2. Definition of Unacceptable Academic Practice

2.1 It is Unacceptable Academic Practice to commit any act whereby a person may obtain, for themselves or for another, an unpermitted advantage. The Regulation shall apply, and a student may be found to have committed Unacceptable Academic Practice, regardless of a student’s intention and the outcome of the act, and whether the student acts alone or in conjunction with another/others. Any action or actions shall be deemed to fall within this definition, whether occurring during, or in relation to, a formal examination, a piece of coursework, the presentation of medical or other evidence to Examination Boards, or any form of assessment undertaken in pursuit of a University qualification or award.

2.2 The University recognises the following categories of Unacceptable Academic Practice. These are not exhaustive, and other cases may fall within the general definition of Unacceptable Academic Practice.

(i) Plagiarism

Plagiarism is defined as using another person's work and presenting it as one's own, whether intentionally or unintentionally. Examples of plagiarism include:

  • Use of quotation without the use of quotation marks
  • copying another person's work
  • unacknowledged translation of another person's work
  • paraphrasing or adapting another person's work without due acknowledgment
  • unacknowledged use of material downloaded from the internet
  • use of material obtained from essay banks or similar agencies
  • presenting work generated by AI as if it were your own

(ii) Collusion

Collusion occurs when work that has been undertaken by or with others is submitted and passed off as solely the work of one person. When the work of one or more individuals is submitted in the name of others with the knowledge of the originator(s) of the work, all parties concerned may be considered to have committed Unacceptable Academic Practice.

Students who upload copies of their own (or others') assignments to academic file-sharing sites may be deemed to have committed unacceptable academic practice on the grounds that such activity facilitates plagiarism and is tantamount to collusion, except where this is explicitly permitted by the department

Examples of collusion include (but are not limited to)

  • Two or more students working together and presenting the work as their own
  • Sharing data or other information which is presented without the knowledge or acknowledgement of the originators
  • Sharing answers during an online examination or timed assessment
  • Submitting examples of work to academic file-sharing websites

(iii) Fabrication of evidence or data

Fabrication of evidence or data and/or use of such evidence or data in assessed work include making false claims to have carried out experiments, observations, interviews or other forms of data collection and analysis. Fabrication of evidence or data and/or use of such evidence or data also include presenting false or falsified evidence of special circumstances to Examination Boards or Appeal Panels.

(iv) Unacceptable Academic Practice in formal examinations

Examples of Unacceptable Academic Practice in formal examinations include the following:

  • introducing into an examination room and/or associated facilities any unauthorised form of material such as a book, a manuscript, data or loose papers, electronic device, information obtained via any electronic device, or any source of unauthorised information, regardless of whether these materials are of relevance to the subject in question
  • copying from, or communicating with, any other person in the examination room and/or associated facilities except as authorised by an invigilator
  • communicating electronically with any other person, except as authorised by an invigilator
  • impersonating an examination candidate or allowing oneself to be impersonated
  • presenting an examination script as one's own work when the script includes material produced by unauthorised means
  • Failing to comply with written directions to candidates in formal examinations, and verbal instructions by examination invigilators

An electronic device shall be considered to be within this Regulation if it is capable of any of the following: communicating electronically within or outside an examination room, connecting to the internet, being uploaded with digital data or information, making audio recordings, a digital memory or storing of audio recordings, uploading digital data or information to another device, displaying digital data or information or playing audio recordings.

All of the following fall into this category, but the list is not exclusive and other unspecified devices will fall under the Regulation: mobile telephones, smart watches, laptop computers, tablets, data storage devices, Bluetooth receivers, headphones, i-pods, electronic calculators other than those specifically allowed in university examinations.

(v) Recycling of data or text

Recycling of data or text in more than one assessment, when this is explicitly not permitted by the Department.