Office of Academic Appeals & Regulation 1 Plagiarism

Office of Academic Appeals & Regulation 2 Plagiarism Health Check –Update publications –Compulsory session before any submissions test? plagiarism activities

Office of Academic Appeals & Regulation 3 Plagiarism Turnitin –Beating Turnitin –Arms Race –% of Work? Plagiarism is an academic decision

Office of Academic Appeals & Regulation 4 Plagiarism Student Co-operation –must attend meeting –action if unavoidably absent –rights to advice and supporter no representation –student must provide information immediately as required by department

Office of Academic Appeals & Regulation 5 Plagiarism Common Procedural mistakes –marking up (incomplete) warning –“I know nothing” –entrapment –intention –all papers to the student including department’s reasoned conclusion (to the Office)

Office of Academic Appeals & Regulation 6 Plagiarism Elephant traps –group work –collusion –borrowed PCs –memory sticks Full and complete investigation at Departmental level

Office of Academic Appeals & Regulation 7 Plagiarism Concurrent Offences –First Offences addressed in department –If one offence is aggravated both to the Committee Aggravated Offences –Theft –Deception e.g. falsifying references Malpractice

Office of Academic Appeals & Regulation 8 Plagiarism Mitigation –Principle: not comparable with mitigation for under-performance –Unlikely to affect guilt or innocence –Can affect penalty

Office of Academic Appeals & Regulation 9 Plagiarism Annex 3 of published procedures –full list of penalties Departments can impose any penalty short of exclusion or delaying student’s progress Cases before the Committee mean that the student’s place is in question

Office of Academic Appeals & Regulation 10 Plagiarism Rule of thumb –compare penalty with case of student who has failed honestly if no difference, then penalty is too light –remember it is a penalty not action for a case of illness Factors for consideration –scale of offence, relative to the piece of work –seniority of the student –source of material, e.g. essay mill, internet etc –attempt at concealment –mitigation and its relevance Advice from Office

Office of Academic Appeals & Regulation 11 Plagiarism Consistency –record offences and penalties –keep penalties simple –bear in mind the student’s level of study –remember longer term consequences for the student but retain consistency effect on Honours displacement of work, workload issues

Office of Academic Appeals & Regulation 12 Plagiarism Office of the Independent Adjudicator (OIA) –identify cases at an early stage consistent and comprehensive checking process –retrospective investigations permitted –procedural irregularities fatal Change Procedures –August sits: Externals

Office of Academic Appeals & Regulation 13 Plagiarism Awards –University forbids any award where plagiarism has not been purged (PVC and Committee on Applications) –No knowingly plagiarised work can contribute to an award of the University –Degrees can be revoked

Office of Academic Appeals & Regulation 14 Plagiarism Have a nice day!