Divisional Policy on Plagiarism

1. Information for Students

• Course Organisers should:
  • ensure that student course guides alert students to the University's revised policy (section 5 of the Degree Examination Regulations);
  • ensure that student course guides alert students to (and for first year courses, explicitly include the text of) the Division's Guidelines on Plagiarism;
  • ensure that students are aware of the University Computing Regulations, emphasising clearly that any files (including e-mail) in student accounts may be inspected when any breach of the Regulations is suspected;
  • ensure that course web pages contain allow easy electronic access to documents noted in the above points.

2. Related Matters

• First and second year undergraduate courses will assign a maximum of 30% of marks to work undertaken outwith exam conditions, except for calculation of exemptions. This raises a number of related issues, which will be handled as follows:
  • DPs will be awarded for submission of at least half of the required practical assignments. No account will be taken of marks awarded.
  • Examination boards are asked to drop any existing practices which limit ways in which poor performance in practical work may be compensated for by good performance in examinations. Exam setters should try to include material which tests the "problem solving" skills associated with practical work.
  Course Organisers should ensure that these matters are brought to the attention of students, while the Board of Studies Representative should ensure that they are passed for information and comment to the Board of Studies in Informatics and Engineering.
• Practical exercises for each year should be written in ways which at the very least make copying of a previous solution impossible and where possible, should be designed in ways which discourage and reduce opportunities for plagiarism.
• Course organisers should encourage tutors to raise the issues surrounding plagiarism during tutorials.
• Clear guidance should be given to tutors and demonstrators.

3. Detecting Plagiarism

Electronically submitted work should, where possible, be scrutinised promptly with plagiarism detection software. The Computing Support team are asked to look into and provide information and/or software which facilitates this process. Responsibility for actual checking and immediate resulting action lies with the Course Organiser (or delegate) for first and second year courses and the module lecturer in other years.

Material submitted by hand should continue to be scrutinised by current arrangements.

4. Responding to Plagiarism

The University's new guidelines and amended Degree Examination Regulations provide clear instructions on the procedure for dealing with suspected plagiarism. Note in addition that advice should be sought from the Associate Dean (General) in the Faculty Office on any suspected case.