What should I expect and what can you expect of me?
We understand that going through an academic conduct investigation will be difficult for you. However, we will treat you in a sensitive and non-judgmental way. We handle your case confidentially and the only people who will know about your case will be those involved in providing us with evidence or making a decision. We will share with you all the information we are using to reach a decision and give you every opportunity to tell us your side.
We know that this is a difficult time for you, but we expect you to be honest and respect those dealing with your situation and we will treat you in the same way.
Support and reasonable adjustments
If you have a disability you can request that a reasonable adjustment is made to prevent you from being disadvantaged. Please let us know as soon as possible if this applies to you.
All meetings undertaken within this procedure can be held digitally.
What if my Tutor thinks I have committed academic misconduct?
If your Tutor believes that you have committed academic misconduct, they will gather all evidence and inform your Course Leader. Your Course Leader will inform you (DOCX, file size: 29KB) . The evidence will normally include the Turnitin Report, if this is relevant, and any sources which we believe you have copied from. If the allegations relate to cheating in an exam, we will include the examination certificate.
If your Course Leader and person identifying the misconduct judge that the instance is likely to be a minor one, as set out in the list of sanctions we will deal with your case informally. If it is considered that your case is more serious, we will ask you to attend a formal meeting.
Informal stage
Your Course Leader and person suspecting the misconduct will invite you to a meeting to discuss the allegation. A letter will be sent to you which will explain what type of academic misconduct is suspected and why. We will share the evidence we have gathered and the list of sanctions which could apply.
When you are invited to a meeting, we will give you one week’s notice (excluding bank holidays and University closures) and you may bring with you a fellow student or representative of the Students’ Union. At the meeting we will put the allegations to you and ask you questions about your work. You will have the opportunity to explain your side and provide us with any evidence you would like us to consider.
If you admit the misconduct, you will be asked to sign the Academic Conduct Report.
If you admit the misconduct or not, after the meeting the Course Leader will make a recommendation of an appropriate sanction to the Head of Department or Director of Institute who will confirm whether the sanction is appropriate. Please see the section on Decisions on your Academic Conduct for information on how your Course Leader will make this decision (DOCX, file size: 33KB) .
If, through the investigation or meeting, it is considered that the circumstances may be more serious, your case will be referred to the formal stage.
Formal stage
If your case is considered to be more serious it will be referred to an Academic Conduct Panel.
The Panel will include;
- A Head of Department, Director of Insitute or Associate Dean who has not been involved in the case (Chair)
- An academic member of staff from another department and with no connection to your case
- A nominee of the Students’ Union with no connection to your case
The person who suspects the misconduct will be present to give evidence.
An agenda for the meeting will be sent to you with your invitation to attend. We will also send you the List of Sanctions and the Academic Conduct Report in advance of the meeting, along with all evidence to be considered.
If you do not wish to attend the meeting and admit to the misconduct, you may do so. You can return the signed Academic Misconduct form to us and the Academic Conduct Panel will then apply the most appropriate sanction. We will inform you of the outcome within one week (excluding bank holidays and University closures).
If you do not attend the meeting or provide a valid and timely reason why you are unable to attend, the meeting will proceed in your absence.
We always give you one week’s notice (excluding bank holidays). You may bring a fellow student or Students’ Union representative with you and if you want to, you can write a statement and send it to us 48 hours before attending.
Someone will take notes at the meeting and you will be sent a copy of the decision within one week (excluding bank holidays and University closures).
Viva Voce
If at any point during these proceedings, we have concerns that the work you have submitted is not your own, we may ask you to attend a further meeting with your Module Leader or Project Supervisor to answer more detailed questions. This is called a Viva Voce and this is outside of your normal assessment, this means that it will not contribute towards your mark, but it will help us to decide if your work is your own. A recommendation from the Viva Voce meeting will inform our decision on your academic conduct.