It is an academic offence to commit an act whereby you gain or attempt to gain an unfair advantage. The University requires students to demonstrate academic integrity and is committed to working with you to ensure that you are awarded the degree you deserve.
This Guide should be read in conjunction with the University’s Procedures for Dealing with Academic Offences. Where there is any doubt, the Regulations will take precedence over this Guide.
This Guide is for undergraduate and postgraduate taught students and for postgraduate research students against whom an allegation of plagiarism or duplication has been made. Postgraduate research students suspected of committing any other academic offence will be subject to the Regulations Governing the Allegation and Investigation of Misconduct in Research.
Academic misconduct includes (see section 2 of the Procedures for Dealing with Academic Offences), but is not limited to:
Cheating: The term ‘cheating’ relates to behaviour that takes place in an examination, class test or laboratory test. It is considered cheating if you:
Plagiarism: Presenting the work of others as your own.
Duplication: Using or reusing significant, identical, or nearly identical portions of their own work which has been previously submitted for assessment within the University or another institution.
Copying or permitting copying: Copying another student’s work or permitting another student to copy any of your work which you submit for assessment.
Collusion: Working on an assignment with anyone else if that assignment is meant to be done individually. It is expected that the work being assessed, unless specifically designated as a group assessment, will have been done by you alone.
Fabrication: Claiming to have carried out experiments, interviews or any form of research which you have not in fact carried out, or inventing or falsifying data, evidence or experimental results. It is also an academic offence if you knowingly make use of falsified data as described above.
Contract Cheating: Commissioning or seeking to commission another party (either paid or unpaid) to perform academic work on your behalf.
Not knowing how to reference correctly or not understanding the regulations is not an excuse for committing an academic offence. Schools expect you to learn how to reference correctly and there are services within the university that can help you. There are no excuses for cheating in an examination or for contract cheating.
Turnitin
Turnitin is a software programme used by the University to establish the originality of a piece of coursework. It will compare your assignment to websites, books, journals and student assignments submitted to 15,000 institutions in 140 countries. Each School has a policy on the use of Turnitin and some Schools will allow you to check your assignment before formally submitting it. To find out the policy in your School, please refer to your School or to your Programme Handbook.
Members of staff
Members of academic staff who mark assessed coursework are experts in that particular area. They will know the core texts/reading lists and will easily be able to identify when a student has not referenced correctly or has attempted to pass off an author’s work as their own. Staff members will also check your bibliography or references to ensure that you have referenced properly.
Invigilator in Examination Hall
At scheduled University examinations there are invigilators who ensure the smooth running of the examinations. Should an incident occur, the invigilators will report any suspicious activity to the Examinations Office who will inform the relevant School for the purposes of an investigation. Cheating in an examination is considered to be a very serious academic offence (see sections 2.1 and 3.1 of the Procedures for Dealing with Academic Offences).
Exceptional circumstances cannot be used to excuse an academic offence. If something is impacting on your academic performance you should inform your School as soon as possible and you may request an extension to the submission deadline for an assignment or a deferral of an examination. Please see Exceptional Circumstances – A Student Guide.
Your School will inform you in writing to your University email account that you have been suspected of an academic offence. This email will also explain if the offence is considered to be major or minor. There are different procedures for dealing with major and minor academic offences (see sections 4 and 5 of the Procedures for Dealing with Academic Offences).
You should try to meet regularly with your Personal Tutor and should discuss any issues relating to your progress.
You have the right to be accompanied by a registered student of the University, a member of staff, or University Chaplaincy, or a staff member (i.e. Advice SU staff) or officer from the Students’ Union.
The role of the person accompanying you to a meeting is one of support, not representation, and you will be expected to answer questions yourself.
If you consider that you have a disability or ongoing condition, you should advise the Investigating Officer as soon as possible so that the appropriate reasonable adjustments can be put in place to help you engage as fully as possible with the disciplinary process. This may entail a consultation with Disability Services.
An academic offence shall normally be designated as ‘minor’ if the piece of work where it occurs counts towards one third or less of the assessment for the module.
Investigation into Minor Offences
Allegations of minor offences will be investigated by a member of staff nominated by the Head of School (or nominee)*. You will be invited to meet with the member of staff as part of the investigation. The suspected minor offence will be outlined to you and you will be asked to respond. The Head of School (or nominee) will consider the case and come to a decision which will be communicated to you in writing, normally within five working days.
*read Head of School to include Centre Director.
Minor Offence – possible outcomes
The Head of School (or nominee) may:
You have a right to appeal the decision of the Head of School (or nominee) on grounds to an Academic Offences Committee.
You may not appeal the decision of your Head of School to refer your case to the Chair of the Board of Examiners.
An offence shall be designated as ‘major’ if:
Investigation into Major Offences
A Panel will be convened by the Chair of the Board of Examiners** in your School and will include two members of staff from your School and one member from another School. No member of the Panel will have any previous involvement with your case. You will be invited to attend a Panel meeting and will be given at least five working days’ notice of the date, time and venue of the meeting.
** read the Chair of the Board of Examiners to include the Chair of the School Postgraduate Research Committee (SPRC).
You will be entitled to be accompanied by a registered student of the University, which shall include a Students’ Union Sabbatical Officer, a member of University staff or University Chaplaincy. You will be informed in writing of the offence you are facing and will receive copies of all the documentation considered by the Panel and the Chair of the Board of Examiners, including:
- a copy of the University’s Procedures for Dealing with Academic Offences and;
- a copy of the assignment that contains the suspected academic offence; and
- any other relevant information.
If the alleged academic offence is copying or permitting to copy, or collusion, all parties involved will normally be called to attend the Panel meeting as part of the investigation.
You are required to attend the Panel meeting. If you do not attend the meeting, without showing ‘good cause’, the Panel has the right to consider your case on the paperwork and make a recommendation to the Chair of the Board of Examiners in your absence and without further notice. It is your responsibility to establish ‘good cause’ to the satisfaction of the Panel.
The Panel will prepare a report, with recommendations, for consideration by the Chair of the Board of Examiners. The Chair of the Board of Examiners shall consider the Panel’s report and shall consult as necessary, including consulting other relevant members of the Board of Examiners, to reach a decision on your case. The decision of the Chair of the Board of Examiners will be communicated to you in writing, normally within eight working days.
Major Offence – possible outcomes
The Chair of the Board of Examiners may:
You may not appeal the decision of the Chair of the Board of Examiners to refer your case to the Academic Offences Committee.
You may not appeal the decision of the Chair of the Board of Examiners to refer your case for consideration under the Conduct Regulations or the Fitness to Practise Procedure.
If you withdraw from your course after you have been notified that you have been suspected of an academic offence, the University may either:
If you are unable to participate because of medical reasons, medical evidence will be required to confirm that this is the case. Normally, any investigation or proceedings will be postponed until you are deemed fit to participate by a medical professional, or you confirm that you wish to proceed. If you are unable to participate for medical reasons, you may be required to take a period of temporary withdrawal from the University.
All academic offence cases will be treated with the appropriate level of confidentiality, with information being released only to those who need to see it (for example, for the School’s response).
All information submitted by you and by the School will be shared with the members of the Committee. You and the School will be sent copies of all the information which the Committee members will see. You should not include any information in any documentation you submit that you do not want your School or the Committee to see. You should also ensure that your documentation does not contain any information relating to third parties and that the information complies with the University Guidance on Data Protection. The names or any information by which a third party could be identified must be redacted, unless the third party consents to the information being shared.) It is your responsibility to ensure that such information is redacted or that you have the consent of the third party to share the information.
This section only relates to students that wish to appeal either the decision of the Head of School (minor offences) or the decision of the Chair of the Board of Examiners (major offences) or the Chair of the SPRC (PGR students).
Please note that there is no right of appeal against a referral:
If your case has been referred to an Academic Offences Committee for consideration, please see the “I have been referred to an Academic Offences Committee” section below.
If you are unhappy with the decision of the Relevant Chair you may appeal the decision to an Academic Offences Committee.
You have 10 working days from the notification of the Relevant Chair's decision to submit an appeal. The Relevant Chair's decision letter will usually outline the date by which you must submit your appeal and the grounds of appeal. You must submit your appeal on the using the Appeal to the Academic Offences Committee Form and you must set out clearly the ground/s of appeal and how you consider that you meet the ground/s of appeal. It is recommended that, with your appeal form, you also submit any supporting evidence you may have to demonstrate how you meet the grounds of appeal.
The grounds of appeal are:
You may not appeal the decision of the Relevant Chair to refer your case to an Academic Offences Committee.
You may not appeal the decision of the Relevant Chair to refer your case for consideration under the Conduct Regulations or the Fitness to Practise Procedure.
Late appeals
Appeals received after the specified deadline will not be considered unless you can evidence circumstances beyond your control which caused the appeal to be late, e.g. hospitalisation. You must be able to demonstrate that something unforeseen occurred at the time of the appeal deadline or that, due to the state of your health at the time of the appeal deadline, you were unable to engage with the University process and to submit an appeal on time.
What should I do if I think I have sufficient cause and wish to submit a late appeal?
If you wish to submit a late appeal, along with your DAF 1 Appeal to a Committee of Discipline form and supporting evidence, you must also submit a written statement (with supporting evidence) detailing the reasons for your late appeal.
It is strongly recommended that you seek advice on preparing your appeal from Advice SU.
The Committee will be chaired by the Director of Academic and Student Affairs (or nominee) and will, normally, comprise three members of academic staff representing each Faculty within the University.
You will be invited to attend the Academic Offences Committee to present your appeal. You will receive copies of all the paperwork and supporting evidence at least five working days before the meeting.
The Relevant Chair will also be invited to the Academic Offences Committee to explain the reasons for the decision.
You must attend the meeting of the Academic Offences Committee, unless you have a good reason (e.g. scheduled medical procedure, examination, funeral etc.); work commitments or holiday arrangements will not be considered good cause. If you do not attend, the Committee may consider your case on the paperwork alone.
Given the current uncertainty caused by the global coronavirus pandemic, you may be asked to attend your Academic Offences Committee meeting virtually using the Microsoft Teams software (free to download for all QUB staff and students), rather than in person. The University will continue to adhere to guidance issued by the Public Health Agency and details of safety precautions in place for your Academic Offences Committee meeting will be provided in your invitation letter.
If you are invited to an ‘in person’ Academic Offences Committee meeting but wish to attend virtually instead, it may be possible to arrange your attendance by Microsoft Teams or Skype.
The meeting will run as follows:
The Committee will consider your case and the decision will be sent to your QUB email address within eight working days of the decision being made.
The Academic Offences Committee may:
i. Uphold your appeal and rescind the penalty imposed by the Relevant Chair;
ii. Dismiss your appeal and confirm the penalty imposed by the Relevant Chair;
iii. Uphold the appeal in part and impose a different penalty from among those set out in the list of penalties open to the Academic Offences Committee (see sections 7.3 - 7.5 of the Procedures for Dealing with Academic Offences). The penalty imposed shall not be more severe than the original penalty imposed.
In addition to imposing one of the penalties above, the Committee may refer your case to the Director of Academic and Student Affairs (or nominee) to consider invoking the Conduct Regulations or the Fitness to Practise Procedure where it considers this to be appropriate.
If you appealed the decision of the Relevant Chair to an Academic Offences Committee, there is no further internal right of appeal. However, if you are still unhappy with the outcome, you may make a complaint to the Northern Ireland Public Services Ombudsman (https://nipso.org.uk/nipso/) within six months of the date of notification of the decision of the Committee of Discipline.
This section only relates to students who have been referred to an Academic Offences Committee.
Please note that there is no right of appeal against a referral:
If your case has been referred to the Academic Offences Committee, you will be advised that your case has been referred to an Academic Offences Committee and you will be given at least five working days’ notice of the date, time and venue of the meeting. You will be sent copies of all the documents which the Committee members will see.
An Academic Offences Committee (Referral) meeting considers serious cases referred by your School.
The Committee will be chaired by the Director of Academic and Student Affairs (or nominee) and will, normally, comprise three members of academic staff representing each Faculty within the University.
You will be invited to attend the Academic Offences Committee to present your appeal. You will receive copies of all the paperwork and supporting evidence at least five working days before the meeting.
The Relevant Chair will also be invited to the Academic Offences Committee to explain the reasons for the decision.
You must attend the meeting of the Academic Offences Committee, unless you have a good reason (e.g. scheduled medical procedure, examination, funeral etc.); work commitments or holiday arrangements will not be considered good cause. If you do not attend, the Committee may consider your case on the paperwork alone.
Given the current uncertainty caused by the global coronavirus pandemic, you may be asked to attend your Academic Offences Committee meeting virtually using the Microsoft Teams software (free to download for all QUB staff and students), rather than in person. The University will continue to adhere to guidance issued by the Public Health Agency and details of safety precautions in place for your Academic Offences Committee meeting will be provided in your invitation letter.
If you are invited to an ‘in person’ Academic Offences Committee meeting but wish to attend virtually instead, it may be possible to arrange your attendance by Microsoft Teams or Skype.
The meeting will run as follows:
The Committee will consider your case and the decision will be sent to your QUB email address within eight working days of the decision being made.
The Committee will consider the allegation(s) against you, and come to a decision, taking account of the following criteria:
The Academic Offences Committee may:
The decision of the Academic Offences Committee will be communicated to you in writing, normally within eight working days of the decision being made. The Committee may seek further information or clarification and, if so, you will be advised of any delay.
If your case was referred to the Academic Offences Committee by your School, you may appeal the Committee’s decision to an Academic Offences Appeals Committee. Your appeal must be submitted on the Appeal to the Academic Offences Appeal Committee Form within 10 working days of notification of the decision.
There are specific grounds for appeal and you must clearly demonstrate how your appeal meets those grounds.
You may appeal on one or more of the following grounds:
You cannot appeal the decision of the School to refer your case on to an Academic Offences Committee or against a referral for consideration under the Conduct Regulations or the Fitness to Practise Procedure.
An Academic Offences Appeals Committee considers appeals against the decision of an Academic Offences Committee. The Committee will be chaired by a Pro-Vice-Chancellor (or nominee) and will, normally, comprise three members of academic staff representing each Faculty within the University.
The meeting will run as follows:
The Committee will consider your case and the decision will be sent to your QUB email address within eight working days of the decision being made.
An Academic Offences Appeals Committee may:
i. Uphold the appeal and rescind the penalty imposed by the Academic Offences Committee.
ii. Confirm the penalty imposed by the Academic Offences Committee
iii. Impose a different penalty from that of the original penalty imposed by the Academic Offences Committee.
The decision of the Academic Offences Appeals Committee is final, and there is no further internal right of appeal.
If you have exhausted all internal appeals procedures and feel aggrieved by the process or outcome of the disciplinary process, you may make a complaint to the Northern Ireland Public Services Ombudsman. If you wish to submit a complaint to the Ombudsman, you must do so within six months of the date of notification of the University’s decision.
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For more information please read our Equality and Diversity Policy.
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