Information about

The University

Malpractice Procedure

Independent Advice, Support and Representation

What is the Malpractice Procedure? The University of Cumbria has a formal procedure to deal with any allegations of academic malpractice. It is one of the most formal and potentially serious procedures the University has and in cases of extreme cheating it can lead to a student being deregistered. Students are usually asked to attend malpractice hearings when the University suspects that some form or academic malpractice has occurred. The usual process for getting to this stage involves some suspicion of malpractice when a Tutor is marking an assessment or if it is an assignment then possible malpractice may have been suspected as a result of scanning it through ‘Turnitin’* *Turnitin is an electronic programme that scans in assignments and then searches a huge variety of sources to detect plagiarism. What is malpractice? In brief, malpractice can involve the following categories:

• Cheating in exams

• Plagiarism

• Collusion in coursework (working with someone else)

• Fabrication and falsification

• Impersonation

• Breaching anonymity requirements as prescribed by your course.

Most malpractice cases involve plagiarism and in most cases malpractice has occurred

but is not always intentional.

What happens if you are suspected of Malpractice?

The Students’ Union strongly recommends that students look at the Student

Regulations as the policy is clearly set out in terms of process and sanctions. In

addition to this, contact the Student’s Union Student Advisor (see details on the back

cover) and they will be able to talk you through the process, and can also attend the

meeting with you if you would like.

What happens at the hearing?

At the hearing there will be a panel made up of 3 academic University staff members,

normally a Head of School or Programme Leader will be the Chair. These panel

members will usually be listed in the letter that the student receives about their

hearing. The hearing usually starts with the Chair introducing the Panel and

explaining the purpose of the meeting. If the student hasn’t posted in the form

mentioned in point 2 above then they’ll be asked to hand the form to the Chair or

Secretary at the Hearing. The Chair will note their response and ask if the student

would like to make a statement about how they feel malpractice has occurred. Then

the panel will ask any relevant questions that they may have about the work in

question. Then the student is usually asked to leave and wait outside the hearing

while the panel discusses whether malpractice has occurred and which

outcomes/sanctions might be appropriate. The student is then normally asked to

return and is informed of the recommended outcome.

Writing a statement

We recommend that students write down what they are wanting to say at the

hearing in a statement beforehand so that the student is clear about what they want

to say, and don’t forget to mention any key points. Your statement should aim to:

• Explain how you believe the malpractice has or has not occurred. If you have

intentionally cheated or plagiarised then we fully support that honesty is the

best policy.

• Cover and explain any extenuating or mitigating circumstances that may have

led to you making genuine mistakes or intentionally cheating.

You should aim to answer as many of the relevant questions from the list below as

possible as this will help to make your position as clear as possible.

Type of questions a student may be asked at a malpractice hearing:

• What do you understand plagiarism to be?

• What does your Course Handbook / Student Handbook say about plagiarism –

have you read it, if not why not?

• If you are expected to ensure confidentiality by making certain data and

information anonymous, then what guidance are you given about how to do

this?

• Is any information provided in lectures/seminars about avoiding plagiarism?

• What have you done since finding out about this Hearing – who have you

talked to / asked for help/explanations?

• How did you put the piece of work together?

• Did you get any written/oral guidelines in putting it together?

• What source material did you use – where did you get it from?

• How did you use the source material?

• Did you photocopy from books – did you highlight text?

• How did you transfer these ‘notes’ to your actual assignment?

• Did you paraphrase the source material?

• Did you re-write it in your own words?

• Did you get information from the Internet?

• Did you copy and paste text from the internet to a word document, did you

print the page?

• Then what did you do with the text – was it inserted into the assignment, did

you treat it as notes?

• What do you understand about referencing / bibliographies?

• What referencing system are you required to use in your department? (E.g.

Harvard referencing – would be the normal unless told otherwise by

department). This is normally stated in the Course/Student Handbook.

The student should provide as much information as is pertinent to the case at the

Hearing. After the hearing a student can also write a letter of mitigation to the Chair

of the Exam /Assessment Board stating their case.

Potential Outcomes:

The Panel makes a recommendation to the Exam or Assessment Board about which

penalty might be appropriate. Then the Assessment Board makes a final decision

based on the panel’s recommendation which can be exactly the same as the penalty

recommended or can be more lenient..

All potential outcomes are listed in the regulations, but potential outcomes may

include:

• The particular piece of assessment in question being awarded a fail mark with

only one opportunity of reassessment.

• The panel may decide that malpractice has not occurred

In very serious cases the following may occur:

• be awarded a classification lower than the one derived from the marks profile

• be awarded no more than a pass degree

• be permanently excluded from the University

There is no automatic right of reassessment if a student is failed on the basis of

malpractice.

If you are a student on a professional course such as nursing, then there

may be an impact on your perceived fitness to practice if you are found to

have intentionally tried to pass off other source material as your own

work.

This information leaflet only gives a very general overview of a process that can seem

very daunting one, especially for a student called to a hearing. If you are called to a

Malpractice Hearing then the Students’ Union the we would recommend that you

get in touch with our Student Advisor asap as will talk to you about any concerns

you have beforehand, help you write your statement and give you an idea of the type

of questions that the panel may ask and which of the potential outcomes you could

be faced with.

Contacting the Advice Service

If you would like any further information, would like to arrange an appointment or want to speak to a Students’ Union

Advice Service staff member then contact:

Students’ Union Student Advisors Telephone: 01524 590810

email: suadvice@cumbria.ac.uk

You can also drop in to your local Students’ Union Office on each main Campus to speak to the Student Advisor in person,

on the telephone or to arrange a suitable appointment.

If you’d prefer it you can arrange an online chat with the Student Advisor on MSN Messenger (Mon-Fri 10am- 4pm)

email: suadvice@cumbria.ac.uk to arrange an appointment.

Why not visit the Advice Service section of the Students’ Union website to see what other information and advice we can offer?

www.thestudentsunion.org.uk/advice

If you would like this document in an alternative format please contact Mike Taylor

On Tel:01524 590810 or e-mail:suadvice@cumbria.ac.uk