The UniversityAcademic Integrity Initiative

The University

The University of Bath is one of the UK’s leading universities with a vibrant and innovative academic community.

You are encouraged to work independently and to have original ideas.

You are expected to study literature in your field and incorporate the ideas of other authors into your own work.

Academic integrity means being honest about where you have sourced the materials for your assignments, indicating which ideas are your own and which are from other authors.

What is Academic Integrity?

The University

Using published or unpublished material or ideas, without acknowledging the original source, is known as plagiarism.

It is an academic offence which is taken very seriously by the University and of which all students need to have a thorough understanding.

Plagiarism takes many forms including reusing your own work without acknowledgement.

What is Plagiarism?

The University

To raise awareness of plagiarism and the importance of academic integrity, ALL students must undertake training and pass a test.

Raising awareness

The University

Professor Bernie Morley

Pro-Vice-Chancellor (Learning and Teaching)

Explains the importance of academic integrity and the University’s initiative to raise awareness of plagiarism and how to avoid it.

Message from the PVC (L&T),Professor Bernie Morley

The University

©Andrew Milligan/PA

Training and Test

The UniversityHow do you access the training and test?

A link to the training and test can be found in Moodle, the Virtual Learning Environment.

When you log into Moodle, the Academic Integrity Initiative course for your Department will automatically appear in ‘My courses’, in the left-hand column of the page.

The University

An online tutorial provides a basic understanding of plagiarism and how to avoid it by referencing appropriately.

It comprises a mixture of text, video clips and questions.

Even if you think you have a thorough knowledge of plagiarism, it is important to undertake the training.

Once you have worked through the training, and feel confident that you have understood it, you are ready to take the test.

What does the training involve?

The UniversityWhat does the test involve?

The test comprises 20 multiple choice questions.

To pass the test you must achieve a score of 85%.

You can take the test as many times as necessary, until you pass.

The University

ALL students registering on an award at the University must take the test, regardless of your level or mode of study.

If you were registered on an award for a previous programme last year and you successfully completed the test, you do NOT have to take the test again, but you may wish to review the training materials on how to avoid plagiarism again at the start of this academic year.

Do you have to take the test?

The University

The training and test will provide you with a basic understanding of plagiarism and how to reference properly. This knowledge is extremely important for your studies.

Until you have passed the test you will NOT be allowed to continue in your studies past your next progression point.

If you are one a one year Postgraduate Taught Masters, for example, your next progression point may be graduation.

In this case you would NOT be allowed to graduate until you had taken and passed the test.

Why do you have to pass the test?

The University

Once you have passed the test it will be assumed that you understand the concept of plagiarism and its consequences.

Therefore, after this point, if you are found to have plagiarised in your work, you will not be able to claim ignorance of plagiarism or its consequences in mitigation.

Why do you have to pass the test?

The University

Once you have passed the test you do not have to retake it even if you register on another programme at the University. However, if, having passed the test, you are found to have plagiarised in your work you may be asked to retake the test (in addition to other penalties).

You are encouraged to revisit the training and other resources provided by the University throughout your studies.

Do you have to retake the test if you transfer course?

The University

©Andrew Milligan/PA

Consequences and detection of plagiarism

The University

Your lecturers will have a good knowledge of the literature in your subject and will generally know when you are using information from a source without referencing properly. They will also be able to tell by a change of tone and style in your work that you are quoting from another source.

To support the detection of plagiarism in students’ work, the University subscribes to Turnitin. Turnitin is used by most universities in the UK to detect plagiarism in students’ work. The service checks electronic, text-based submissions against a large database of material and produces a report on the originality of each piece of work. Your work may be submitted to Turnitin periodically by your department.

How does the University detect plagiarism?

The University

Each case of plagiarism is considered individually and a penalty applied according to the seriousness of the offence.

In the most serious cases the penalties may include being downgraded in degree classification or being asked the leave the University without a degree.

You will be able to find further information regarding penalties and the processes in place to deal with plagiarism offences, in statement ‘QA53 Examination and Assessment Offences’ (See University’s Quality Assurance Code of Practice: http://www.bath.ac.uk/quality/documents/QA53.pdf)

What are the consequences of plagiarism?

The University

Developing good writing, research, referencing and note-taking skills is essential to avoiding plagiarism in your work.

Further information on resources and training available to develop these skills is available on the Student Support and Resources site.

Further information about plagiarism and referencing?