Academic Honesty
Students must not seek to obtain an advantage in a Faculty assessment by unfair means. The University has strict rules about this, which are found in Statute 12.2-3.
There is no objection to examination pieces or composition folios being performed widely by a student, or assignments and examination answers being discussed in a preliminary way with other students. What is not permitted is students performing or presenting at Faculty assessments composition folios or practical work already studied for other examinations or courses, and students exchanging or making available to other students any working notes, drafts or final answers for Faculty assessments, whether prepared this year or previously.
For the purpose of the Statute, the following would be regarded as an advantage obtained by unfair means in the Music Faculty:
- The performance in a practical assessment of a work already presented for another assessment in the University or other institution by the same student;
- The submission of an answer in an assignment, composition folio or an examination substantially similar to that submitted by a student in the same or any preceding year, whether at this or another institution:
- The submission of an answer not based substantially on the student's own work;
- The submission of an answer containing substantial quotations from another work, including online sources, whether in the same words or some variation of them, without appropriate acknowledgment of the source (see Policy on Academic Honesty below).
All written assignments must be have attached a signed Student Declaration Form (pdf format).
University Policy on Academic Honesty
It is University policy that cheating by students in any form is not permitted, and that work submitted for assessment purposes must be the independent work of the student concerned (or, where joint work is permitted, of the students concerned). This is in keeping with the rules made by University Council under Regulation 12.2.10 (as reprinted in the Student Diary).
Plagiarism, or copying and use of another's work without proper acknowledgment, is not permitted, nor is it permissible for anyone to allow another person to copy their work for the purposes of assessment.
Plagiarism may take several forms. Any of the following, without full acknowledgment of the debt to the original source, counts as plagiarism:
- direct duplication, by copying (or allowing to be copied) another's work, whether from a book, article, Website, another student's assignment, etc.;
- paraphrasing of another's work closely, with minor changes but with the essential meaning, form and/or progression of ideas maintained;
- piecing together sections of the work of others into a new whole;
- submitting one's own work which has already been submitted for assessment purposes in another subject;
- producing assignments in conjunction with other people (e.g. another student, a tutor) which should be your own independent work
Where a student is suspected of plagiarism by an examiner, the following procedures will apply:
- the examiner will present the details to the Chair of the subject Examination Board (usually the Head of Department) who will determine whether to proceed with the matter;
- if the Chair determines to proceed, the student(s) will be invited to a hearing before the relevant subject Examination Board;
- if, after the hearing, the subject Examination Board is of the opinion that the student(s) has been guilty of plagiarism it may:
- require the student(s) to undertake additional assessment in that subject;
- return a mark of zero for the piece of assessment;
- return a fail grade for the subject;
- refer the matter to the Dean regarding the possible presentation of a case of academic misconduct to a discipline committee under Statute 13.1.3;
- do more than one of the above.
In all cases where a penalty is applied to a student, a written notification will be sent by the Chair of the subject Examination Board to the Faculty Office.