The University of Huddersfield Students’ Regulations

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September 2006 edition

Section 6

Guidelines on Plagiarism

  1. Introduction
    1. Plagiarism is viewed by the University as a serious offence. The University’s Regulations for Awards contain provisions, in section E3.11, under which assessment boards may penalise students who are found to have presented plagiarised work for assessment.
    2. The University uses software to detect plagiarism. Students may be required to submit electronic copies of all their summative work for checking.
    3. Copyright is an unregistered right governed by the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988. It automatically recognises the ownership variously of authors, publishers, performers etc in works they have created and published. It subsists in eg: literary, artistic musical and dramatic works and even in software programs. Students should be aware that the right becomes effective as soon as a work is created.
    4. Unauthorised copying of such works will infringe the rights of the copyright owner(s) and they have the right to sue anyone who does so. The Act permits some copying for academic purposes (see Computing and Library Services Regulations, Section 11, para 12) however, copying of excessive amounts is not permitted. Students who copy the work of others and do not attribute it to the author/acknowledge the copyright owner will be committing an act of plagiarism.
    5. The purpose of this section is to explain what plagiarism is, to describe the procedures which will be followed when plagiarism is suspected, and to indicate the penalties which are likely to be imposed when plagiarism is detected.
  2. What constitutes plagiarism?
    1. Plagiarism consists of presenting someone else’s work as your own. Some examples of plagiarism are:
      • reproducing or paraphrasing published material without acknowledgement of the source
      • presenting information derived from electronic sources such as the internet without acknowledgement of the source
      • passing off ideas, designs, inventions or any other creative work as your own
      • copying from the work of another student
      • undeclared collusion with another student
      • getting someone else to do your work for you
      • submission of previously assessed work
      This is not an exhaustive list, and your School may issue a supplementary statement about plagiarism which is more particular to your subject of study.
    2. There are clearly degrees of plagiarism, particularly where published work is concerned. At one extreme there may be a very short section of an assignment which is copied without being properly referenced; at the other extreme an assignment may consist almost entirely of copied work.
  3. Procedures for dealing with plagiarism
    1. Where a module tutor considers that a suspected instance of plagiarism is minor and where the student has no previous history of plagiarism, the matter will normally be dealt with in the School through counselling and by issuing a warning about future conduct. No report will be made to the assessment board. Examples of minor instances of plagiarism include:
      • where a student fails to reference a work properly
      • where a student fails to acknowledge the source of a very short section of an assignment
    2. Where a module tutor considers that a suspected instance of plagiarism cannot be treated as minor, a report will be made to the course leader. The course leader (or a nominated deputy) will interview the student or students concerned and will establish whether or not the accusation is contested. The module tutor may also be asked to take part in the interview. If all parties reach agreement that plagiarism has taken place a report will be prepared by the course leader (or a nominated deputy) for consideration by the relevant assessment board. The report will be signed by all parties.
    3. If the student or students concerned dispute the allegation, a full report will be made to the Head of Registry and a formal board of enquiry will be convened in accordance with the procedure referred to in Assessment Regulation 4. The student’s performance will not be considered by the assessment boards concerned until the Board of Enquiry has completed its investigations.
    4. Examples of plagiarism which will be considered serious include:
      • failure to heed a previous warning
      • failure to acknowledge sources for a substantial section of an assignment
      • copying a substantial section of an assignment from a published work or electronic sources
      • passing off ideas, designs, inventions or any other creative work as a substantial section of an assignment
      • copying a substantial section of an assignment from the work of another student, whether with or without that student’s knowledge, including copying from a computer file
      • enlisting another person or persons to complete an assignment on the student’s behalf
    5. Students who are found to have colluded in making their work available to be copied by others will themselves be deemed to have committed plagiarism. Similarly, any student who is found to have undertaken an assignment on behalf of another will be treated as having committed plagiarism.
  4. The penalties for plagiarism
    1. Where an instance of plagiarism has been treated as minor under paragraph 3.1 above, there will be a warning about future conduct. The work in question will be marked on its merits and the fact that some plagiarism has taken place may result in a lower mark than might otherwise have been awarded.
    2. Where an instance of plagiarism is considered serious and has been dealt with under either paragraph 3.2 or paragraph 3.3 above, reports will be submitted to the relevant Assessment Board and a record will be placed on the student’s file.
    3. Where an Assessment Board is advised that a student has committed plagiarism, it will normally decide that the student has failed the module, and will only be able to retrieve the situation by retaking all the elements of assessment prescribed for the module.
    4. The Assessment Board will then consider the plagiarism that has occurred in a wider context - for example, the student’s previous history or the significance of the plagiarised work in the course as a whole. As a result the Assessment Board may, for example, decide not to award credit for some or all of the modules that a student has passed during the academic year in question and it can withdraw the right to be reassessed in a failed module. Withdrawing this right will normally have the effect of excluding the student from the course.
    5. In cases of confirmed serious plagiarism, students may be prevented from using accumulated credit for the purpose of accreditation of prior learning on other courses of study which lead to a higher award within the University.