Information about

The University

Malpractice Procedure

Independent Advice, Support and Representation

The University of Cumbria has a formal procedure to deal with any allegations of academic

malpractice. It is one of the most formal and potentially serious procedures the University

has and in cases of extreme cheating it can lead to a student being deregistered. Students

are usually asked to attend malpractice hearings when the University suspects that some

form or academic malpractice has occurred. The usual process for getting to this stage

involves some suspicion of malpractice when a Tutor is marking an assessment or if it is an

assignment then possible malpractice may have been suspected as a result of scanning it

through ‘Turnitin’*

*Turnitin is an electronic programme that scans in assignments and then searches a huge

variety of sources to detect plagiarism.

What is malpractice?

In brief, malpractice can involve the following categories:

• Cheating in exams

• Plagiarism

• Collusion in coursework (working with someone else)

• Fabrication and falsification

• Impersonation

• Breaching anonymity requirements as prescribed by your course.

Most malpractice cases involve plagiarism and in most cases malpractice has occurred but is

not always intentional.

It is important to remember that plagiarism is not just about words – it’s also about giving

people credit for their ideas.

What happens if you are suspected of Malpractice?

The Students’ Union strongly recommends that students look at the Student Regulations as

the policy is clearly set out in terms of process and sanctions. In addition to this, contact

the Student’s Union Student Advisor (see details on the back cover) and they will be able to

talk you through the process, and can also attend the meeting with you if you would like.

What happens at the hearing?

At the hearing there will be a panel made up of 3 academic University staff members,

normally a Head of School or Programme Leader will be the Chair. These panel members

will usually be listed in the letter that the student receives about their hearing. The hearing

usually starts with the Chair introducing the Panel and explaining the purpose of the

meeting. If the student hasn’t posted in the form mentioned in point 2 above then they’ll

be asked to hand the form to the Chair or Secretary at the Hearing. The Chair will note

their response and ask if the student would like to make a statement about how they feel

malpractice has occurred. Then the panel will ask any relevant questions that they may have

about the work in question. Then the student is usually asked to leave and wait outside the

hearing while the panel discusses whether malpractice has occurred and which

outcomes/sanctions might be appropriate. The student is then normally asked to return and

is informed of the recommended outcome.

We recommend that students write down their statement beforehand so that the student

is clear about what they want to say, and don’t forget to mention any key points.

Type of questions a student may be asked at a malpractice hearing:

• What do you understand plagiarism to be?

• What does your Course Handbook / Student Handbook say about plagiarism – have

you read it, if not why not?

• If you are expected to ensure confidentiality by making certain data and information

anonymous, then what guidance are you given about how to do this?

• Is any information provided in lectures/seminars about avoiding plagiarism?

• What have you done since finding out about this Hearing – who have you talked to /

asked for help/explanations?

• How did you put the piece of work together?

• Did you get any written/oral guidelines in putting it together?

• What source material did you use – where did you get it from?

• How did you use the source material?

• Did you photocopy from books – did you highlight text?

• How did you transfer these ‘notes’ to your actual assignment?

• Did you paraphrase the source material?

• Did you re-write it in your own words?

• Did you get information from the Internet?

• Did you copy and paste text from the internet to a word document, did you print

the page?

• Then what did you do with the text – was it inserted into the assignment, did you

treat it as notes?

• What do you understand about referencing / bibliographies?

• What referencing system are you required to use in your department? (E.g. Harvard

referencing – would be the normal unless told otherwise by department). This is

normally stated in the Course/Student Handbook.

The Panel makes a recommendation to the Exam or Assessment Board about which penalty

might be appropriate. Then the Assessment Board makes a final decision based on the

panel’s recommendation which can be exactly the same as the penalty recommended or

can be more lenient. The student should provide as much information as is pertinent to the

case at the Hearing. After the hearing a student can also write a letter of mitigation to the

Chair of the Exam /Assessment Board stating their case.

Potential Outcomes:

All potential outcomes are listed in the regulations, but potential outcomes may include:

• The particular piece of assessment in question being awarded a fail mark with only

one opportunity of reassessment.

• The panel may decide that malpractice has not occurred

In very serious cases the following may occur:

• be awarded a classification lower than the one derived from the marks profile

• be awarded no more than a pass degree

• be permanently excluded from the University

There is no automatic right of reassessment if a student is failed on the basis of malpractice.

If you are a student on a professional course such as nursing, then there may be

an impact on your perceived fitness to practice if you are found to have

intentionally tried to pass off other source material as your own work.

This information leaflet only gives a very general overview of a process that can seem very

daunting one, especially for a student called to a hearing. If you are called to a Malpractice

Hearing then the Students’ Union the we would recommend that you get in touch with our

Student Advisor asap as will talk to you about any concerns you have beforehand, help you

write your statement and give you an idea of the type of questions that the panel may ask

and which of the potential outcomes you could be faced with.

Contacting the Advice Service

If you would like any further information, would like to arrange

an appointment or want to speak to a Students’ Union

Advice Service staff member then contact:

Students’ Union Student Advisors:

email: suadvice@cumbria.ac.uk

Trish Lee: 01524 526567

Chloe Merna: 01228 616272

You can also drop in to your local Students’ Union Office on each

main Campus to speak to arrange to speak the Student Advisor

in person, on the telephone or to arrange a suitable appointment.

If you’d prefer it you can arrange an online chat with the

Student Advisor using the virtual receptionist at:

www.thestudentsunion.org.uk/advice

email: suadvice@cumbria.ac.uk to arrange an appointment or

why not visit the Advice Service section of the Students’ Union

website to see what other information and advice we can offer?

If you would like this document in an

alternative format please contact Trish Lee

On Tel:01524 526576 or

e-mail:suadvice@cumbria.ac.uk