Important details you have to know

The University has a formal understanding of “academic integrity” which it defines in the University Calendar. It is important that every student understands the formal definition. In addition there are formal policies and procedures laid down, which are used to govern the standards of behaviour we expect from students undertaking assessments. The policies and procedures determine what should be done in cases where students fall short of the standards. Falling short of the defined standards in any way is considered to be a breach of academic integrity. 

Summary of Policy: You must ensure you avoid

• plagiarism
  • copying or paraphrasing without acknowledgement material attributable to, or the intellectual property of, someone else
• cheating
  • gaining unfair advantage for yourself or another
• falsification
  • fictitious or distorted data, false claims
• re-cycling
  • re-using your own work without declaring you have done so

Range of Penalties

• Your mark for the affected work may be reduced
  • for example, the marker will ignore any plagiarised material
• A mark of zero may be returned
• You may fail the whole module
• You may fail the whole year
• Your degree classification may be reduced
• Your studies may be terminated
• You may be deprived of a degree
  • even after it has been awarded

Detailed Information in Section IV of the University Calendar http://www.calendar.soton.ac.uk/sectionIV/