be convened for any student for whom two or more reports of disallowed work are received by the Associate Dean (Teaching) during the student's academic career, whether or not the student has appealed The student is sent a letter reporting the repetition and setting a date for a hearing. The student then prepares a reply and may consult a student rights officer.
-
If the charge of repeated cheating is upheld or if the student admits the charge, the student may be subject to further penalties such as a reprimand, suspension or exclusion. The student also maintains a right of appeal to the university's Central Discipline Committee.