Academic Integrity

FAQs

• What behaviours falls under academic misconduct?

  Academic misconduct is a breach of the values of academic integrity, and can occur when a student cheats in an assessment, or attempts to deliberately mislead an examiner that the work presented is their own when it is not.

  This is not an exhaustive list, but the most common behaviours that fall under academic misconduct are:

  1. Plagiarism - producing work that is not entirely your own efforts; taking the work of others and passing it off as your own, eg copying the words of others without acknowledgement/referencing the source/s. This could occur through negligence or deliberate action.  

  2. Commissioning or buying work from a 3^rd party (commonly known as ‘Contract Cheating’ and ‘Ghost Writing’).

  3. Collusion – working with another or other students in presenting substantially similar work.

  4. Cheating in an exam – taking unauthorised material in to an exam (eg crib notes) or any other infringement of the examination room rules.

  5. To read, Unacknowledged use of generative Artificial Intelligence in assessments.

• I have received an allegation of academic misconduct. What do I do next?

  You are advised to read all the documentation that has been emailed to you.  The guidance notes explain the academic misconduct process in detail and also outlines the options you can take. You need to respond to the allegation in writing using the ‘Student Response form’ within 10 working days of the date of the letter and your email.  You can get advice from the MDXSU for support in responding to academic misconduct studentadvice@mdx.ac.uk 0208 411 6450. You should also refer to the Regulations Section F.

• What if I did not know I was cheating/did not intend to cheat?

  1. I was sanctioned for submitting the same work as the people from my group with whom I was allocated to work with. Why?

     This is because the Module tutor felt the commonality between the work exceeded the level in which you were permitted to work together.

  2. My friend copied my assignment. Am I in trouble? What do I do now?

  It is possible you will still be implicated in the case and as well as the other student, you may receive correspondence from Academic Misconduct (allegation letter, evidence etc), which you will be required to provide an honest response to.

  You will not be penalised if it is found that you are the originator of the work, but you may receive a warning re sharing your work with others in future.

• What are the possible outcomes if I choose to

  1. Accept the allegation.

     The penalties vary depending on level of module, if it was a first or repeated offence and nature of misconduct. Please refer to the Policy and Procedures for Academic Integrity & Misconduct for details of the possible penalties.

  2. Deny the allegation

  If you deny the allegation and your responses are not accepted, it is likely a Panel of Investigation hearing will be held. You can select whether to have a panel of investigation based on your written response or in person when you submit your response to the allegation

• Could I be suspended for a second or subsequent violation of academic integrity?

  A second or subsequent offence, if you had received a previous written warning, may fall under either Category C or D, depending on the severity of the misconduct.  It is highly possible that a second or subsequent offence will lead to Expulsion from the University, but there are alternative penalties that can be applied. See Policy and Procedures for Academic Integrity & Misconduct for a comprehensive list of possible outcomes.

• Can I be sanctioned if I have already graduated?

  Yes, exceptionally, the University can retrospectively investigate cases of academic misconduct.

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• Are the penalties the same for all the levels of HE?

  Penalties can vary depending on the level of the module in which the offence has taken place.

• Will the academic misconduct go on my permanent transcript? What will this mean for my future career?

  No record of the academic misconduct will appear your final transcript.  The P grade (which denotes ‘academic misconduct proven) will be replaced with a grade 20 on the final transcript. However, the University may record the existence of warning points on any reference supplied.

• Can I appeal against the outcome of academic misconduct?

  Yes you can submit an academic appeal against the academic misconduct outcome if you have grounds (see G4 of the Policy and Procedures for Academic Integrity and Misconduct).  Details will be explained in the formal outcome letter in which you are advised to refer to the Academic Appeal regulations in UniHub and informed that you must submit your appeal within 10 working days of the date of the outcome letter.

• Is the Appeals outcome the final decision?

  If your appeal is unsuccessful, you will be given the opportunity to request an internal review of your Appeal and following on from that you can forward your case to external adjudicators, the OIA.

• What if I have further questions?

  For further questions, you can speak to the MDXSU and/or refer to the information on Academic Misconduct in UniHub.

• I've been asked to attend a Viva. What does this mean?

  A viva voce examination may be held to verify the authenticity of a student’s work.

  A "viva voce" is a meeting between you and a panel of academic staff, at least one of whom will be a subject specialist. The relevant piece of your assessment will be discussed with you.
  
  The academics may ask questions about how you researched and prepared your work. They may ask you to explain particular statements or terms which you have used in your assignment. It is your opportunity to answer questions in person. A record of the meeting will be taken.

• I have been offered money for uploading course materials and essays to a website. Is this allowed?

  If you upload Study Material to the Platform, you will be expected to confirm that:

  1. You are the full right holder with regard to the study material and you are entitled to upload it to the Platform and offer it to other users;
  2. The Intellectual Property Rights, including the copyright, to the Study Material is vested in you or you have demonstrable consent of the party in which the Intellectual Property Rights are vested to upload the Study Material to the Platform and to offer it to other users;
  3. The Study Material is not in violation of any laws or legislation and/or does not infringe on any (Intellectual Property) Rights of third parties and/or is not otherwise unlawful towards third parties;
  4. You are exclusively responsible for all licenses and payment obligations to any third party relating to the uploading and use of the Study Material.

  If the above do not apply to you, then submission of course materials is not allowed.

• Someone told me I can find an essay on an online course materials site. Can I use these?

  By stealing some else’s ideas you are not bothering to learn the material yourself. This erodes the value of your education in which you have invested a large sum. You’re really cheating yourself in the end, and the consequences can be severe resulting in expulsion from the University. Essay mills are now illegal entities in the UK, and use of them is facilitating an illegal activity.

• I am being investigated for academic misconduct and am required to respond to the allegation. I have some extenuating circumstances which I want to declare. Will these help in mitigating my actions?

  Extenuating circumstances will normally not excuse nor exonerate you in these circumstances.  The University has formal processes in place to allow you to declare any extenuating circumstances which you feel may affect your performance in completing your assessments (eg. Extenuating Circumstances).

• What should I do if I am approached by an essay buying organisation?

  Buying an essay and submitting this as your own is against the University's regulations. Essay mills are now illegal entities in the UK, and use of them is facilitating an illegal activity.

  Therefore, if you are approached by one of these companies you should block them and never reply. If you can, take a screenshot of the message you receive and send it to communications@mdx.ac.uk so that we can alert our IT department to help block (where possible) any communications from this organisation.

• I have a U grade on a module, do I resubmit at next available opportunity?

  A U grade means a piece of work has been referred to the academic misconduct team and is under investigation. If you have an outstanding U grade on a module for the first sit attempt, but you have not yet received an allegation, you may take the resit at the next available opportunity. Student notes for guidance are issued along with the academic misconduct letter, Appendix 1 of this states 'Extract: If the grade of U has been temporarily given for a first attempt at an assessment, and while the investigation is still taking place, you are entitled to and advised to resit the assessment at the first available opportunity. However, this is your decision.'

• Am I allowed to use Generative Artificial Intelligence tools in my assessments?

  You cannot use Generative Artificial Intelligence tools in your assessments unless specified by the module leader. Where the use of Generative AI is allowed you must provide as a minimum

  1. Written acknowledgment of the use of generative artificial intelligence, the extent of use, and how generated materials were used.
  2. Descriptions of how the information was generated (including the prompts used).
  3. Where generated material has not been adapted, citing and referencing using closest source types in the relevant referencing style (e.g. “artificial intelligence” or “non-recoverable sources”)