Understanding Plagiarism: Key Regulations and Appeals Procedures in Academia

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! Office of Academic Appeals & Regulation