CHAPTER 8
8.1 Introduction
Plagiarism and fabrication
or falsification of result(s)/ document(s) constitute examples of examination
irregularities and are considered as serious offences in the academic world.
Plagiarism involves using the
work of another person and presenting it as ones own, whether published or
unpublished. Any of the following acts constitutes plagiarism:
(i)
submitting the work of another or part of it as ones own, whether
published or unpublished;
(ii) directly reproducing from a
source without proper citation;
(iii) paraphrasing or summarising
anothers work without acknowledging the source;
(iv) using facts, figures,
graphs, charts or information without acknowledging the source;
(v) downloading part(s) of any
document, graphics, artwork or other material from the internet and presenting
it as ones own without acknowledgement;
(vi) any infringement of the
Copyright Act.
8.3 Fabrication or Falsification of
Result(s)/ Document(s)
Any of the following acts
constitutes fabrication or falsification of result(s)/ document(s):
(i) altering, distorting, inventing, or counterfeiting information;
(ii) counterfeiting a record of internship or
practicum experience;
(iii) falsely citing a source of
information;
(iv) altering grade reports or
other academic records;
(v) submitting a fraudulent document for missing a class test or other
academic assignment.
8.4.1 Where
a student is suspected of plagiarism as defined in section 8.2 or fabrication
or falsification of result(s)/ document(s) as defined in section 8.3, the
offence is firstly classified under one of the following three categories:
(i)
a first offence in an assignment (including practicals) where the act
of plagiarism and/or fabrication or falsification comprises < 25% of the
work;
(ii)
a second (or subsequent) offence in an assignment
(including practicals) OR an offence in an assignment (including
practicals) where the act of plagiarism and/or fabrication or falsification
comprises ³ 25 % of the work;
(iii)
an offence in a project/ dissertation/ mini-project.
8.4.2 For a first offence in an assignment (including practicals) where the act
of plagiarism and/or fabrication or falsification comprises < 25% of the
work, the matter is considered at the level of the respective Faculty/ Centre/
Partner Institution.
8.4.2.1
The student is invited to give an explanation to the assessor/
lecturer.
8.4.2.2
If the student admits the offence, the assessor/ lecturer may:
(i)
give a written warning to the student;
(ii)
reduce the mark of the student in the assignment;
(iii)
set the mark of the assignment to zero; or
(iv)
give a verbal warning and a new assignment to the student.
A note of the offence should
be sent to the Faculty/Centre Examination Section/Administrative Officer through
the Dean/ Director, Head of Department and Programme Coordinator, and signed by
both the student and assessor/ lecturer.
8.4.2.3
If
the student denies the act and the assessor/ lecturer is convinced with the
explanation given, the case is closed.
8.4.2.4 However,
if the student denies the act and the assessor/ lecturer is not convinced of
the explanation, the matter is referred to the Head of Department.
8.4.2.5
The
Head of Department calls a meeting, for explanation, with the student, the
assessor/ lecturer involved, Programme Coordinator and an academic outside the
Department within the same Faculty/ Centre.
8.4.2.6 If
the student admits the offence during the meeting, one of the penalties as
listed in section 8.4.2.2 above is given to the student and a note of the
offence is sent to the Faculty/Centre Examination
Section/Administrative Officer through the Dean/ Director, Head of Department
and Programme Coordinator, and signed by both the student and the assessor/
lecturer.
8.4.2.7
If
again the student denies the act and members at the meeting are still not
convinced, the assessor/lecturer/supervisor fills in the Supervisors/Assessors Report
which is submitted to the Dean/Director who subsequently refers the case and
the report to the Discipline Committee (Examination & Plagiarism).
8.4.2.8
The
Discipline Committee (Examination & Plagiarism) considers the case as per University
Regulations and submits its recommendations with respect to penalty/ies to be
applied, if any, to Senate for approval. (refer
to Section 4.2.3.1.2 and 4.2.3.1.3)
8.4.3
For a second (or subsequent)
offence in an assignment (including practicals) OR an offence in an
assignment (including practicals) where the act of plagiarism and/or
fabrication or falsification comprises ³ 25 % of the work OR
an offence in a project/ dissertation/ mini-project, the following procedure
should be followed:
8.4.3.1
The
assessor/lecturer/supervisor fills in the Supervisors/Assessors Report
and the case, together with the report, is referred to the Dean/Director
through the Head of
Department and the Programme Coordinator.
8.4.3.2
The Dean/ Director thereafter submits the case and the Supervisors/Assessors Report to the Discipline Committee, (Examination & Plagiarism) considers
the case as per University Regulations and submits its recommendations with
respect to penalty/ies to be applied, if any, to Senate for approval. (refer to Section 4.2.3.1.2 and 4.2.3.1.3)
8.4.3.3.1 The Discipline Committee
(Examination & Plagiarism) shall make its own assessment of the gravity of
the offence and will accordingly recommend one
penalty or more from the following list of penalties, for Senates
approval. When determining the penalty to be imposed, account shall be taken of
the consequences which the penalty will have for the academic progress of the
student concerned.
8.4.3.3.2 Any
student found guilty of Breach of Examination Regulations/Plagiarism and
Fabrication or Falsification of
Result(s)/Document(s) will be given a formal
reprimand and warning about future
behaviour.
8.4.3.3.3(a)List of Penalties
The following
fines will be applicable:
Ψ 1st offence : Rs5,000/-
Ψ 2nd offence : Rs10,000/-
Ψ
3rd
offence : either suspension from the University
or expulsion from the University as per penalties under Section 5.12
[3(A) (iv) (v)] of the Regulations.
8.4.3.3.3(b)
(i) Board of Examiners be requested
to reduce the marks awarded for the module in which breach occurred by an
amount to be determined by it.
(ii) Passmark
to be awarded for the module in which breach occurred.
(iii) Award
mark of zero for module in which breach occurred and retake (or resit, where this is allowed in a
Programme) of module for passmark
only.
(iv) Award mark of zero for module in which
breach occurred and retake (or resit,
where this is allowed in a Programme) of module for passmark only and passmark to be also awarded
for:
§ all passed modules registered for the examination session
where breach occurred
§ failed/incomplete modules (for which Grade N have been assigned) which will be retaken as and when next offered.
If CPA < 40 by applying above whereby student has to
repeat the year, then student will be awarded passmark in module in which
breach occurred in the academic year when he/she is repeating the year and take
all other modules afresh.
(v) Suspension from the University for a fixed
period, up to a maximum of twelve months.
A student who is so suspended will be prohibited from entering University
premises and from participating in any University activities.
(vi) Expulsion from the University, which means
that the students registration will be terminated and s/he shall lose all
rights and privileges of studentship. The student shall not be admitted on the same programme until after a period of
two years upon termination of registration.
8.4.3.3.4
Any student found guilty of a
breach of examination regulations shall not
be eligible for any prize or
medal or scholarship, throughout his/her
stay at UoM as a registered student.
8.4.3.3.5
In
addition to the above penalties, for all in-service or commissioned programmes
run by the University or any Partner Institutions, information on any student
found guilty of a breach of examination regulations, will be communicated to
the relevant sponsoring department/
institution/organisation.
8.4.4 When a student would be suspected of fabrication or
falsification of result(s)/document(s) as defined in Section 8.3 of the
Regulations, the assessor/lecturer who identified the alleged offence had the
responsibility to immediately place the tampered document/incriminating
evidence in an envelope which he should seal with his/her signature and date on
same. The sealed envelope would then be submitted to the Dean of Faculty.
The Dean of Faculty would hand over the sealed
envelope, with his/her signature and the date of receipt on same, along with
the note of offence (provided under Section 8.4.2.2) to the Administrative
Officer, responsible for examinations at the Faculty, who would record the date
and time of submission.
The Administrative Officer thereafter would initiate
action as per Section 8.4.2.3 of the UoM Regulations.
The class tests scripts would be returned directly to
students by the examiners and not through a third party.
8.5
Plagiarism
and Fabrication or Falsification Form
Each registered student of the University of Mauritius
has to sign a plagiarism and fabrication or falsification form within two weeks
after the beginning of lectures. The words as written on the form are as follows:
I have read the University of
Mauritius Handbook (General Information to Students 20
/20
) and I have
understood the section(s) on Plagiarism and Fabrication or Falsification of
Result(s)/ Document(s). Notwithstanding the supervision provided to me by the
University of Mauritius, I warrant that any alleged act(s) of plagiarism and/or
fabrication or falsification of result(s)/ document(s) during my stay as a
registered student of the University of Mauritius is entirely my own
responsibility and the University of Mauritius and/or its employees shall under
no circumstances whatsoever be under any liability of any kind in respect of
the aforesaid act(s) of plagiarism and/or fabrication or falsification of
result(s)/ document(s).
8.6
Avoiding Plagiarism (Note to Students)
Attention of students is
drawn to the fact that plagiarism is considered as a serious offence in the
academic world and that it may cost the student a reduction in his/her class
award or in some cases even expulsion from the University.
Coursework, dissertations,
projects and essays submitted for assessment must be the students own work,
unless in the case of group projects/ assignments where a joint effort is
expected and is indicated as such.
Therefore students should
always:
(i)
state clearly and in the appropriate form where they found the material
on which they have
based their work;
(ii)
acknowledge the people whose concepts, experiments, or results they
have extracted, developed or summarised even if these ideas
have been put in their own words; and
(iii)
avoid excessive copying of paragraphs by another author, even when the
source is acknowledged.
PLAGIARISM AND FABRICATION OR
FALSIFICATION FORM
|
I have read the University of
Mauritius Handbook (General Information to Students (20
/20...) and I have
understood the section(s) on Plagiarism and Fabrication or Falsification of
Result(s)/ Document(s). I agree to be bound by the above. Notwithstanding the supervision
provided to me by the University of Mauritius, I warrant that any alleged
act(s) of plagiarism and/or fabrication or falsification of result(s)/
document(s) during my stay as a registered student of the University of
Mauritius is entirely my own responsibility and the University of Mauritius
and/or its employees shall under no circumstances whatsoever be under any
liability of any kind in respect of the aforesaid act(s) of plagiarism and/or
fabrication or falsification of result(s)/ document(s). Name:
Programme
of Studies:
Year/Level:
. Faculty/Centre:
. Signature:
Date:
. To be
returned duly signed to the Faculty/Centre AAs Office within two weeks
after beginning of the lectures. |