Understanding Academic Integrity

Instances of using unauthorized resources or seeking outside help in examinations or assignments.

USW regulations state: 

“Contract cheating is when students seek other persons to produce work, or buy an essay or assignment, either ‘off the shelf’ or specifically written for them, and submit it as their own work”.

To avoid contract cheating:

• never put your assignment criteria onto a specialist website where people will bid to write the essay for you.
• never submit a piece of work that you have bought from a website.

Copying and using someone else's work without proper citation or authorization. Plagiarism may be written or non-written.

The academic offence of plagiarism is taken very seriously.

USW regulations state plagiarism occurs when “students take someone else’s work or ideas and pass them off as their own”. 

It is our experience that plagiarism is usually unintentional – and results from poor referencing and/or paraphrasing.

However, even if accidental – it can lead to allegations of academic misconduct, and you may be referred to study skills for help and support with referencing and/or paraphrasing.

To avoid plagiarism: 

• acknowledge sources used in your work
• reference ideas, images and other creative work, used in your work 
• acknowledge sources when paraphrasing/summarising ideas/information
• you should not present an assignment as entirely yours when there has been a collaborative effort – always acknowledge collaboration
• don’t cut and paste from electronic sources without including the URL/doi or author and/or without showing that the pasted text is a direct quotation

Collusion is an academic offence.

USW regulations state: 

Collusion occurs when (unless there is official approval, eg. as there would be for group projects): “two or more students collaborate in the production of work and…submit work, which is unreasonably similar and/or is represented by the students to be… product[s] of individual effort[ ]. One student sharing their own work with another student, resulting in similar pieces of work being submitted, is considered to be collusion by both parties regardless of intent”. 

To avoid collusion:

• never jointly complete a piece of work which should have been an individual effort and hand it in with significant similarity
• never let another student borrow your work
• never knowingly allow another student to acquire work that can be submitted as their own

Students are sometimes confused about why they have to acknowledge what is essentially their own work.

USW regulations state: 

“Recycling, sometimes referred to as self-plagiarism, is when students submit work which has already been used in one context (e.g. in an assignment) and is then used again in another”. 

Ultimately, if you hand in an assignment (in full or in significant part) twice, even if you conducted the research and have written it yourself, and fail to acknowledge that you have used the material before, then it is considered to be plagiarism.

This doesn’t mean that you can’t reference the same sources of information. For example, Freud’s theories, Maslow’s hierarchy of needs, or the NMC guidelines may be entirely relevant for a different assignment, but you should change the way that you introduce and/or use that information.

USW regulations state: 

“Falsification [occurs] when students attempt to present fabricated or distorted data, evidence, references, citations or experimental results and/or knowingly …use …such material as part of an assessment”.

Basically – don’t make things up!

To avoid falsification:

• don’t present data based on controlled investigations or experiments, falsely claiming you carried out these investigations/experiments 
• don’t invent references and/or present false information/claims
• never knowingly include false or incorrect data/information

Loss of grades, failure in assignments, or expulsion from the academic program.

Potential legal action, especially in cases of severe misconduct or fraud.

Negative impact on future academic and professional opportunities.

We can provide support and advice on referencing and paraphrasing to prevent similar mistakes. This can be accessed through:

One to one appointments

Our Learner Development Specialists can help you enhance your understanding of:

• how and when to reference
• citation order
• inserting quotations correctly
• using referencing guides effectively
• how to paraphrase 

Sessions may involve completing referencing exercises, reviewing PowerPoint slides and other resources on referencing, as well as analysing student work to address any referencing or paraphrasing issues. Book a one-to-one session here.

Webinars

Some students prefer to attend a webinar when they have been referred for support because of academic misconduct. Referencing webinars run regularly throughout the autumn and spring terms. 

Details of dates and times for these will be available on events page on Advice Zone Online.

Access our comprehensive referencing guides and sources to master proper citation, referencing, and paraphrasing techniques. These resources are designed to assist in academic writing and ensure integrity in your work.

These resources can be found on the Academic Skills Hub on Blackboard.

Epigeum is USWs series of online modules to develop your knowledge and understanding of all aspects of academic integrity, which you can put into practice in your studies. These essential modules will equip you with the skills you need to study with integrity and honesty whilst at USW.nThe four modules take approximately 30 minutes each to complete.

They can be accessed via the Academic Skills Hub on Blackboard.