What is Academic Misconduct? (Plagiarism)
Academic misconduct occurs when a student breaks the rules and regulations concerning assessment. This can include bringing unauthorised materials into exams and plagiarism.
What is plagiarism?
The University treats plagiarism very seriously. Plagiarism occurs when a student indicates that they are the author of work that is not their own. This can occur in a number of ways including:
- Direct duplication, by copying (or allowing to be copied) another's work, whether from a book, article, web site, another student's assignment, or students copying source texts without attributing references properly. Examples of this include quotations not properly cited according to convention, references missing from bibliographies, or when referencing is incomplete in the body of the work.
- 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; copying another student's work without attribution;
- 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) when it should be your own independent work.
If you are in any doubt at all, refer to your department's guidelines on referencing. These may be with your course outline, your departmental handbook or in the case of PhD students there is some information in the The PhD Handbook including the appropriate usage of journal articles etc.
You can also look at the University's official policy on plagiarism at: http://www.services.unimelb.edu.au/plagiarism/
I have been given notification of an academic misconduct hearing. What do I do now?
You will receive formal written notification that the department or faculty has an allegation of academic misconduct against you. There will be a hearing to which you can submit a written statement. A detailed statement will come in the mail of the allegation along with the relevant part of the Statutes (Chapter 13) that applies. When you write your statement for the hearing you must address the points that are made in the allegation and explain what happened from your point of view. You are entitled to seek the confidential advice of an UMPA Adviser at this point to assist with your submission.
What happens at the hearing?
You will be interviewed by a committee which will include two senior academic staff, a student representative and usually an administrative person from the faculty (or for PhD students the School of Graduate Studies). At the hearing you will be asked questions relating to your submission and the allegation raised by the faculty. You are allowed to bring a support person who can be a friend, relative or UMPA Adviser. However, this person will not be allowed to speak in the hearing. After the hearing you will be notified by mail formally of the committee's decision.
What happens afterwards?
The committee has the option to dismiss the allegation, give you a warning, or penalise you. The penalties can include getting a zero or fail mark for the assessment involved, failing the subject involved, or in extreme cases suspension of your enrolment. After the committee has notified you of its decision you can appeal. Appeals can be submitted to the Vice-Chancellor or his/her nominee.
For further information on student discipline and academic misconduct see Chapter 13 of the Statutes and Regulations at http://www.unimelb.edu.au/ExecServ/Statutes/s131.html
Every faculty has guidelines on plagiarism and the referencing conventions for your field. Ask your lecturer, tutor or administration office if you have not already received guidelines during your course of study.
This information is a general guide only and is not a substitute for situation specific or legal advice. You can contact UMPA for advice on 8344 8657.
Last updated July 2007