ARC Guide to Academic Disciplinary Procedures
Contents
WHAT IS AN ACADEMIC DISCIPLINARY? ................................................................................................. 2
What is Plagiarism, Collusion and Cheating? .......................................................................................... 2
How can plagiarism occur? ..................................................................................................................... 2
How can collusion occur? ....................................................................................................................... 3
How can cheating occur? ........................................................................................................................ 4
What is Contract Cheating and how can it occur? .................................................................................. 4
What is Referencing? .............................................................................................................................. 5
Preparatory Materials and Copies of Coursework .................................................................................. 6
What is poor academic practice?............................................................................................................ 6
What is TURNITIN?.................................................................................................................................. 6
I HAVE BEEN ACCUSED OF DISCIPLINARY OFFENCE- WHAT SHALL I DO?............................................... 7
Will I get an opportunity to explain myself? ........................................................................................... 7
Will I be asked to attend a meeting in my College? ............................................................................... 8
Should I disclose difficulties I had with the work and in my personal life? ............................................ 8
I have sent a response to my College and attended a meeting; what now?.......................................... 9
My response has been rejected by the College ...................................................................................... 9
Will I have to attend a hearing? ............................................................................................................ 10
What happens at a hearing? ................................................................................................................. 10
Hearings; Order of Proceeding ......................................................................................................... 11
What penalties can be applied?............................................................................................................ 14
“Mark of zero” penalty; what does it actually mean? (UG students) ................................................... 14
What if I do not agree with the Disciplinary Panel’s decision?............................................................. 15
Suspension and/or Exclusion- how does that affect me?..................................................................... 15
Page 1 of 16
What advice and help can I expect to receive from the Advice & Representation Centre? ................ 16
WHAT IS AN ACADEMIC DISCIPLINARY?
Student misconduct which can result in students facing disciplinary procedures is described by the
University in Senate Regulation 6
The University has produced their own guidance which can be found here
This guide is about conduct which breaches academic rules. If you are facing a disciplinary following
a non-academic offences, please refer to our guide on Non-Academic Disciplinaries.
What is Plagiarism, Collusion and Cheating?
The most common academic disciplinary offences considered under the academic disciplinary
procedure are Plagiarism Collusion and Cheating:

Plagiarism is the knowing or reckless presentation of another person’s thoughts, writings,
and inventions, as one’s own. It includes the incorporation of another person’s work from
published or unpublished sources, without indicating that the material is derived from those
sources. It includes the use of material obtained from the internet.

Collusion involves helping, or attempting to help, another student to gain an unfair
advantage in any formal assessment or examination.

Cheating is understood to be any attempted or actual dishonest action in relation to any
academic work or research, including in respect of any assessment or examination. For
example, taking unauthorised material into an examination (including revision notes or
unauthorised equipment) shall normally be regarded as cheating.
Please note: attempted action, even if unsuccessful, will result in a penalty, if proven.
The Academic Skills Service can help you further to improve your writing practice.
How can plagiarism occur?
Page 2 of 16
Most essays, reports, assignments and occasionally exams will need to include sections or ideas from
other people’s work; this is standard academic practice. However, it is important that where you
have included other people’s ideas, text or diagrams in an assignment, they must be clearly
referenced (please see section below). This will leave the examiners in no doubt that you are only
expecting to be marked for identifying or analysing a relevant source and not trying to claim
someone else’s work as your own original idea. If it is found that you have attempted to pass
someone else’s work off as your own, this will be classed as plagiarism.
Examples of actions which result in plagiarism:

Simply copying out other authors own words, word for word without any acknowledgement.
This is the most obvious case.

Using substantial extracts of other authors’ answers but transposing the order of some
paragraphs, omitting odd sentences and making slight changes, without any
acknowledgement of the source. This form of plagiarism is more common.

Rewriting another person’s answer entirely in your own words, but preserving essentially
intact both the sequence and structure of his/her argument, without acknowledging it as
being the source of the material.

Taking a paragraph from one source, then a paragraph from another and so on, all without
acknowledgement of these sources, and linking them with a few words of your own.

All (or any) of the above, and not acknowledging (in the text and/or in the footnotes/
endnotes) the source as necessary, but listing the work in the bibliography. Simply listing a
source in your bibliography without indicating clearly in your essay which material from that
source is used in your essay (and where it is used) is NOT sufficient acknowledgement of the
source, and DOES constitute plagiarism.
How can collusion occur?
It will not be surprising if the members of a group who study together produce answers which are
broadly similar, however if two or more students’ work is substantially identical, they will all be
presumed to be cases of plagiarism and/or collusion, unless a student can prove that he/she is not
responsible for copying and has not given his/her work to another student to copy. Therefore it is
important to make sure that you recognise the importance of safeguarding the confidentiality and
originality of your work prior to submission.
Steps to avoid collusion:
Page 3 of 16

Do not read each other’s essays. Do not read out your essays to each other, either in draft or
in final form. Where it is suggested that your English needs amendment, do not show that
part of your essay to the listener(s).

Do not circulate or exchange essays before submission. You must absolutely ensure that you
do not show your essay to any other student before submission.

Do not progress from discussing how a question might be answered to working out a
common essay plan that you will use.

Do not ask another student to type your essay on his or her computer; it can lead to
different students’ work becoming conflated.
How can cheating occur?
Taking unauthorised material into an examination (including revision notes or unauthorised
equipment) is quite common but is still regarded as attempted deception and therefore cheating.
Examination invigilators are alert and monitor the exams very closely, so do not take the risk.
Steps to avoid cheating:

Always ensure you have read the rules for each exam you are due to take; your College will
provide you with rules well in advance of the examination date and these rules will clearly
detail what you are allowed to take into that specific examination with you.

The examination rules will also detail whether you are allowed an annotated or unannotated book (if you are allowed a book at all), you need to ensure you fully understand
what this means. If you are uncertain please contact your College.
What is Contract Cheating and how can it occur?
Contract Cheating means acquiring an assignment on the open market (e.g. via the internet) and/or
paying for someone’s services to write the assignment for you. Whether this was paid or not paid is
irrelevant and it is still classed as a disciplinary offence. Furthermore, posting a request for an
assignment is also considered to be an offence.
Page 4 of 16
It may be that you are legitimately seeking advice on a subject and not asking for a completed
assignment, in which case you still need to be careful. If this is the case you must ensure you cite the
source in your assignment and provide a copy of the help provided so as to prove the usage was:
- To inform the development of your own ideas
- To clarify a concept you were struggling to understand
Do remember, your College and the University have a responsibility to offer you assistance in such a
case, free of charge.
What is Referencing?
Obviously, in student essays and examinations, truly original ideas will be rare. You will, for the most
part, be presenting opinions derived from teachers, textbook writers and other authors.
It is therefore not plagiarism to write an essay which begins “In answering this question I cannot do
better than to quote in full the view presented by Jones in his book ‘Standard Answers to Common
Essay Questions’, who writes “........” and ends: “Thus Mr Jones has given us an excellent answer to
this very interesting question”.
Although not plagiarised, such an essay will fail (on other grounds, because we are seeking your own
words and your ideas, not Jones’). More specifically, we are looking to see why you may agree or
disagree with published commentaries on the points raised in assessment questions (e.g., as may be
found in textbooks, journal articles, judicial opinions) and/or whether you may come up with any
novel ideas and/or criticisms on the subject area to be analysed.
As a general guide, be aware that in all the following circumstances you must include a correct
reference when:





Quoting sections from a book;
Including text that you have cut and pasted from the internet;
‘Paraphrasing’ or summarising someone else’s argument or idea;
Using another student’s notes (even in group work projects);
Including points from lecture notes.
Plagiarism can not only occur when quoting from books or websites but also in the copying of
another students work. This is treated very seriously and should never occur in academic practice.
Although there are several systems of referencing, the Harvard System version is generally used for
assignments at Brunel. You may want to clarify with your College what referencing style they prefer.
Page 5 of 16
You do not need to avoid direct quotation entirely. Quotations are an integral part of most essay
writing. However, they should be used sensibly and not so frequently so as to make the assessment
into a disjointed piece of work, characterised by excessively short paragraphs. IT IS YOUR
RESPONSIBILITY TO ENSURE YOU FULLY UNDERSTAND REFERENCING.
Preparatory Materials and Copies of Coursework
For Good Practice you should always try to retain all preparatory notes and/or photocopies of
materials used for assessments at the very least, until you receive notification of your mark/grade
for the associated assessment.
Some Colleges require a sample of student cohort who will be required to submit these preparatory
notes and materials (in original or photocopied form) and these are often expected to be available
on request at any time after submission of your assessment. These notes and materials are to
include hard copies of any materials used, including web materials. You are also expected to keep at
least one hard copy of your coursework/report and a copy of your assessment electronically on
computer and on disk/CD/DVD.
It is vital you retain all of your Preparatory Materials (including written notes), not only in case you
do not pass the assessment first time around but because this clearly shows how you compiled your
assessment and what you used to successfully complete the assessment.
What is poor academic practice?
Poor academic practice refers to unintentional and inadequate academic practice rather than
plagiarism; if it is decided that your work resembles that of poor academic practice rather than
plagiarism, your work should be marked or graded in the normal way (on its academic merits).
If you are a final year student, Poor Academic Practice may be treated as an unacceptable response
to allegations of plagiarism. You have after all managed to successfully progress to level 3, after 2
years of studying and it will be expected that you know how to reference correctly.
What is TURNITIN?
Brunel University uses TURNITIN in an effort to identify plagiarism; students' papers are submitted
electronically and then they are compared against:
Page 6 of 16




previously submitted material held in the database
over 1.8 billion web sites
essays from cheat sites
selected subscription services
The service compares the student's work with the other sources and produces an originality report.
This report highlights where matches have been found in the text and indicates the sources of the
match. Reports are colour coded to indicate the percentage of text matched. The report is nonjudgmental in that it does not distinguish between properly referenced and acknowledged
quotations and unacknowledged information sources.
Academic judgment is still required to determine whether plagiarism has occurred therefore Turnitin
is only available to academic staff at Brunel University.
If you receive a Turnitin report as part of the evidence in the plagiarism allegations, you should
immediately arrange to meet your tutor or speak to your programme or course leader to clarify
which parts of the report apply to the those allegations and which are innocent matches or properly
referenced sections.
I HAVE BEEN ACCUSED OF DISCIPLINARY OFFENCE- WHAT SHALL I
DO?
If you are identified by your College as having committed an academic offence, the Head of College
will write to you asking you to explain your actions. With the letter you will receive evidence of the
academic offence, for example copies of your work, identifying where the plagiarism has occurred
and copies of the source (extracts from books, journals or websites) that the material may have
been plagiarised from. The letter will contain what regulation you are believed to have breached.
Will I get an opportunity to explain myself?
Yes, you will need to explain your actions in writing to the Head of College within 7 days.
Examples of what you can write in your letter are:


Whether you admit or deny the allegation(s)
Your explanation of what happened
If you are admitting to the allegation:

Whether you knew that this was wrong at the time that you did it
Page 7 of 16



Details of why you think this may have happened – i.e. what your motivation for doing this
was
An explanation of why you believe that you acted this way – if you were experiencing
difficult circumstances that may have affected you it is important to explain this.
Have you ever received any feedback which mentioned that your referencing style is
incorrect? And have you always referenced this way?
If you are denying the allegation you should explain how you prepared the piece of work and, if
possible, how you think that the allegation may have arisen.
You can respond to allegations by email:

College of Business, Arts and Social Sciences:
mps-cbass@brunel.ac.uk

College of Health and Life Sciences:
mps-chls@brunel.ac.uk

College of Engineering, Design and Physical Sciences:
mps-cedps@brunel.ac.uk
Will I be asked to attend a meeting in my College?
Your College has the option to ask you to attend a meeting to further discuss the matter. It would be
beneficial for you to be prepared and be honest.
The Vice Dean (Education) of your College has responsibility for handling concerns of academic or
non-academic misconduct.
Should I disclose difficulties I had with the work and in my personal
life?
If you do have particular mitigating circumstances that may have had an effect on you at the time of
writing the piece of work or attending an exam, it may be helpful to get a supporting letter from an
objective third party. This could be a doctor or counsellor if they were aware of your personal
circumstances at the time. Where possible you should discuss the letter with your counsellor or
doctor to make sure that they are aware you agree to your personal data being released. These
details should include (where possible) confirmation of diagnosis, confirmation of time affected by
the situation and an indication of the severity of your condition and the likely impact. It is
recommended that you show a draft copy to the ARC before submission (you should not however let
Page 8 of 16
this cause you to miss the 7 days deadline). You should also read our guide on Mitigating
Circumstances.
There are many examples of circumstances which could have impacted on your academic work, so if
you are in any doubt whether you should include this in your response to plagiarism allegations,
please speak to an ARC adviser.
I have sent a response to my College and attended a meeting; what
now?
Once you have written your response, the Head of College will conclude whether the work is either
an example of poor academic practice (please see below) or plagiarism. If it is concluded that your
work is poor academic practice rather than plagiarism, it will be marked or graded in the normal
way based on its academic merits. If, on the other hand, the Head of College believes that plagiarism
has taken place, your work will be referred to the Secretary to the Misconduct and Professional
Suitability Board.
My response has been rejected by the College
If, following the investigation, the College decides not to accept your response, your case will be
forwarded to the Secretary to the Misconduct and Professional Suitability Board (otherwise called a
Secretary to the Disciplinary Board). The next steps of the procedure are described in sections 3c and
4b of the Senate Regulations 6
Once the Secretary receives your case, it will be decided whether the case is a ‘type one’ or ‘type
two’ case:

“A type one case is when a concern is raised about alleged collusion or cheating in an
examination or test by a student who has not, on a previous occasion, been issued with a
formal judgment under this regulation that either collusion or another form of cheating has
been committed in an examination test, and the concern relates to a potential single
instance of collusion or another form of cheating in an examination or test.”
This means that if this is your absolute first and only allegation, relating to a single piece of
work, your case will be considered as “type one”.

“A type two case is another concern about collusion or another form of cheating in an
examination
or
test.”
This means that if the university has successfully proven at least once before that you have
Page 9 of 16
committed an academic offence, any further allegations will be considered as “type two”
case.
Will I have to attend a hearing?
“Type one” cases are decided “on paper” (i.e. without the need for a hearing) by the ViceChancellor's Representative (Academic)
“Type two” cases are referred to a Disciplinary Panel and you will be invited to attend a hearing.
If your case is deemed to be “Type two”, the Secretary to the Disciplinary Board will write to you
confirming the allegations and evidence against you, along with the regulation you are alleged to
have breached.
The pack contains the hearing details and most importantly Order of Proceedings which shows you
how the day is formatted and confirms when you will be required to speak.
The procedure is described in detail in paragraph 89 of the Senate Regulations 6
What happens at a hearing?
You will be given 10 days’ notice if you are required to attend a hearing and you can be accompanied
by a current student, a current academic, or an adviser from the ARC. Please bear in mind we won’t
be able to attend at short notice. You must tell us if you wish us to attend with you as soon as you
receive notification about the hearing from the University. We may not be able to attend at less
than 7 days notice.
There are in 3 members who sit on the panel. These consist of 2 Senior members of University Staff,
often Heads of College and 1 Student Union Officer. Also present would be a note taker, a member
of staff from your College acting as a College Representative, you and your representative (if you
choose to take one).
The hearing is your opportunity to state exactly why you think the academic offence has occurred. It
is highly important to be honest. It is a confidential space and any information you tell the panel
would not be discussed with anyone else without your permission. You can prepare an oral
Page 10 of 16
statement detailing similar information to that of your written response to the Head of College. This
may help you to remember everything that you want to get across to the panel.
Hearings usually last about one hour, sometimes a little bit longer. When it is over you will be asked
to leave and the panel will make their conclusions which will be communicated to you usually with 7
days. You can ask for a decision to be sent to yours and your representative’s email address.
Remember to dress smart, have a bottle of water and most importantly to be on time.
Hearings; Order of Proceeding
1.
Introduction of those present, outline of the proceedings, and reminder of confidentiality of
the proceedings by the Chair
The Chair will start by asking everyone present to introduce themselves, he/she will then go
through the proceedings of the day and remind all present that what is discussed should
remain confidential.
2.
Declarations of interest
Do you know anyone on the Panel that may mean a conflict of interests? You need to notify
the secretary as a matter of urgency if you believe there is. The Panel members should not
be from your College.
3.
The University Representative
A senior member of staff from your College will be present during the hearing to state the
College’s case against you and to answer any questions the Panel may have concerning the
case against you.
It is important that you write questions down as they arise as you may not remember by the
time you need to ask.
4.
Questions to the University Representative
a. From the members of the Panel
The panel have an opportunity to question the University Representative concerning
any queries they have relating to your case.
b. From the Student (or representative)
You or your representative will also have an opportunity to ask the University
Representative questions which may help your case. It may be that the Panel
members already asked the question, in which case it is not necessary to go over the
same ground.
5.
Witnesses called by the University Representative (where applicable)
Page 11 of 16
In Academic Disciplinary Hearings it is unlikely that there will be witnesses called by your
College but you will be notified if there are before the meeting takes place.
Questions to the Witness (es)
- From members of the Panel
The panel have an opportunity to question the University Representative concerning any
queries they have relating to your case.
- From the Student (or representative) – if present
You or your representative will also have an opportunity to ask the Witness (es) questions
which may help your case. It may be that the Panel members already asked the question, in
which case it is not necessary to go over the same ground.
6.
The Student
This is your chance to have your say, so it is important that you have prepared brief bullet
points as reminders for you to refer to on the day (keeps words to a minimum, it’s hard to
read blocks of text under pressure).
You may know what you want to say but under the pressure you may forget and there is
nothing worse than leaving the hearing having not said everything you had wanted to say.
Points that should be considered are:











Whether you admit the allegations or not
If you do, what happened and how have you learnt from this
If you do not admit the allegation then how do you explain the evidence against
you?
Where there any surrounding circumstances at the time that may have also affected
you and impaired your judgment
Whether you proof read your work before submission
How many Assignments you have submitted previously, is this your first one?
Has any feedback you have received ever mentioned that your referencing style is
incorrect? And have you always referenced this way?
Intention- plagiarism is an offence of intention to cheat. If you think you have simply
made a mistake, then admit it and argue that you have poor scholarship skills and
that if your intention was not to deceive
Evidence is key: Do you any have preparatory notes from when you were compiling
your assignment, anything that can help prove that you did the work
What your understanding of plagiarism, collusion or cheating are and if its different
in your home country
How you have learnt from this, will you be proactive in making sure your
understanding is correct, perhaps by visiting ASK?
If you attended a meeting in your College to discuss the matter and felt it was not fair or you were
not fully prepared on the day then it is important you mention this. Furthermore, if you have any
minutes from such a meeting that you do not agree with, your College need to be aware of this.
Page 12 of 16
7.
Questions to the Student
a. From members of the Panel
The panel have an opportunity to question you with any queries they have relating
to your case or for clarity on anything you may have said during the hearing.
b. From the University Representative
The University Representative also has an opportunity to question you with any
queries they have relating to your case or for clarity on anything you may have said
during the hearing.
8.
Witnesses called by the Student (where applicable)
Questions to the Witness (es)
- From members of the Panel
The panel have an opportunity to question your Witness (es) with any queries they
have relating to your case or for clarity on anything they may have said during the
hearing.
- From the University Representative
The University Representative will have an opportunity to question your Witness
(es) with any queries they have relating to your case or for clarity on anything they
may have said during the hearing.
9.
Concluding statement by the University Representative
This is the University Representatives final opportunity to go over the most important points
that make the case against you.
10.
Concluding statement by the Student
This is your final opportunity to go over the most important points that make your case and
should be points you want the panel to focus on when making their decision.
This is not your opportunity to go over everything you mentioned at point 6.
11.
Confirmation of Student’s address for correspondence
The Secretary will confirm your current address to send the outcome letter to. It may also be
emailed to you if you ask for it. You can also request that a copy is send/emailed to your
representative (for example your ARC Adviser).
12.
All except the members of the panel and the secretary will then leave the room
The Panel members are left to make a decision.
++ END OF HEARING ++
Page 13 of 16
The decision of the Panel will be communicated to you in writing as soon as practicable after the
meeting.
What penalties can be applied?
If your case is a “Type one” case, and your explanation and response were rejected, the ViceChancellor’s Representative (Academic) will apply a penalty as described in paragraph 78 of the
Senate Regulations 6
If your case is a “Type two” case, the Disciplinary Board may, following the hearing, apply a penalty
as described in paragraph 103 of the Senate Regulations 6
Please note: you can face one or more of the sanctions, i.e. you can be temporarily excluded AND
receive a mark of zero in the work related to your academic offence.
“Mark of zero” penalty; what does it actually mean? (UG students)
What does the penalty mean when it says “A mark of zero/grade F is assigned to the piece of work
and to the associated assessment block; reassessment will be permitted (or further attempt in the
case of an offence during reassessment), for a maximum grade of D- in the assessment block. The
assessment block shall contribute grade point 0 to the GPA calculation for the classification of any
award. The reassessment shall not contribute to the reassessment volume limit defined in SR2.”?
The decision about whether or not you may re-sit the work is made by your College. Therefore you
should approach them to find out whether they allow re-sits and, if so, when these are likely to take
place.
If you are allowed a re-sit you must obtain the minimum number of credits as specified in the Senate
Regulations) in order to be eligible for the award for which you are registered. Normally this is 120
credits at each level for an Honours degree. Therefore, although you will receive no marks for resitting and passing the module in which you have been found guilty of an academic offence, you can
receive the credit that you need to complete your course.
The mark of zero for the module in which you were found guilty of an academic offence will be taken
into account in the calculation of your final marks which determine the Class of your Degree. This
may have a detrimental effect on the overall calculation, because a grade which could carry some
value, now brings zero to the equation.
As every student’s situation is different, you should seek further advice from your College in order to
determine what the is likely effect of being found guilty on the award for which you are registered.
Page 14 of 16
What if I do not agree with the Disciplinary Panel’s decision?
You can appeal the panel’s decision within 20 working days of the receipt of the result from the
hearing. It is highly recommend that you seek advice on this from the ARC.
The appeal needs to confirm on what basis you are appealing on. These are the following permitted
grounds for an appeal:
a. there has been procedural irregularity, i.e. that some rules or procedures were not
applied correctly;
b. there was prejudice or bias on part of the decision- maker or decision-making body;
c. the decision is unreasonable and/or the sanction or outcome disproportionate
d. there is new evidence important to the case which the student can demonstrate was for
good reason not previously available.
We can help you deicide whether appealing is a realistic option and whether you have a case for an
appeal. Details or how to appeal against a decision of a Misconduct and Professional Suitability
Board can again be found in Section 5 of the Senate Regulation 6, or by contacting the ARC.
Suspension and/or Exclusion- how does that affect me?
Academic offences can result in very serious consequences- so don’t take it lightly. Dependant on
the severity of the allegations the University have the power to suspend and/or exclude you from
campus:
Temporary suspension means that you will not be allowed to:





Sit such tests or examinations as are scheduled during that period;
Be told information about results / grades, progression to the next level or module
choice for the next level
Be informed if you have re-sits
Access and utilise your Brunel email account.
Re-enrol
Temporary exclusion means that you are not permitted to come onto campus without the prior
written permission of the Secretary to the Disciplinary Board.
Page 15 of 16
Students who are temporarily excluded CAN sit exams, re-enrol or access their Brunel account.
However, if they a final year students, they will not be allowed to be informed about results/grades,
re-sit questions, or be informed if they have re-sits.
Please note: some students can be temporarily suspended AND excluded at the same time. In such
cases, the above restrictions are combined.
If you breach the terms of your suspension and/or exclusion this will be considered a further
potential breach of the Universities rules of Discipline. Therefore a further Disciplinary Procedure
might be instigated against you.
It is vital that you do not come onto campus without permission from the Secretary to the
Misconduct and Professional Suitability Board, Ms Liz Racz (01895 265472 / liz.racz@brunel.ac.uk)
Agreement shall normally only be given for the purposes of seeking the advice or support services
and/or the UBS, or for the purpose of attending hearings or meetings connected with the
investigation into the allegations against them. You will need to give 24 hours notice of your wish to
enter the campus for any reason.
What advice and help can I expect to receive from the Advice &
Representation Centre?
The ARC can help you in the following ways:






Help you to understand the process
Talk through with you what has gone wrong and how to convey this to your College and the
Misconduct and Professional Suitability Board
Check draft letters and oral statements before you submit them
Talk through realistic outcomes and what you could expect
Support you at the Disciplinary Panel and through the process
Help you decide whether appealing is a realistic option
The Advice and Representation Centre
Union of Brunel Students
Hamilton Centre
Kingston Lane
Uxbridge
Middlesex
UB8 3PH
Call: 01895 269 169
Email: advice@brunel.ac.uk
http://brunelstudents.com/advice
Page 16 of 16