What is an academic offence? 

An academic offence is an attempt to again an unfair advantage in an assessment such as coursework or exams.   

It is important to remember that, although you may not intend to commit an academic offence, it may happen if you mistakenly do not reference appropriately or allow others to copy your work.  

Types of academic offences:  

Plagiarism - copying other people work or using someone else’s work without giving a proper refencing. This applies if the source is print or electronic, published, or unpublished. 

Examples of plagiarism:  

• Copying text from a source without proper acknowledgement 

• Using someone else’s ideas or arguments without acknowledgement  

• Handing in someone else’s work as your own, both either a whole essay or part of an answer 

• Using any data, images, diagrams without acknowledgement  

• Handing in work that has previously been submitted, either by you or another person, without acknowledgement. 

• Getting someone else to complete your work, either for free or that you have paid for 

• Using software to write answers 

How to avoid plagiarism:  

• Write your assessment in your own words 

• If you include other people’s ideas or arguments in your work, make sure you reference them. This includes any course content or your own work you have previously submitted. 

• If you use any quotes, images, or other data, ensure you reference them, each and every time they are used. 

• If you summarise or paraphrase the work of others, you need to make sure you reference the work you have used. 

• Make sure you reference properly, there are difference referencing styles, make sure you are using the correct one 

• Don’t forget to reference any material taken from the internet 

• Never cut and paste any content. 

The University uses Turnitin originality software, it is a good idea to use this to check your own work before submission, this can be accessed through the DLE  

More information about Turnitin and academic support can be found here or visit: https://www.plymouth.ac.uk/about-us/teaching-and-learning/digital-education/turnitin-for-students  

The library provides extensive information on referencing styles and referencing software which can be found here.

Collusion – where students work together, or with another person, to complete an assessment that should be their own work.  

Examples of collusion  

• Sharing answers or work for an assessment  

• Writing an assessment collaborative when it was supposed to be an independent piece of work 

• Messaging others to share answers during a fixed time assessment  

How to avoid collusion:

Group work is an important element of your learning, but it is important that you understand which aspects of the work you need to work on independently and those where you need to collaborate. 

• Do not share answers for any assessments.  

• Keep you mobile phone in your bag during exams 

• Do not message friends about the work during fixed time assessments  

• Work independently on assessments, unless you are told to work in a group. If you are unsure how you are expected to collaborate, ask the academic who has set the work for clarification.  

• If you have collaborative notes or results as part of a study group or group work, you should use your own words to express your ideas and not directly copy them.  

How can I improve my academic writing and digital skills? 

The University offers lots of support to improve your academic writing, digital skills and subject specific skills, links to these can be found at Learning services: https://www.plymouth.ac.uk/services  

Essential Academic writing skills overview: https://digi-ed.plymouth.ac.uk/essential-academic-writing-skills/home/#/ 

I have been accused of an academic offense, what do I do now?  

Try not to panic! We understand that it can be distressing, and the SU Advice Centre is here to support you through the process, contact the Advice Centre for free, confidential, independent advice  https://www.upsu.com/advice/  

Submitted assessments are routinely checked with Turnitin software, similarities are flagged up and this can trigger the process to investigate further. You will be invited to attend a meeting to discuss the allegation and have the opportunity to respond.  

You can submit a written statement for the panel to consider, whether you decide to attend or not, attendance is not compulsory. Even if you do not attend, the panel can still make a decision to uphold the allegation in your absence, based on the evidence provided and your statement if you have submitted one.  

The meeting 

If you do attend, it will give the panel to opportunity to ask questions and clarify any points with you. You will have the opportunity to tell the panel what you think has happened 

The meeting, which can last between 30-45 minutes but could be longer in some cases, will be attended by 3-4 members of staff. Accurate notes will be taken and you have the right to be accompanied by someone, this could be a friend, a member of staff or someone from the Advice Centre. 

The outcome 

The panel will not usually tell you their decision at the meeting, they will discuss the evidence and then make a decision. You will notified about their decision via email following the meeting. You have the right to appeal if you disagree with the outcome. The SU Advice team can support you with how to appeal.