F20 ASSESSMENT OFFENCES
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Definition: Passing off the work of others as one’s own including copying (reproducing or imitating), cheating, collusion (agreement to deceive, using words or ideas of colleagues or other students and passing them off as your own), plagiarism and other breaches of assessment or other examination regulations or procedures. Cheating, collusion and plagiarism are the use of unfair means of presenting work for assessment or of aiding another student to do so. Also preventing or attempting to prevent another student from being able to be assessed properly.
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F20.1
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Principles
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F20.1.1
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The University values a culture of honest and mutual trust (academic integrity) and expects all members of the University to respect and uphold these core values.
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F20.1.2
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In all matters relating to assessment offences the University and its staff shall have regard to the principles of natural justice, the policies of the University and shall ensure that the interests of any student alleged to have committed an assessment offence are reasonably and fairly taken into account.
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F20.1.3
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It is an academic offence for a candidate to commit any act designed to obtain for himself or herself an unfair advantage with a view to achieving a higher grade or mark than he or she would otherwise secure.
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F20.2R
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The Academic Board shall determine procedures for investigating allegations of assessment offences by students. These shall make provision for the:
a. allegation to be investigated;
b. student to be invited to respond to the allegation before an outcome is determined;
c. outcome to be reported to the examining board;
d. determination of penalties and other necessary action;
e. determination of the circumstances in which the Executive Dean may impose penalties or take other action and those in which the examining board may do so.
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F20.3R
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Subject to any specific requirements of external validating or professional bodies, where a student is found to have committed an assessment offence the examining board or Executive Dean must decide either to take no further action or to impose an appropriate penalty which may include failing the student and determining whether or not the student shall be permitted to be reassessed.
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F20.4P
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A person who considers that a student has committed an assessment offence shall, as soon as possible, report the allegation in detail in writing to the Executive Dean of the faculty responsible for the award on which the student is registered, or responsible for the module or unit of study where the student is not registered for an award.
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F20.5P
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The Executive Dean shall seek to establish the nature and extent of the offence and in doing so he or she shall have regard to contribution of the assessment element or component to the assessment of the whole module or unit of study and whether the student has previously been found to have committed an assessment offence.
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F20.6P
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Using the procedures prescribed by the Director of Corporate and Academic Services/Academic Registrar, the Executive Dean shall notify the student of the nature and details of the allegation, the extent of the offence, and the procedure to be followed.
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F20.7P
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The student shall have five working days from the date of the notification to indicate to the Executive Dean whether he or she admits the offence, and in the case of admission, whether he or she wishes to exercise the right to appear in person before the Executive Dean.
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F20.8P
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The Executive Dean shall give any student who so wishes the opportunity to discuss the nature and potential implications of the alleged assessment offence.
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F20.9P
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Where the Executive Dean finds that the offence is a first and lesser offence, and taking into account any written or oral statement by the student, he or she shall decide to:
a. take no further action; or
b. reduce the mark awarded for the relevant element or component of assessment; or
c. reduce the mark awarded for the relevant element or component of assessment to zero.
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F20.10P
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The Executive Dean shall, within three working days, report the decision in writing to the student and issue an appropriate warning.
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F20.11P
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Within three working days of the date of the notification of the decision by the Executive Dean the student shall indicate in writing to the Executive Dean whether or not he or she wishes to exercise the right to challenge the decision. In this case the Executive Dean shall report the offence and the penalty to the field board (or examining board for a non-modular programme), which shall confirm or amend the penalty in accordance with G6.2.3P. No response from the student shall be deemed to be acceptance of the decision.
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F20.12P
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The Executive Dean shall make a report on the nature and extent of assessment offences and recommend any penalties to the appropriate field board (or examining board for a non-modular programme).
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F20.13P
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Where the Executive Dean finds that the offence is serious or is a second or subsequent offence committed by the student, he or she shall report the findings to the field board (or examining board for a non-modular programme) which shall decide on any penalty in accordance with G6.2.3P.
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F20.14P
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Where the student does not admit the offence, the Executive Dean shall invite two members of staff not concerned with the allegation to join him or her in an investigating panel. Where possible the membership of the group shall include a member of staff from the field of the module or unit of study about which the allegation is made. The purpose of the investigation is to re-consider the evidence, establish whether an offence occurred and, if so, its nature and effect, and the appropriateness of any penalties to be imposed.
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F20.15P
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The student shall be invited to meet the investigating panel and to submit a further written statement and to speak to the investigators. He or she may be accompanied by a friend who may speak on his or her behalf. The Executive Dean shall give such notice of the meeting as he or she considers reasonable.
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F20.16P
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The Executive Dean shall require the person(s) making the allegation to attend a meeting of the investigating group to explain the allegations. At the discretion of the Executive Dean, the identity of the person making the allegation may be withheld from the student.
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F20.17P
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The investigating group shall itself determine the procedure to be followed, the extent and manner of its enquiries, the admissibility of evidence, and the standard of proof to be required. Where appropriate, the investigating group shall seek the advice of the Director of Corporate and Academic Services/Academic Registrar.
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F20.18P
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Where the investigating group finds that an offence has occurred and that it is a first and lesser offence, the Executive Dean shall decide to:
a. take no further action; or
b. reduce the mark awarded for the relevant element or component of assessment; or
c. reduce the mark awarded for the relevant element or component of assessment to zero.
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F20.19P
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The Executive Dean shall, within three working days, report the decision in writing to the student. He or she shall report any penalties imposed to the appropriate field board (or examining board for a non-modular programme).
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F20.20P
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Within three working days of the date of the notification of the decision by the Executive Dean the student shall indicate in writing to the Executive Dean whether or not he or she accepts the decision. If he or she does not accept it, the Executive Dean shall report the offence and the penalty to the field board (or examining board for a non-modular programme), which shall confirm or amend the penalty in accordance with G6.2.3P. No response shall be deemed to be acceptance.
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F20.21P
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Where the investigating group finds that a serious offence has occurred or that this is a second or subsequent offence, it shall make a report and recommendation to the appropriate field board (or examining board for a non-modular programme).
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F20.22P
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A field board which receives a report and/or recommendation from an Executive Dean or from an investigating group shall decide one of the following:
a. to take no further action; or
b. to reduce the mark for the relevant element or component of assessment; or
c. to reduce the mark awarded for the relevant element or component of assessment to zero; or
d. to deem the student to have failed the module or unit of study and to determine whether to permit any further assessment
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F20.23P
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The Executive Dean shall report all penalties imposed to the chair of the relevant award board. He or she shall also report to the award board any instances where more than one offence has been committed by the same student and any penalties imposed.
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F20.24P
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Where an assessment offence is found to have occurred in relation to two or more modules or units of study which contribute to a student‟s award and taking into account any extenuating circumstances submitted by the student, the award board shall decide the action to be taken in relation to the recommendation for a particular award. It may decide one of the following:
a. to take no further action;
b. to vary the class of award recommended.
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F20.25P
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The Executive Dean shall keep a record of any allegations of assessment offences and penalties imposed on students, and shall report each allegation and its outcome on an annual basis to the Director of Corporate and Academic Services/Academic Registrar.
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F20.26P
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Penalties for assessment offences for students on awards validated or accredited by professional or statutory bodies may be constrained by the regulations of those bodies. This may include reporting the offence to the professional or statutory body.
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F20.27P
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A student's rights of challenge or appeal against a decision of the examining board taken in the light of an investigation of an alleged assessment offence or offences shall only be in accordance with F7 above and its associated procedure.
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F20.28P
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The Director of Corporate and Academic Services/Academic Registrar or the examining board, through the Director of Corporate and Academic Services/Academic Registrar may decide that a report shall be made in order that the Vice-Chancellor may consider instituting disciplinary action in accordance with the Rules governing the disciplinary procedures for students.
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F20.29
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Group Work and Assessment Offences
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F20.29.1P
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Every student who is part of a group undertaking an assignment or other piece of assessed group work is required to take, and will be deemed to have taken, individual as well as joint responsibility for all the work submitted by the group. In particular, this includes individual as well as joint responsibility for any assessment offence committed, whether by the student or any other student in the group. Any penalty applied in the event of an assessment offence will normally be applied to all members of the group. The two exceptions to the application of this penalty to all members of the group are:
a. where a member of the group acknowledges, in writing to the Executive Dean of the faculty owning the module, that s/he has committed an assessment offence;
b. where the offence can be shown to have been committed by (a) specific member(s) of the group responsible for those sections of the work that are the subject of an assessment offence.
In the case if these exceptions the penalty will only be applied to the member(s) of the group who have committed the assessment offence.
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F20.30R
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The University may take copies of students work as the University may consider necessary or expedient for the detection of assessment offences.
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F20.31P
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The University disciplinary rules and procedures can be found at: http://www1.uwe.ac.uk/aboutus/policies
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