What is academic misconduct?

As an academic institution, St Mary’s takes matters of Academic Misconduct seriously. This includes plagiarism, collusion and exam offences. We have outlined the process below as well as our suggestions for what you can do if you are accused of Academic Misconduct.

Work at St Mary’s is checked via the Turnitin software, which is a similarity checking software. If a significant amount if your work displays as being similar to other sources, such as online sources or previous essay submissions, this will be flagged by the software and the department will look at your work. This includes the use of generative AI.

In instances of collusion or exam offences, the department could be made aware of the offence from a variety of people including tutors, course professors or exam invigilators.

After a concern has been raised, the department will notify you of how they are viewing the concern. They can decide to look at the issue as a matter of Poor Academic Practice or Academic Misconduct. The department will contact you via email explaining their concern and allegation. Remember, this is just an allegation not a final decision! 

An important thing to be aware of is that accidental plagiarism is still plagiarism. The school will look solely at the words on the page when making a decision. This is also the case when looking at external factors (such as illness), these will not be accepted as mitigation for a potential issue.

Poor Academic Practice

Poor academic practice is for lower level concerns and your experience, level of study and proportion of work that is affected will be taken into account by the department when making this decision.

If you have been suspected of Poor Academic Practice, you will be asked to attend a meeting with the marker and Academic Integrity Lead from your department. This meeting is designed to act as a training session where the problems with your work will be explained and you can discuss how to avoid future issues.

You will also receive a mark penalty on your work where your mark will be reduced in line with the amount of material that is deemed to be problematic.

You are able to contest this decision if you disagree, this will then go to an Academic Misconduct Panel (see below).

Academic Misconduct

If the Department views the issue as more serious, they will look at this as a matter of Academic Misconduct. This will then be split into a Low, Medium or High level offence in line with the seriousness of the issue (for example poor referencing would be more likely to be a Low level offence, whereas paying someone to write your work would be a High level offence)

An Academic Misconduct Panel will then be convened, in which you will be asked to attend. At this Panel, you will be presented with the allegations and given an opportunity to respond. After the Panel, you will be notified of the outcome. If it is found likely that Academic Misconduct has occurred, the outcomes are as follows:

• Low Level
  • First or second offence
    • Mark of zero and resit capped at pass mark
  • Third offence
    • Termination of course
• Medium Level
  • First offence
    • Mark of zero and resit capped at pass mark
  • Second offence
    • Termination of course
• High Level
  • Termination of course

You do have the right to appeal any decision via the Academic Appeals Procedure.

What can you do?

There are a few ways that you can prepare for both the allegation email/meeting or Academic Misconduct Panel. You will usually be asked what you understand about plagiarism or academic integrity as well as being asked how you usually take notes and reference. You may also be asked about the content of the work to ensure that you have an understanding of it. It would be a good idea to familiarise yourself with your work to make sure you can answer these questions, it might be a while since you last looked at the work!

If at any stage you would like some support, please do reach out to our advisers in the Advice Team.

What can we do?

Our advisers can attend departmental or panel meeting with you as a silent attendee. We can also provide you advice and guidance on the process itself along with answering any questions you may have about the procedure.

Contact us

If you have been unable to find an answer to your solution or would like to speak to our Advice Team, you can contact us by emailing Advice.smsu@stmarys.ac.uk.

We provide free, independent and confidential advice to all St Mary’s students on academic and housing matters. We can provide advice and support via email, telephone or Teams/Zoom appointments.
 

Results Day can provoke very mixed reactions! It can either be a cause for joy and celebration or an unpleasant surprise. If you feel as though the grade received is not indicative of your work, you may want to consider submitting an appeal. We have outlined the process for you below – it is a long read so if you feel as though you would like to speak to someone about this, please do let us know!

Remember, you can only appeal your final grades, not your provisional results.

What can you do?

There are two grounds on which you can appeal: 
1.    Procedural Error 
2.    New Information about Exceptional Circumstances (ECs) 

You can appeal under either (or both) and you do have a deadline to submit your completed form, along with any relevant evidence. The deadline depends on the exam period, but it is 10 working days following the release of your results. 

Appeals forms can be found here and should be emailed to academicappeals@stmarys.ac.uk along with any relevant evidence. Our advisers can look over a copy of your form before you submit it – just be mindful of the deadline!

If your appeal is unsuccessful, you will have the option of entering stage 2 of the appeals process and you’ll have a further 10 working days in which to submit it (starting from the day you receive the outcome to your first appeal). 

You can read more about the academic appeals process, including finding a copy of the regulations, guidance and form, by clicking here. 

 

Ground 1: Administrative Error 

 
The first ground under which you can appeal (under stage 1) is a ‘procedural error.’ 

The University describes this as an instance where “There is clear evidence of a significant administrative error on the part of the University or in the conduct of the assessment/examination and that this accounted for your performance.”

This can encompass anything from an administrative mistake to a wider procedural irregularity. This basically means that something happened after you submitted your assessment that shouldn’t have happened. It might be that your classification was incorrectly calculated because some completed modules were omitted, for example, or perhaps you had a successful EC claim, but the Exam Board didn’t consider it. Or it could be any other error which occurred at the School level after you clicked ‘submit’. 

Ground 2: New Information about Exceptional Circumstances (ECs) 

ECs are as circumstances which ““Extenuating circumstances are defined as serious unforeseen, unpreventable circumstances that significantly disrupt a student’s ability to undertake assessment.”

If you feel you have valid ECs, you would now need to raise it via an appeal. However, you would need to: 
•    Explain and evidence the ECs that affected the assessment in question 
•    Provide a good reason (with evidence) for not submitting an EC application at the time 

It is important to note that St Mary's operates a “Fit to Sit” policy. In effect this means that once you enter an exam room, commence an online assessment or submit a piece of coursework, you are deeming yourself fit enough to undertake the assessment in question.  

The reason it is necessary to highlight this is because the School would expect students who were not fit enough to take their assessments to have either deferred them or to have sought an extension.

Evidence

The appeals with the best chance of success are those which not only meet the regulation criteria, but also include relevant evidence. All evidence should come from a relevant source, for example a doctor if your appeal relates to ECs, and should be in English. Statements from family or friends typically will not be accepted.

It would be useful if your evidence contains the following:
•    A description of your circumstances
•    How they impacted your assessment(s)
•    Confirmation that your circumstances happened around the time of your assessment

Outcomes

You should receive a response from the Registry Team within 10 working days of your appeal submission, although this may be slightly longer during busy periods. The outcome of your appeal depends on the ground which you have appealed under. 

If you are appealing based on an administrative error, it is possible to have a degree award or reclassification granted if your marks or grades have been incorrectly recorded.
If you are appealing based on ECs, the Exam Board can consider your ECs. It is important to note that this will not change your marks, but can give you an opportunity to have an uncapped resit of the assessment.
 

What you can’t appeal 

You cannot appeal just because you disagree with your results. One of the most common reasons for appeals being rejected is because they are deemed to be questioning “academic judgement.” 

The Office of the Independent Adjudicator for Higher Education (OIA), a body which performs an ombudsman-like function for the HE sector (and to whom you can complain if you remain dissatisfied after progressing through both appeal stages) describes academic judgement as “a judgment that is made about a matter where only the opinion of an academic expert is sufficient.” 

What can we do?

Our advisers are more than happy to look over any forms before you submit them or provide you guidance on the process if there is anything you do not understand or would like clarity on. We cannot however write or submit your appeal for you.

Contact us

If you have been unable to find an answer to your solution or would like to speak to our Advice Team, you can contact us by emailing Advice.smsu@stmarys.ac.uk.

We provide free, independent and confidential advice to all St Mary’s students on academic and housing matters. We can provide advice and support via email, telephone or Teams/Zoom appointments.

 

What is a Complaint?

Hopefully things go well for you at University, but there may be times when you are unhappy with an aspect of your time at St Mary’s. We would always encourage you to raise concerns that you have. The complaints process covers anything that you consider to have dissatisfied you about the action or lack of action by a University service or the standard of service you received. Issues of bullying or harassment by other students also fall under the scope of the Complaints procedure.

You can only raise a complaint on your own behalf or as part of a group, and it’s important to note that anonymous complaints won’t be accepted.

If you have an issue about student progress, assessment or awards, this is a matter for the Academic Appeals procedure (see above).

Early Resolution

It is always recommended that you raise your concerns locally first, before progressing to a formal complaint, by speaking to a relevant staff member such as your Personal Tutor, Course Lead, Resident Mentor or Head of Department.

Formal Complaints Procedure

If you are still unhappy with the situation after attempting early resolution, or it is not appropriate in your situation, you can submit a formal complaint. There are 3 stages to this process, which should be followed in order.

Stage 1

The first step is to submit your complaints to a relevant member of staff (see below) via email and to copy in complaints@stmarys.ac.uk. We would suggest including a) what the situation is, b) any relevant documentation or evidence that can support your situation (emails etc) and c) what you would like to happen

You should contact one of the following members of staff depending on nature of your complaint:

• Programme/Course-related
  • Email complaint to Course Lead (or other relevant academic member)
• Services or Facilities
  • Head of relevant Department (eg Admissions, Estates, Finance etc)
• Another student
  • Course Lead or Personal Tutor
• Partner Institution
  • Partner institution complaints procedure
  • Centre for Teaching Excellence and Student Success can help

Your complaint will then get investigated by an independent investigating officer. You may be asked to provide further information as part of this investigation. A written response will be provided via email containing the outcome of the investigation along with any actions that have been recommended.

Stage 2

If you are unhappy with the outcome of the complaint investigation, you can submit a Stage 2 Complaints Form. After submitting your form, a Complaints Panel will be convened with independent staff members.

You will be invited to attend this and present your case, as well as provide any relevant evidence in advance of the Panel itself. You will receive an outcome within 10 working days of the Panel, which marks the end of the Complaints process.

Stage 3 

You are able to request a review of the Complaints Panel decision but only under specific circumstances:

• There is new information that you were not able to present at the Panel.
• You can show evidence of procedural issues in the Panel process.
• You can show evidence of bias in the Panel process.

You cannot request a review if the initial complaint was upheld or because you simply disagree with the outcome. A new Panel will then be convened, normally without the student, and you will then receive an outcome email notifying you.

What can we do?

If you have any questions about the process, please get in touch with our advisers who will be more than happy to help! We can also review any complaints emails or forms before you send them, as well as attending Panel meetings with you.

Contact us

If you have been unable to find an answer to your solution or would like to speak to our Advice Team, you can contact us by emailing Advice.smsu@stmarys.ac.uk.

We provide free, independent and confidential advice to all St Mary’s students on academic and housing matters. We can provide advice and support via email, telephone or Teams/Zoom appointments.

The University uses the Student Disciplinary Procedure to address unacceptable behaviour or conduct of a current student. A disciplinary will generally be related to conduct, such as the Anti-Bullying and Anti-Harassment Policy, Sexual Harassment and Sexual Violence Policy or the School’s Conditions of Registration among others, and can be initiated by any member of staff or student who has concerns that the behaviour of a student is causing disruption to the University or wider community. Students are also responsible for the actions of any visitors they invite onto campus.

Examples of breaches of discipline: 

• Damage to University property
• Behaviour that may be offensive or cause a nuisance to local residents, students, families and visitors 
• Misleading the University 
• Discriminatory acts by conduct, spoken or written language 
• Acts of sexual harrassment or sexual violence 
• Acts of homophobic/sexist/misogynist behaviour 
• Possession, dealing or use of illegal drugs on University premises 

Please note: this is separate to the Academic Misconduct process (i.e. plagiarism).

Next steps

If an allegation has been made, there are a number of potential next steps based on the severity of the offence.

Depending on the severity of the allegation, the school can take precautionary measures such as excluding a student from their studies or from particular areas of campus, while the investigation is underway. This is not designed to be a penalty and does not imply guilt.

The University will then decide if the issue is a potential minor, medium or major breach based on the nature of the concern.

Misdemeanours (minor)

An Authorised University Officer (AUO) will be appointed to investigate the allegation. A sanction will be decided, and you will be emailed with the outcome. This could include a written warning, fine or payment for damages as an example.

Misconduct (medium)

An Authorised University Officer (AUO) will be appointed to investigate the allegation. Investigation can decide to either impose a sanction or to convene a panel
If a Panel is convened, it will be led by a new, independent AUO who had no prior involvement with you or the allegation.

• The allegations will presented to you, and you would be given the opportunity to respond and state your case. 
• Following the panel, a sanction will be decided and student emailed with outcome. 

This could include a ban from an area of campus, termination of your Halls contract, a ban on attending graduation, letter of apology, fine as an example.

Gross misconduct (major)

An Authorised University Officer (AUO) will be appointed to investigate the allegation. Investigation can decide to either impose a sanction or to convene a panel
If a Panel is convened, it will be led by a new, independent AUO who had no prior involvement with you or the allegation.

• The allegations will presented to you, and you would be given the opportunity to respond and state your case. 

• Following the panel, a sanction will be decided and student emailed with outcome. 

This could include a ban from an area of campus, termination of your Halls contract, termination of your course, suitable form of community service or withholding of your degree certificate.

Right to appeal

You are able to appeal the outcome of any disciplinary outcome, if your situation meets one of the following criteria:
1.    There was a procedural irregularity in the process.
2.    There is new evidence about the situation, which you were unable to show before for good reason.
3.    The penalty imposed was disproportionate based on the evidence.

What can we do?

If you have any issues with the process or are unsure how to proceed, our advisers are more than happy to discuss this with you. We can also look over any forms before you submit them, as well as attending Panel meetings with you.

Contact us

If you have been unable to find an answer to your solution or would like to speak to our Advice Team, you can contact us by emailing Advice.smsu@stmarys.ac.uk.

We provide free, independent and confidential advice to all St Mary’s students on academic and housing matters. We can provide advice and support via email, telephone or Teams/Zoom appointments.

What are Extenuating Circumstances?

If you feel as though your performance in an assessment has been negatively impact by factors outside of your control (i.e. sudden and severe health concern, bereavement or being the victim of a crime), you should consider the Exceptional Circumstances (EC) procedure. This allows you to make the Exam Board aware of your situation and take it into account when it comes to your assessment. 

A key thing to be aware of is that the school operates a “fit to sit” policy, which means that by taking an assessment, you are declaring yourself fit and able to do so. This is the single main reason why most EC applications are rejected. If you are aware of the issues before your exam or assessment deadline, we would suggest reaching out for support so that you can understand your options. 

How to apply

To apply for your EC claim, you should follow these steps:

•    Log into your student portal.
•    Select the ‘my details’ tab.
•    In the ‘manage my course’ select the ‘View, Add or Amend Extenuating Circumstances Request’.

From there, you can complete an online form where you can select the assessments you are claiming for, an explanation of your circumstances and the ability to upload your evidence. You will receive an automated email confirmed that you have submitted your claim – if you have not received this, it is possible that your claim has not been properly submitted.

Types of EC

There are two different types of EC – Programme Level and University Level. You can select which of these you are applying for in your form.

Programme Level ECs are requests for extension of your submission deadline. These are for shorter term situations, where you anticipate a delay of no more than 10 working days from the coursework deadline.

University Level ECs are for longer term situations which impact examination periods or coursework deadlines of longer than 10 working days.

Evidence

EC claims with the best chance of success are those which not only meet the regulation criteria, but also include relevant evidence. All evidence should come from a relevant source, for example a doctor if your claim is about a health issue, and should be in English. Statements from family or friends typically will not be accepted.
It would be useful if your evidence contains the following:
•    A description of your circumstances
•    How they impacted your assessment(s)
•    Confirmation that your circumstances happened around the time of your assessment

Programme Level Outcomes

You will usually find out in an email from your Programme team within 5 working days of your application if you claim has been accepted. If it has been accepted, you will normally be given a deadline extension of up to 10 days for your coursework assignment.

University Level Outcomes

University Level EC claims are considered at specific Boards throughout the academic year. We would suggest submitting your claim as soon as possible, but it must be submitted before the relevant board. For the 2023/24 academic year, the Board dates are as follows:

•    Postgraduate Board: 31st October 2023
•    Undergraduate Semester One Board: 13th February 2024
•    Postgraduate Board: 12th March 2024
•    Undergraduate Semester Two Board: 11th June 2024
•    Postgraduate and Undergraduate Resit Board: 23rd July 2024
•    Accelerated Programmes Board: 5th August 2024 

You will be notified as soon as possible following the board in which your claim was considered has happened. If you claim is accepted, you will be given the chance to resit the exam or assessment without a cap or penalty on your mark. It is important to note that your individual mark will not be changed as a result of ECs.

Right to Appeal

If you disagree with the decision about your EC, you can appeal this via the Academic Appeal procedure.

What can we do?

Our advisers can provide you guidance on the process and procedure itself as well as looking over the form itself before you submit it.

Contact us

If you have been unable to find an answer to your solution or would like to speak to our Advice Team, you can contact us by emailing Advice.smsu@stmarys.ac.uk.

We provide free, independent and confidential advice to all St Mary’s students on academic and housing matters. We can provide advice and support via email, telephone or Teams appointments.

The Fitness to Practise procedure may be initiated if there is a concern that the behaviour or health of a student indicates that they present a real or potential risk to the public. This typically applies to students on professional registration courses, such as teaching or nursing.

This will be initiated either by a staff member setting out their concern in writing, or in a referral from the Disciplinary, Academic Misconduct, Admissions or DBS Check procedures.

Some common grounds for the initiation of the procedure include:
o    Substance abuse
o    Inappropriate behaviour on placement or towards staff/other students
o    Serious criminal offence
o    Failing to declare relevant physical/mental health issues
o    Falsification of documents
o    Breach of confidentiality
o    Academic misconduct
o    Persistent absence from teaching or placement

Procedure

There are two different stages to the process, starting with the Initial Investigation. An emergency suspension from studies/placement may be put in place pending outcome of the investigation. This is not a penalty, or an admission of guilt, but a precautionary measure.

Initial Investigation

This will commence no later than 10 days after initial concern and takes the form of a meeting with Head of School where theUniversity will explain the nature of the concerns, and why they have been raised, and you will be given an opportunity to respond. You will also be provided evidence of concern in advance of the meeting.

After this meeting, an outcome will be decided, including:

• No further action
• Written action plan, including potential follow up meetings or monitoring
• Immediate suspension
• Formal medical assessment
• Course transfer
• Referral to Fitness to Practise Panel

 
Panel Hearing
 

This is Stage 2 of Procedure and will take place no more than 15 days after the Stage 1 meeting (if conducted). The Panel is comprised of variety of University staff for various departments and an SU Officer. No member of the Panel can have had prior involvement with you, either in the course of the investigation or in any teaching/supervision that you have had. You are able to object to a member of the Panel, but only on the basis of bias.

You will have at least 10 working days notice of the Hearing date and will be provided copies of all relevant documentation and given the names of the Panel members. You will also have an opportunity to provide a written statement or further evidence that may support your case no later than 4 days before the Hearing. You are able to bring someone to the Panel to accompany you, such as a member of the SU or a friend/fellow student. You will not normally be permitted to bring legal representation to the Panel.

Panel can be convened in your absence, but we would always recommend that you attend so that you can explain the situation from your perspective. The case and concerns will be summarised and you will be given the opportunity to reply. The Panel members will ask you questions to clarify any queries they have. After the panel, a formal outcome will be sent to you within 10 working days.

 

Possible panel outcomes
 

• No further action
• Continue on the course with additional supervision and reporting
• Disciplinary sanctions
• Suspension for specific time
• Re-sit an assessment(s)
• Recommend transfer to alternative route/programme
• Referred to Fitness to Study
• Termination of opportunity for professional qualification
• Termination of studies

Right to appeal

You are able to appeal the outcome of the Fitness to Practise Panel, if your situation meets one of the following criteria:
1.    There was a procedural irregularity in the process.
2.    There is new evidence about the situation, which you were unable to show before for good reason.
3.    The sanction imposed was disproportionate based on the evidence.

What can we do?

If you have any issues with the process or are unsure how to proceed, our advisers are more than happy to discuss this with you. We can also look over any forms before you submit them, as well as attending Panel meetings with you.

Contact us

If you have been unable to find an answer to your solution or would like to speak to our Advice Team, you can contact us by emailing Advice.smsu@stmarys.ac.uk.

We provide free, independent and confidential advice to all St Mary’s students on academic and housing matters. We can provide advice and support via email, telephone or Teams/Zoom appointments.

 

The University is aware of the impact that studying can have on a student and occasionally, there may be a concern that studying is becoming detrimental towards the wellbeing and health of a student. It may be the case that interrupting studies or finding alternate methods to study are more beneficial for you. The Fitness to Study policy sets out guidance for these situations. This can either be triggered if the students themselves has raised an issue which causes concerns or a staff member notices concerns through the students behaviour or academic performance. At any point, the school can decide to temporarily suspend a student if they believe the student poses a serious risk to their own health or that of other students or staff.

The important thing to remember is that this procedure is not a punishment in any way, it is a way for St Mary’s to ensure that students are supported and their wellbeing looked after.

Procedure

There are two different stages to the process, depending on the nature of your situation.

Level 1 (informal/low-level concerns)

This will be dealt with by you Personal Tutor, Course Lead, Health & Safety or Student Services. You will be made aware of the concerns and given an opportunity to respond. You may be asked to attend a meeting, but this is informal and is designed to encourage you to engage with the relevant support service. There may also be a follow up meeting to check in with you at a later date to see how you are progressing.

 

Level 2 (serious/continuing/significant/refusal to engage with level 1)

A case conference will be convened which usually contains the Head of Registry, your Course/Wellbeing Lead and an other relevant members of staff. You should be given copies of any documents or evidence to be considered in advance of the meeting, and given a chance to submit documents. In the meeting, you will be presented with the concerns and are able to respond to any questions. You are able to bring someone to the Panel to accompany you, such as a member of the SU or a friend/fellow student. You will not normally be permitted to bring legal representation to the Panel.

There are a number of possible outcomes, including:

• Suspension
• Voluntary suspension
• Support plan
• Change to part-time or distance learning
• No further action

Right to appeal

You are able to appeal the outcome of any decision if your situation meets one of the following criteria:
1.    There was a procedural irregularity in the process.
2.    There is new evidence about the situation, which you were unable to show before for good reason.
3.    The penalty imposed was disproportionate based on the evidence.

What can we do?

If you have any issues with the process or are unsure how to proceed, our advisers are more than happy to discuss this with you. We can also look over any forms before you submit them, as well as attending Panel meetings with you.

Contact us

If you have been unable to find an answer to your solution or would like to speak to our Advice Team, you can contact us by emailing Advice.smsu@stmarys.ac.uk.

We provide free, independent and confidential advice to all St Mary’s students on academic and housing matters. We can provide advice and support via email, telephone or Teams /Zoom appointments.