Guidance notes and documents for staff
Revised Principles for Academic Misconduct Procedure for a First Case of Plagiarism.
For the complete sequence of events and what is required at each stage in the process please see the Misconduct Process Flowchart Stages 1 - 3 (Misconduct Process Stage 1 [DOC], Misconduct Process Stage 2 [DOCX], Misconduct Process Stage 3 [DOCX]) and the Misconduct Process Flowchart Notes [DOC]. The Flowchart Notes provide a concise description of the whole process.
For non-contributory work:
If the Course Tutor finds evidence of plagiarism (or other academic misconduct) in non-contributory work, the Course Convenor should refer the student to published guidance on avoiding plagiarism and academic misconduct, and give advice as to future conduct.
The Course Convenor should then send the student a 'Notice of Advice' summarising the advice given, using the Notice of Advice template [DOC 29.00KB]. Copies of this should go to the Academic Advisor, the School Curriculum and Assessment Officer and the Student Progress and Assessment Office to place on record. For details, see 9.8 of the Academic Misconduct Procedures.
For contributory work:
1. Copy the materials
Make a photocopy of relevant parts of source materials (books, websites, another student's essay etc) from which you think text has been taken.
2. Mark up the material
Make a photocopy of the student's assignment and put this and the coversheet to one side. Using pen or highlighter, underline or highlight the relevant sections of the text, both in the original copy of the student's assignment and in the suspected source, and number each instance. Try to identify as many plagiarised passages as possible, not just a sample, since the quantity of material plagiarised will make a difference to the seriousness of the charge.
3. Mark the assignment
The Examiner should mark the work taking the plagiarism into account. If a piece of work is plagiarised, in whole or in part, the mark should be reduced in proportion to the extent of the plagiarism identified. Non plagiarised sections should be marked as standard. Therefore, the final mark should reflect a combination of the extent of the plagiarised passages, and the quality of the non plagiarised work; it may or may not be a fail mark. The Examiner should provide a brief rationale for the reduction in the mark (i.e. how the mark was arrived at).
4. Inform the student and academic advisor
The Course Convenor should inform the student and the student's academic advisor that the assignment is being investigated for potential academic misconduct.
5. Submit the case to the Investigating Officer
The Course Convenor should send the following to his or her School Investigating Officer:
* the assessment in question with problems within it highlighted and annotated
* for a plagiarism case the sources that have been allegedly plagiarised* the course handbook
* any relevant information on study skills/academic misconduct training the student would
normally have received
* the completed Academic Misconduct cover sheet [DOC 37.00KB]
NB: where the suspected work is for a course taken from a programme within another School, this should normally be handled in the following sequence: The Investigating Officer of the School owning the course, rather than the Investigating Officer of the School owning the student, should do the initial review of the assignment. Once a determination has been made as to whether the case is minor or major, the Investigating Officer should contact the Curriculum and Assessment Officer of the School which owns the student, who should send the School letter (see reference below). Thereafter the case follows the standard sequence. Where the case is minor it will be referred to the Head of School (or nominee) which owns the student.
What happens next:
The Investigating Officer will determine whether:
- there is no case to answer
- this is a prima facie case of minor academic misconduct
- this a prima facie case of major academic misconduct.
If it is found that there is no case to answer, the Investigating Officer sends the evidence file to the student's School Curriculum and Assessment Officer who informs the student, Academic Advisor, Examiner and Course Convenor (and destroys the evidence file - see Flowchart Notes).
If minor or major academic misconduct is found, the Investigating Officer informs the student's School Curriculum and Assessment Officer, who informs the student, Academic Advisor, Examiner and Course Convenor, using the School letter template [DOC 34.50KB]. Meanwhile the Investigating Officer sends the evidence file to the Student Progress and Assessment Office.
In the case of minor misconduct the Student Progress and Assessment Office sends the file on to the Head of School. The Head of School (or a nominee) then interviews the student and decides on an appropriate penalty or no penalty. For details, see 9.31-9.34 and 9.41 of the Academic Misconduct Procedures. Guidance on conducting minor misconduct interviews can be found here.
In the case of major misconduct the Student Progress and Assessment Office arranges for a meeting of the Academic Misconduct Panel, which the student can attend together with an advisor. The panel decides on an appropriate penalty or no penalty. For details, see 9.35-9.40 and 9.42 of the Academic Misconduct Procedures.
For further advice please contact:
Ms Linda Gee, Head of Student Progress and Assessment Office, Sussex House Sh-33, L.M.Gee@sussex.ac.uk or telephone on (01273) 873731 or (01273) 877093. Alternatively, please contact:
Mr Colin Clark, Assistant Registrar, Sussex House Sh-332, C.M.Clark@sussex.ac.uk, or telephone on (01273) 873157.