Academic Misconduct

What is academic misconduct?

Academic misconduct is when a student gains, or tries to gain, an unfair advantage in their assessments. It is taken very seriously at ARU, and proven cases can lead to penalties that affect your marks or progression.

Types of academic misconduct

Examples include:

• Plagiarism – presenting someone else’s work, ideas, or data as your own without proper referencing.
• Unauthorised use of AI – unacknowledged use or misuse of AI tools or unauthorised use of AI tools where its use is forbidden within an assessment task.
• Collusion – working with others and submitting work as your own when collaboration was not allowed.
• Contract cheating / commissioning – paying or asking someone else to complete your work.
• Fabrication of data – inventing or altering data, results, or references.
• Impersonation – asking someone to sit an exam or assessment for you.
• Cheating in exams – using unauthorised notes, devices, or communication.

How will I know if I am suspected of academic misconduct?

• You may receive notification of a held mark via email, informed that the work has been referred to the DoS on your feedback or, see HE displayed on e-vision.
• You may be notified of an Academic Integrity review meeting, the purpose of this meeting is to discuss your piece of work, answer questions on the content of the work and explain how you created your work.
• You may receive a formal written notice of an allegation.

I have received an allegation, what happens next?

• If the university find evdience of academic misconduct you will receive email notification of the category of misconduct, details of any meeting dates and your options to respond to the suspected allegation. This is Stage 1.
• If this is the first occurrence of academic misconduct you will be invited to a meeting to discuss the content of the work and academic misconduct.
• You should respond to the allegation as per any deadlines.
• If you do not provide a response the university will consider you are accepting the allegation and the relevant penalty will be applied
• Students can choose to accept the allegation ie they agree that academic misconduct occurred. A penalty will be applied.
• Students can choose to appeal the allegation on the following grounds i) academic misconduct did not occur or ii) academic misconduct did occur but the level of category is incorrect.
• If a student challenges the allegation they will be required to attend a panel hearing to present their case. This is Stage 2.

Possible outcomes and penalties

The outcome of your academic misconduct will be dependent on the category and if the assessment is an initial or re-assessment but it may include the following:

1. The work is returned for marking accounting for any academic misconduct.
2. The element may be capped at 40%.
3. 0% is awarded for the element and you are required to submit as a re-assessment.
4. A 10% deduction is applied to your overall award.
5. Academic misconduct points are be applied to your record ( 0 – 6).
6. Further allegations of academic misconduct will increase the amount of misconduct points and can impact progression on your course.

Timeframes

• You will be informed of an academic misconduct allegation within 20 working days of the submission date, 30 working days for Major Projects.
• You will be required to respond to allegations within 5 working days. Students can request an extension to their response to speak with Union Advice.
• If referred to a panel, this will be arranged within 2 months of your response to the allegation.

How to avoid misconduct.

• Always reference your sources correctly.
• Where possible, use your own or, a university laptop / computer to complete your work.
• Keep copies of your work in its draft and final versions.
• Do not share your work with others.
• Do not buy or use work from essay mills or contract cheating services.
• If in doubt, ask your lecturer or the Library for advice on referencing and academic integrity.

Where can I get help?

• UNION Advice – independent advice on the process for academic misconduct and support at your Stage 2 Appeals Panel.
• Study Skills Plus – workshops and 1-to-1 support on referencing and study skills.
• Introduction - AI Tools at University - LibGuides at Anglia Ruskin University
• Your Course Team – for clarification on what is and isn’t allowed.

Quick Links