1. Academic Integrity & Dealing with Academic Misconduct at UEL

2. Academic Integrity at UEL
The AI Policy ensures consistency of treatment and equality of experience for all students at UEL
Our responsibility to protect the credibility of the qualifications
The AI Policy is supported by policies on standard referencing and use of Turnitin + Academic Misconduct Regulations
Turnitin utilised as a text matching tool not a plagiarism detector
Identifying plagiarism is an issue of academic judgement, not a Turnitin percentage – no percentage is acceptable

3. Cite Them Right. UEL’s Standard Referencing System
is Cite Them Right (Harvard)
or APA for students
studying
programmes in the School
of Psychology
Newer version of Cite them right to be available online shortly.
Designed to be more student friendly to support accurate referencing

4. Defining Academic Misconduct
We define academic misconduct as any behaviour:
“likely to confer an unfair advantage in assessment, whether by advantaging the alleged offender or disadvantaging (deliberately or unconsciously) another or others”
(UEL Manual of General Regulations, 2010, Part 8 Academic Misconduct, 8.2.1)

5. Most common types of Academic Misconduct: Plagiarism and Collusion.
Plagiarism: The submission of material (written, visual or oral), originally produced by another person or persons or oneself, without due acknowledgement, so that the work could be assumed to be the student's own … includes incorporation of significant extracts or elements taken from the work of (an)other(s) or oneself, without acknowledgement or reference Collusion: The submission of work produced in collaboration for an assignment based on the assessment of individual work.

6. The Process for first instances of plagiarism/collusion
STAGE OF PROCESS
WHAT IS NEEDED FROM WHOM
Misconduct Suspected
Academic informs administrator of:
Student number
Module
Component
Type of misconduct suspected (if known)
Decision is made to set up a meeting
Date; Time; and Room number for School Meeting
Type of BoR to be answered for
or that the allegation is withdrawn
Meeting letter sent
Administrator sends a letter to the student informing them of suspected misconduct and requesting a meeting with the given details.
Administrator gives academic;
Copies of letter to student
Misconduct form for meeting
Leaflets on academic integrity for student
Meeting held
Academic staff hold meeting ;
2 members of staff (ideally, academic staff who are familiar with the assessment in question, but any staff with experience of a School Meeting/School Responsible Officer may accompany the academic who has alleged academic misconduct)
Form to be completed in student’s presence and decision agreed upon
Meeting outcome
Academic passes completed School Meeting Form and, if the allegation is withdrawn, the mark for the work, to administer
Outcome letter is sent
Administrator sends letter to student informing him/her of the outcome of the meeting and makes a note of this on the student’s SPR screen
Administrator notifies APLE of the resolution

7. School Meetings School Meetings:
Central to how we deal with all (but the most serious) first breaches of Academic Misconduct Regulations
Conducted by Module Leaders supported by School Responsible Officer (or trained academic colleague).
Locates first instances within a pedagogic as well as disciplinary context
More serious and subsequent instances are dealt with by APLE

8. Conduct of a School Meeting
During the meeting:
Define and demonstrate the academic misconduct
Clarify that a School Meeting can only issue an Academic Misconduct Warning (AMW), meaning that the assessment in question is awarded 0%
Explain that any subsequent instance of academic misconduct will lead to a higher penalty (explain the tariff of penalties)
Direct students to support for academic integrity
Always Use the Academic Misconduct Regulations – ensures consistency and equality

9. What happens next?
The student is asked to sign the School Meeting Report Form to confirm:
their understanding of how they have breached the regulations
that they will ensure that it does not recur
that they understand that any further instance of academic misconduct is likely to lead to a higher penalty
The School Registrar is responsible for notifying the student formally of the outcome and retaining the record of the School Meeting.
Where the student denies academic misconduct, or declines to accept an Academic Misconduct Warning, the School will refer the matter to APLE.

10. Academic Misconduct Warning
Applies where a student plagiarises, or colludes for the first time or a mobile telephone sounds during an examination
Provided that there is no evidence that the student has behaved in an obviously dishonest way the work concerned or the examination in question will be awarded a mark of 0%
Is not a penalty and it is not reported to a professional body.
Students who receive academic misconduct warnings do not have their bursaries frozen

11. Examples of Serious Academic Misconduct – Referrals to APLE
Work that has been purchased, or otherwise obtained from a “cheat site”
Exam misconduct including the importation

12. Academic Misconduct Panels.
Panel Members: Chair, member of UELSU sabbatical officer; and 2 academic colleagues
Cases are referred to panels by APLE if students refuse to accept the allegation or the proposed penalty
Module Leaders should accompany their School Responsible Officer to a panel to present the case and answer questions, possibly including assessment design

13. Advice, Information & Guidance
Resources:
Flow chart explaining misconduct process
Student Guide to Viva Voce Interviews
Student Guide to Academic Misconduct Panels

14. Policies and Regulations
Academic Integrity
Use of Turnitin
Standard Referencing
Academic Misconduct Regulations

15. Your Responsible Officer (s)
ADI Dr Abel Ugba
ACE Caroline David
Cass Debbie Brearley
HSB Deidre O’Kelly
LSS Hilary Lim & Ian Porton
Psychology Ian Wells & Susy Ajith
RDBS Carol Luckett

16. Academic Practice & Learning Enhancement
Any Questions?
Dee Bozacigubruz
Dallas Alexandrou
Academic Practice & Learning Enhancement