Academic_Misconduct_Policy

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Australian Computer Society

ACS Education

ACADEMIC MISCONDUCT

POLICY

www.acs.org.au

[December 2009]


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ACADEMIC MISCONDUCT POLICY 2009

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TABLE OF CONTENTS

Preamble ............................................................................................................. 3 Policy statement.................... ...................... ...................... ................... .............. 3

Definitions.............. ...................... ...................... ...................... ...................... ..... 4

Procedures................. ..................... ...................... ...................... ...................... .. 4

Version Control and Change History.................. ...................... ...................... .. 7


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Date approved December 2009

Date Policywill takeeffect:

January 2010 Date of NextReview:

No later than2014

Approved by: Academic Board

Custodian title &e-mail address:

General Manager: Professional Standards and Education [email protected]

ResponsibleDivision:

ACS Education

Supportingdocuments,procedures &forms of thisProcedure:

Academic Appeals Policy

References &Legislation:

Audience: Public accessible to anyoneExpiry date: No expiry date


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P REAMBLE

ACS Education regards academic misconduct as a particular form of professional misconductand, as an education organisation, aims to treat instances of academic misconduct asopportunities to promote professionalism and professional conduct amongst its students.ACS Education recognises that appreciating the significance of appropriate academic and

professional conduct is, for some students, a learning process.

ACS Education also recognises that academic misconduct can occur through unfamiliaritywith academic conventions. As part of assessment information provided to students oncommencement of each subject, faculty will draw the attention of students to theACS Education view on, and procedures for, academic misconduct and, where appropriate,give examples of what would constitute academic misconduct in their subjects.

P OLICY STATEMENT

Academic misconduct includes actions such as plagiarism; breaches of assessment procedures; falsification or misrepresentation of academic records; behaviour disruptive to thelearning of other students; inadequate progress through a program of study; and other actionsthat contravene the principles of academic integrity.

ACS Education will consider academic misconduct in light of:

the extent of the misconduct; the students intention and/or motivation; contextual factors such as: stage/level in a program and the students learning background; the impact of a particular outcome on a students progression; information provided to the student about academic integrity as part of their program; and where applicable, information about a students prior academic misconduct.

In the event of faculty suspecting academic misconduct by a student, a preliminary and

informal enquiry will be undertaken by faculty in consultation with the Academic Principal.If the preliminary enquiry fails to discover a satisfactory explanation for the students

behaviour, or a satisfactory response to the behaviour, a formal enquiry will be undertakeninvolving the Academic Board. A possible outcome of a formal enquiry can be suspensionfrom the subject and/or program in which a student is enrolled and, where a student is also amember of the Australian Computer Society (ACS), referral of the case to the ACSDisciplinary Committee.

A student has a right of appeal against the outcomes of preliminary or formal enquiries; first,to an ACS Education Appeals Committee (see Academic Appeals Policy ) constituted for the

purpose; and subsequently, if the student so wishes and is studying a program accreditedunder the Australian Qualifications Framework, to the education registration authority in the

state of South Australia.This document will be included with enrolment materials for all ACS Education programs andenrolling students will be required to sign that they have read and understood it. Thisdocument will also be included in the introductory materials to all subjects assessed byACS Education .


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If the student does not agree to the course of action proposed by the Academic Principal, thestudent may initiate an appeal against the decision (see Academic Appeals Policy).

Formal enquiry into alleged academic misconduct

The Academic Board, upon receipt of advice from the Academic Principal following an initialenquiry, will review the case and the evidence provided to determine whether the case should

proceed to formal enquiry.

Where the Academic Board concludes that;

the evidence in the case is insufficient to proceed, they will advise the AcademicPrincipal, the affected faculty, and the student accordingly. No further action will betaken and no information about the case will be recorded in the students records.

the action of the student lacked intent, but constituted academic misconduct, the studentwill be permitted to continue their involvement in the program and the student, affectedfaculty and the Academic Principal will be advised accordingly. Information about the

case will be recorded in the students records (see Recording information about academicmisconduct below).

there is sufficient evidence to proceed to formal enquiry, they will establish a formalenquiry committee consisting of: a member of the Academic Board, the AcademicPrincipal, a member of faculty and the Student Support Officer (or, in place of the StudentSupport Officer, the Registrar). The quorum for a formal enquiry will be three, but mustinclude a member of the Academic Board and the Academic Principal. The formalenquiry committee might meet at a physical location or communicate by teleconference,exchange of emails, or similar.

The documentation that is provided to the formal enquiry committee in considering the matter must be provided to the student who is the subject of the enquiry.

Faculty who made the allegation may present their case to the enquiry but will not serve as amember of the committee. The Student Support Officer (or, in place of the Student SupportOfficer, the Registrar) will write by email to the student providing details of the allegedmisconduct and inviting the student to provide evidence to the formal enquiry committeeregarding the allegation. The student may be assisted or represented at the enquiry by anACS Education nominee or any faculty, staff member or student of ACS Education .

The formal enquiry may proceed whether or not the student responds or attends.

Options available to the formal enquiry committee:

a) Where the formal enquiry concludes that the action of the student does not constituteacademic misconduct, no further action will be taken and no information about the casemaintained in the students records.

b) Where the formal enquiry concludes that the action of the student constitutes academicmisconduct, but warrants disciplinary action equivalent to or less serious than the value of the relevant item of assessment, the matter will be referred back to the Academic Principalfor implementation. Information about the case will be maintained in the studentsrecords (see Recording information about academic misconduct below).

c) Where the formal enquiry concludes that the action of the student constitutes academicmisconduct warranting disciplinary action more serious than the value of the relevant item


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of assessment, the Academic Board will determine an appropriate outcome and notify theStudent Support Officer (or, in place of the Student Support Officer, the Registrar). If thestudent is also a member of the Australian Computer Society (ACS), the formal enquirycommittee may also refer the case to the ACS Disciplinary Committee.

The Student Support Officer (or, in place of the Student Support Officer, the Registrar) will provide confirmation by email of the outcome of the formal enquiry to the student andaffected faculty.

Appeals against outcomes of a formal enquiry

If the student does not agree to the course of action determined by the formal enquirycommittee, the student may initiate an appeal against the decision (see Academic AppealsPolicy).

Students may continue their program of study pending the outcome of an appeal, unless theAcademic Principal is of the view that to do so places the student, other students or faculty atrisk (where this occurs, appropriate documentary evidence is to be maintained on thestudents file).

Recording information about academic misconduct

ACS Education will maintain information about academic misconduct for a minimum of sevenyears from the date of the last incident recorded.

The Academic Principal and the Academic Board will have access to all information recordedabout a student when determining whether the actions of that student constitute academicmisconduct and when determining an appropriate outcome. No information relating to thecase will be recorded if the Academic Principal or the Academic Board determines that noacademic misconduct occurred.

Where a student appeals the outcome of a preliminary or formal enquiry, the AppealsCommittee (see Academic Appeals Policy) will have access to all information relating to thecase and to any other cases recorded against the student.


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VERSION CONTROL AND CHANGE HISTORY

VersionControl

Date Released Date Effective Approved By Amendment

0 January 2010 January 2010 AcademicBoard

New policy

Academic_Misconduct_Policy

Documents

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