VIII. Academic Offences
NOTE: Consideration of a request to withdraw from a
course or courses involved in an academic offence will not be given
until the case is resolved.
Academic offences include, but are not limited to, the following:
A. PLAGIARISM
Plagiarism includes:
- quoting verbatim or almost verbatim from any source, regardless of
format, without acknowledgement;
- adopting someone else's line of thought, argument, arrangement, or
supporting evidence (such as, statistics, bibliographies, etc.) without
indicating such dependence;
- submitting someone else's work, in whatever form (essay, film,
workbook, artwork, computer materials, etc.) without
acknowledgement;
- knowingly representing as one's own work any idea of another.
NOTE: In courses which include group work, a penalty
may be imposed on all members of the group unless an act of plagiarism
is identified clearly with an individual student or students.
Procedures
In the case of plagiarism, the instructor
must make every reasonable effort to discuss the case with the student
or group and follow one of two courses of action:
- If the instructor
is satisfied that the plagiarism was the result of a genuine
misunderstanding, the instructor shall complete an academic offence
incident report in a form approved by the Registrar's Office, containing
the student's name and the particulars of the incident, and submit to
the Registrar who shall advise the appropriate Dean, and the Chair of
the student's program or Department where applicable. The Registrar
shall notify the student by registered letter and/or electronic mail of
the regulations governing plagiarism, the possible consequences, the
student's right to appeal, the right to appear before the appropriate
appeals committee (Student Standing and Promotions Committee on the
Fredericton campus and Senate Student Appeals Committee on the Saint
John campus), and the procedures involved. The Registrar shall make
available to the student a copy of the academic offence incident report
and supporting documentation. While a case of plagiarism resulting from
genuine misunderstanding will not be considered a student's first
offence, a second plea of ignorance by the same student in response to a
subsequent allegation of plagiarism will not be accepted; similarly, a
subsequent incident report indicating that the alleged plagiarism is a
result of genuine misunderstanding responding will be treated as an
allegation of deliberate plagiarism. A student responding to the
instructor's allegation must do so in writing within three weeks of the
date of the Registrar's notification. The student is urged to submit to
the appropriate appeals committee a written statement regarding the
case.
In a first incident of plagiarism resulting from genuine
misunderstanding, the instructor may permit the student to submit a
genuine piece of work to be graded in place of the one plagiarized. If
the student does not appeal, the time allowed for submission of work is
three weeks from the date of the Registrar's letter of notification. In
the case of an appeal, where the instructor's allegation is upheld, the
period of time allowed for submission is as determined by the
appropriate appeals committee.
- If, in the view of
the instructor the plagiarism was deliberate, the instructor shall
complete an incident report in a form approved by the Office of the
Registrar, containing the student’s name and the particulars of the
incident, and shall submit to the Registrar who will advise the Dean of
the Faculty concerned and the Chair of the student's program or
department where applicable. The Registrar shall notify the student by
registered letter and/or electronic mail of the regulations governing
plagiarism, the possible consequences, the student’s right to appeal,
the right to appear before the appropriate appeals committee, and the
procedures involved. A student appealing the charge of an academic
offence must do so in writing within three weeks of the date of the
Registrar's letter of notification. On receiving an incident report
alleging an act of deliberate plagiarism, or on receiving an incident
report alleging a second commission of plagiarism by the student which
is determined viewed by the instructor to be as a result of genuine
misunderstanding, the Registrar shall refer the matter for a hearing to
the appropriate appeals committee. A student who wishes to respond to
this allegation is urged to submit to the appeals committee a written
statement regarding the case, within three weeks of the date of the
Registrar’s letter of notification. The Registrar shall inform the
student by registered letter or electronic mail of the referral to the
appeals committee, and the wish of the Committee that the student be
present when the case is heard.
- The appropriate
appeals committee, upon the conclusion of a hearing into the case, or
following the review of the written materials if the student does not
appear, must make one or more of the following findings prior to
proceeding to an assessment of a penalty for deliberate
plagiarism.
i. On hearing a case involving a first incident report alleging that a
student has committed an act of deliberate plagiarism, the appeals
committee must first decide whether an act of plagiarism has occurred.
If the Committee so finds, the Committee must then determine whether the
plagiarism was deliberate, or an act of genuine misunderstanding. If the
former, the appeals committee will proceed to assess penalties in
accordance with this Regulation, if the latter, the appeals committee
will assess no penalty, but will direct the Registrar to note in the
student’s academic file that the student has had one finding of genuine
misunderstanding.
ii. If the case before the appeals committee (i) follows a prior finding
of plagiarism, or (ii) is a second allegation of plagiarism as a result
of genuine misunderstanding, the appeals committee may not make a
further finding of genuine misunderstanding in disposing of the case.
The appeals committee may only make a finding that the alleged act of
plagiarism was deliberate plagiarism or that the alleged act of
plagiarism was not an act of plagiarism.
Penalties for Deliberate Plagiarism
In case of deliberate plagiarism, the penalties are:
First Offence: If the student does not appeal or if,
on appeal, the Committee upholds the instructor's allegation:
- A notation will be placed on the student's transcript of academic
record concerning the academic offence. The length of time the notation
appears on the student's transcript of academic record is to be decided
when the penalty is imposed and will depend on the severity of the
offence.
- The student may be required to submit a satisfactory and genuine
piece of work to replace the one involving plagiarism. If the assignment
is not resubmitted or is unsatisfactory, the student will receive a
grade of F (zero) in the course. NOTE: If this penalty
is assessed, the period of time allowed for the submission of the work
will be determined by the Registrar in consultation with the faculty
member making the charge and, where appropriate, the Committee.
- The student will receive a grade of F (zero) for the piece of work
and, depending on the severity of the offence, may receive a grade of F
for the course.
- Other penalties as outlined in penalties for Other Academic
Offences may be imposed.
Subsequent Offence: In cases where the Committee
considers that the student has plagiarized again:
- The student will receive a grade of F for the course, and a
notation of the academic offence will appear on the student's transcript
of record. The length of time the notation appears on the student's
transcript of academic record is to be decided when the penalty is
imposed.
- Other penalties as outlined in penalties for Other Academic
Offences may be imposed.
B. OTHER ACADEMIC OFFENCES
- Cheating on
examination, tests, assignments or reports, including but not limited
to:
Impersonating a candidate at an examination or test or in connection
with any assignment in a course or availing oneself of the results of
impersonation.
Obtaining, through theft, bribery, collusion, purchase, or other
improper manner,
1. an examination or test paper prior to the date and time for writing
the examination or test;
2. academic
materials belonging to another person, e.g. laboratory reports,
assignments, papers, computer materials, datasets.
- Falsifying or
knowingly submitting false assignments or credentials, records,
transcripts, or other academic documents.
- Submitting a false
health or other certificate.
- Submitting
identical or substantially similar work for one course or program of
study, which has been or is being submitted for another course or
program of study, without the prior express knowledge and approval of
the instructors.
- Interfering with
the right of other students to pursue their studies.
- Knowingly aiding or
abetting any of the above offences.
- Tampering with, or
altering, in any deceptive way, work subsequently presented for a review
of the grade awarded.
Procedures
The instructor and, where applicable, the invigilator or other
appropriate person shall, where practical, discuss the matter with the
student concerned.
The instructor or the instructor's representative, if satisfied that
an academic offence has been committed, shall complete an academic
offence incident report and shall submit it, together with attached
information, to the Registrar. The Registrar shall report it to the
Chair of the Department (where applicable) and the Dean of the Faculty
concerned. Each case will be referred by the Registrar to the
appropriate Committee for review and appropriate action. The Registrar
shall inform the student by registered letter and/or electronic mail of
the referral to the Committee, the student's right to respond, the wish
of the Committee that the student be present when the case is heard, and
the procedures involved. A copy of the academic offence report and
attached information will be provided to the student in a timely manner.
The student is urged to submit to the Committee a written statement
regarding the case. A student responding to the decision, shall do so in
writing within three weeks of the date of the Registrar's letter of
notification.
Penalties
A student who is found guilty of an academic offence will have two
penalties imposed:
- A notation on the
student's transcript of academic record concerning the academic offence.
The length of time the notation appears on the student's transcript of
academic record is to be decided when the penalty is imposed.
- A grade of F (zero)
in an examination, test or course.
One of the following penalties may also be imposed.
- A recommendation to
the President for suspension for a specified period. The recommendation
is to include the length of time the notation is to appear on the
student's transcript of academic record.
- A recommendation to
the President for expulsion from the University. If the student is
expelled, a permanent notation will appear on the student's transcript
of academic record.
C. GENERAL
- Consideration of a
request to withdraw from a course or courses involved in an academic
offence will not be given until the case is resolved.
- Students on the
Fredericton Campus will submit appeals to the Senate Student Standings
and Promotions Committee; on the Saint John Campus, appeals will be
submitted to the Students Appeals Committee.