Plagiarism

Defining plagiarism

Plagiarism is a form of cheating and is a serious academic offence. It arises where work submitted by a student is not their own, but has been taken from another source. The original material is then hidden from the marker, either by not referencing it properly, by paraphrasing it or by not mentioning it at all.

The most common forms of plagiarism are:

Copying material/ideas/arguments from any source and presenting them as your own (for example, textbook, journal, sector/industry report, newspaper, podcast, video, website or another source);
Submitting text/material that has been generated by a third party (often through a commercial transaction) as your own;
Submitting assessments that include inappropriately generated content by artificial intelligence. This may include using AI to generate references which may not exist or to paraphrase text obtained from other sources without appropriate attribution. This practice can misrepresent the originality of student's work

Copying the work of another student (past or present), either from UCB or another institution;
Copying course material or lecture notes without appropriate referencing;
Copying text from one of your own assessments into another (auto-plagiarism) - you can only obtain marks ONCE for any text that you have generated for an assignment. Instead, reword the text appropriately using your original research notes.
Submitting assessments that were originally written in a non-English language and then translated into English. This practice can obscure the student's actual language proficiency and may distort the intended meaning of their work.
Submitting assessments that include references that the student has not actually read, or has simply read the abstracts. This misrepresents the depth of research that a student has undertaken for the assignment.
Submitting assignments that contain fabricated references or falsified data, or intentionally misleading information

It is important to realise that plagiarism may occur in a number of other forms, as well as in conventional written work. Another student may be involved, or the plagiarism may arise from the misuse of sources outside of University College Birmingham.

The key is proper attribution of source material.

Plagiarism is a serious matter for University College Birmingham. If not dealt with, it will ultimately devalue all UCB’s degrees to the detriment of both students and University College Birmingham. It also introduces a fundamental and inevitable distortion when the work of a student cohort is being assessed.

Student responsibilities

As a student at University College Birmingham, you are expected to submit work that demonstrates the following criteria:

Your understanding, review and conclusions of the assignment topic based on the quality of your own research.
The use of your own words to articulate the points used within your assignment
Clear and explicit referencing of all sources used within your assignment to support all points made.

By definition, a piece of work that has been plagiarised will never meet the above criteria.

‘Accidental’ Plagiarism

University College Birmingham accepts that students, particularly in view of the severe penalties that may be applied in cases of serious plagiarism, will be anxious to avoid inadvertently submitting plagiarised work. It is, for example, possible to cite a source in a separate reference list and still commit plagiarism by then incorporating a significant amount of unattributed material taken directly or indirectly (through paraphrasing) from that source into the body of the assignment.

Above all, the student body is not a single grouping, and University College Birmingham is aware of the need for a sympathetic approach to plagiarism, particularly in the first year of undergraduate studies, where there is no conscious attempt by the student to deceive. However, penalties may be applied at any time.

The onus is on individual students to ensure that the academic conventions applicable to study at University are understood and acted upon. University College Birmingham will ensure that you have clear guidance on what is expected of you regarding the referencing of source material. If you are worried about committing plagiarism, always seek help and advice from your module lecturer or tutor. Members of staff who are experienced in dealing with questions about proper referencing will be happy to help.

A simple rule to remember: in most cases, avoid copying and pasting text from any source into your assignment. If you use this rule, then you are less likely to commit an academic offence.

There may be some exceptional cases where copying and pasting text into an assessment is acceptable, but ensure all such text/data has been clearly referenced and used appropriately. Here is a list of examples:

Direct quotations - if paraphrasing would alter its meaning, reduce the impact of the statement, or when the quote serves as essential evidence to support a point/argument.
Definitions from a formal source
Statistical data or factual information
Text from a specific policy, legislation or other formal document
Formulae or segments of code

How UCB deals with plagiarism

This is a complex area. In broad terms, these are the various stages:

If a staff member has concerns about the content and/or authenticity of a student's assessment, the matter will be investigated further. UCB uses a range of digital tools to support this process, which can provide valuable insights into the originality of the work. In many cases, the student will be invited to attend a meeting to discuss these concerns, explain aspects of their submission, and respond to questions about the content of their submission, including their use and access to various sources of information. Students should take their research notes, evidence of their ethical use of AI (if relevant) and draft assessment to this meeting to support their case.
UCB applies the 'balance of probability' standard when determining the outcome of an academic integrity investigation. This means that decisions are based on whether it is more likely than not that a breach has occurred, taking into account the evidence and insights gathered during the investigation.

There are three general outcomes:

Poor academic practice
Moderate plagiarism
Serious plagiarism

Poor academic practice - If University College Birmingham determines that an instance of plagiarism was not deliberate and is likely due to the student's unfamiliarity with referencing conventions, the response may focus on providing additional support and guidance rather than formal disciplinary action.

In such cases, typically involving students in the early stages of their course, UCB may issue a warning and provide guidance on appropriate academic and referencing conventions. However, this approach would not apply where it is reasonable to expect that a student should already be familiar with appropriate academic conventions.

Moderate Plagiarism - If University College Birmingham considers that a warning is insufficient, it may recommend one of the following to the Examinations Board:

Require the student to resubmit the work, with the mark capped at the pass level. Please note, the opportunity to resubmit will also depend on the number of credits that a student has passed at a particular level.
Reduce the final mark for the work to an appropriate level, including the award of 0
Reduce the final mark for the entire module involved to an appropriate level, including the award of 0.

Serious Plagiarism - If the investigation determines that a student has deliberately attempted to deceive or committed multiple academic misconduct breaches, the case will be referred to the Plagiarism Panel as part of UCB's Disciplinary Process. Depending upon the severity of the case and after hearing all the evidence, a student may be suspended or required to withdraw from University College Birmingham.

Students are advised to consult the Code of Practice on Plagiarism and Academic Misconduct. This provides detailed and definitive information on how University College Birmingham will deal with plagiarism.

View code of practice

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