Help CentreHow will I be told that there is an Academic Misconduct allegation?
When staff suspect academic misconduct in an assessment, students are often told the university are considering procedures. You may be told verbally in person, via telephone or in an email. Alternatively, you may just receive an invite to a Stage 1 meeting without any prior notice.
Step 1 - Being notified of an allegation and your Stage 1 meeting
For all allegations of academic misconduct, you should be invited to a Stage 1 Informal meeting. This should be done via email to your student email account.
If the date and time is not suitable, ask to see if this can be arranged to a more suitable time. Meetings are usually held through MS Teams but these can be in-person on campus.
You might receive an email (especially from Engineering and Environment Faculty) with 3 options before attending a Stage 1 meeting.
- Admit to the allegation without going to a Stage 1 meeting*
- Admit to the allegation but still attend a Stage 1 meeting*
- Deny the allegation and attend a Stage 1 meeting.
* We would only advise you select options 1 or 2, if you are happy to admit to committing academic misconduct. If you are unsure why the allegation has been made, please select option 3
Step 2 - Attending a Stage 1 meeting
You should be told:
- Why you are there
- Type of academic misconduct
- Where the concerns are in the assessment, and why there are concerns
Your work should be presented to you, with highlighted sections of where the academic misconduct is suspected. This is often a Turnitin report or could be other sources. There should be another staff member in attendance, and this is usually the Programme Leader or their nominee.
This is then your opportunity to:
- Respond to the allegation
- Respond to any questions
- Ask any questions you have
- Present evidence, include draft versions of your work
- Let the University know if you had any mitigating circumstances in your life at the time
If you do not respond to the invitation to attend a Stage 1 Academic Misconduct meeting, the University can take this to a Stage 2 panel.
Step 3a: At the end of a Stage 1 Meeting
There are two possibilities...
The University may tell you there are no further concerns with academic misconduct, and they are satisfied all work in your assessment is your own. Your case is closed.
Or...
The University still believe there is academic misconduct, and they ask if you want to admit or deny the allegation (see step 3b and 3c)
If the university decide there is no academic misconduct and they close your case, you do not sign the Academic Misconduct Report Form. You do not need to sign this form just because you have attended.
Step 3b: At the end of a Stage 1 Meeting
If you would like to admit to the allegation, you will be required to sign an Academic Misconduct Report Form. Following this you should receive an outcome in writing.
You should never admit to an allegation or sign the form unless you want to admit to this. If you are not sure and would like extra time to think about it, please ask for time to enable you to reflect.
Step 3c: At the end of a Stage 1 Meeting
If the University still believe you have committed academic misconduct for your assessment and you continue to deny the allegation, they will refer your case to a Stage 2 Academic Misconduct Panel. There are no current timescales of when a Stage 2 hearing must be arranged and these can take several weeks or months.
Step 4: Stage 2 Academic Misconduct panel
All Stage 2 Academic Misconduct panel are conducted by a neutral panel and with staff members who were not previously involved in your Stage 1 meeting. A Stage 2 panel is an opportunity for the University to present their case and for a student to present their case too. Questions are asked to both the University and the student. A decision is made from all the information provided at the panel.
If a student does not respond to the invitation to attend the Stage 2 Formal Academic Misconduct meeting, a hearing can continue in the students’ absence.
The staff member bringing the allegation to the hearing is the staff member from your Stage 1. They will attend and present the evidence. They are not part of the panel and will not be part of the decision making on your case. Whilst the panel are making their decision you should both be asked to leave the room or MS Teams call.
What kind of penalty might I receive?
Staff must follow table 1 from the Academic Misconduct Policy. Penalties can include, but are not limited to, referrals (capped resit) and written warnings. Please see full details in this table, including penalties for subsequent instances.
This penality table is used throughout the Academic Misconduct process, the same penality is applied if a student admits to committing academic misconduct at Stage 1 or a finding is made against them at Stage 2. The penality is not more severe just because your case was escalated to Stage 2.
Is there anyone who can help me with this?
YES! The Student Union's Advice Service is a free, independent and confidential service. You can get in touch with them on su.advice@northumbria.ac.uk
A student has the right to appeal the decision made against them at a Stage 2 Academic Misconduct Formal hearing. All appeals would need to be submitted within ten working days of receiving the outcome in writing.
The Advice Team are here to help you with your case. For personalised advice or to ask further questions please email su.advice@northumbria.ac.uk