Academic Breach and Academic Misconduct Rules (Students) Rules: Academic Breach and Academic Misconduct Rules (Students) These rules supports the Academic Integrity Policy
1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8.
Preliminary Definitions Academic Breach and Misconduct Procedures Reporting Investigation Interviews with Students Decisions and Outcomes Appeals
1. PRELIMINARY These Rules relate to student conduct, investigations, penalties and appeals. 2. DEFINITIONS:
1
TERM
DEFINITION
Academic Breach
An act of minor and unintentional Plagiarism committed by an ECC Student in their first Study Period. The ECC Nominee will use the ECC Academic Misconduct Procedures to decide if Academic Breach applies to each case.
Academic Council
ECC academic governance committee that is ultimately responsible for oversight of academic quality assurance through continuous improvement of academic policies and procedures. Academic Council set standards for academic outcomes and monitors academic KPI against external benchmarks (https://www.edithcowancollege.edu.au/documents-and-forms).
Academic Director
Refers to the ECC Academic Director who is responsible for the development and implementation of a quality learning and teaching framework, program development and accreditation, management of both resources and provision of academic services to Pathway students.
Academic English (AE) Courses
ELICOS courses designed as a pathway entry into ECC courses and/or Edith Cowan University for Students who successfully complete the appropriate English entry requirements.
Academic Integrity
Academic integrity involves upholding ethical standards in all aspects of academic work, including learning, teaching and scholarship. Academic Integrity requires a commitment to fundamental values: honesty, trust, fairness, respect, responsibility and courage, even in the face of adversity. These values inform and improve ethical decision-making and behaviour for Students, Staff and administrators (International Centre for Academic Integrity)1 Compliance with these principles enables students and staff to build knowledge, create new ideas, generate original works and enhance scholarship, whilst acknowledging the work of others.
https://academicintegrity.org/fundamental-values/
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Academic Breach and Academic Misconduct Rules (Students) Academic Misconduct
Any conduct by a Student in relation to academic work that is dishonest or unfair, including but not limited to: •
Bribery or Coercion;
•
Cheating in Tests or Examinations;
•
Contract Cheating;
•
Fabrication or Falsification;
•
Failure to meet required Research standards;
•
Plagiarism;
•
Unauthorised Collaboration,
but does not include actions deemed by ECC to be an Academic Breach. Academic Program Coordinator (APC) Assessment Task
Bribery or Coercion
ECC academic Staff member who is responsible for the appointment of academic Staff, together with the development, delivery and continuous improvement of learning and teaching of a Pathway Course. A process or task to determine a Student’s achievement of identified learning outcomes, which may include a range of written and oral methods and practice or demonstration To attempt to bribe or coerce a Staff member or another Student in order to gain academic advantage including but is not limited to: • •
Attempts to coerce, blackmail or intimidate another person; or Offering or accepting bribes (money, incentives, in-kind offers or similar);
in order to obtain Assessment outcomes (marks, grades) Cheating in Tests and Examinations
To engage in dishonest or unfair conduct during an examination by failing to comply with specified requirements, conditions and instructions, including but not limited to: • • •
• •
• • Conflict of Interest
Copying or attempting to copy from another Student; Communicating or attempting to communicate with another Student; Possessing or attempting to use any unauthorised: o printed or written material (for example, study notes or inappropriate reference material); o electronic calculating, information storage or communication device (for example, programmable calculator, mobile phone, smartwatch or any other Wi-Fi enabled device); Sending, receiving or accessing, or attempting to send, receive or access, any source of unauthorised electronic information; Failing to follow instructions in an Examination (for example, continuing to write or perform a task being examined after an Invigilator has announced the end of the Examination); Removing or attempting to remove any question or answer paper or other ECC materials from the Examination room; or Distributing Examination questions or materials such that it would unfairly prejudice other Students.
A situation where one party has the potential for contradictory interest or loyalty. In the event that a Conflict of Interest exists, an independent third party will be appointed to investigate allegations of Academic Misconduct.
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Academic Breach and Academic Misconduct Rules (Students) Continuing Student
A student enrolled in their second or subsequent Study Period at ECC, regardless of any change of Course
Contract Cheating
To employ or use a third party to undertake all or part of an Assessment Task, including but not limited to: •
•
•
Outsourcing, purchasing, exchanging, or selling, or attempting or offer to outsource, purchase, exchange, or sell, any item that can be submitted for an Assessment Task, whether pre-written or specially prepared for another student(s) including through unauthorised or improper use of internet or filesharing sites; Submitting an Assessment Task produced by someone else, including a friend, family member, current or former student, private tutor or academic staff member; or Impersonating another person or allowing someone else to impersonate you, in order to complete an examination or Assessment Task.
Course
A formal program of study necessary to qualify for an Award of Edith Cowan College or a non-award course approved for delivery by TEQSA.
Electronic Record
ECC electronic reporting system used to internally record, manage and report on Academic Integrity offences and penalties applied.
ELICOS Course
English Language Intensive Courses for Overseas Students Course
ELICOS Coordinator
ECC academic staff member who is responsible for the management of academic staff, together with the development, delivery and continuous improvement of learning and teaching of ELICOS Courses.
Examination
An invigilated form of assessment where a Student is required to undertake specific Assessment Tasks within a specified period of time and where the location and access to external assistance is regulated.
Fabrication or Falsification
To make up or lie about documents, data, content, sources, or information about materials submitted for an Assessment Task, including but not limited to: • • •
• •
Failure to meet required Research standards
Fabricating or falsifying Research data; Fabricating or falsifying information and sources, including citing non-existent or incorrect sources; Making false statements about material submitted for Assessment Task, including misleading information about: o Individual contributions to a group Assessment Task or attributions of authorship; or o Attendance at or participation in practical, performance or professional learning activities; Failing to disclose information about an Assessment Task when information is requested or there is a duty to disclose such information; or Fabricating or falsifying documents (including but not limited to medical certificates, police reports) for purposes related to an Assessment Task (including special consideration for an Assessment Task).
Failure to meet required Research standards including but not limited to: • Conducting Research without ethics approval as required by the National Statement on Ethical Conduct in Human Research and the Australian Code for the Care and Use of Animals for Scientific Purposes; • Failing to conduct Research (and manage data) as approved by an appropriate ethics review body; • Conducting Research without the requisite approvals, permits or licences;
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Academic Breach and Academic Misconduct Rules (Students) • •
Misuse of Research funds; or Concealment or facilitation of Academic Misconduct in Research by others.
HESF
Refers to the Higher Education Standards Framework
Invigilator
Any person employed by or acting on behalf of ECC or Partner Provider to attend and/or supervise students sitting a test or examination.
Learning and Teaching Committee
Academic governance committee that reviews Course delivery and recommends actions and resources for ongoing improvement of ECC academic KPI (https://www.edithcowancollege.edu.au/documents-and-forms).
New Student
A student enrolled in their first Study Period at ECC who has not previously been found to have committed an Academic Breach or Academic Misconduct at ECC
Nominee
Refers to the person who is authorised to investigate an allegation of Misconduct: • •
For Academic Breach – the Unit Coordinator For Academic Misconduct o ECC Academic Integrity Officer (or in their absence) it will be investigated by: o Academic Program Coordinator or Academic Director in relation to Pathway Courses; o ELICOS Coordinator or Director of Studies (ELICOS) in relation to ELICOS Courses o Partner Provider Manager in relation to Partner Provider sites.
Outcome
A course of action, consequence, direction, result, or penalty imposed by a Nominee in accordance with ECC Academic Misconduct Rules and Procedures.
Partner Provider
An institution that provides an accredited course which is registered as being offered by ECC, who, for the purposes of this document oversees all matters relating to the delivery of those courses.
Partnership
A formal agreement where an institution (Partner Provider) has been approved as an ECC transnational education delivery site. ECC provides the intellectual property, quality assurance processes and (in agreed cases) will award qualification documents.
Pathway Course
Refers to Higher Education courses that are designed to articulate into further study.
Plagiarism:
•
•
A form of Academic Misconduct which means to intentionally or unintentionally present as one’s own ideas or work, the ideas or work of another person without appropriate referencing or acknowledgement. This includes, but is not limited to a person whether identically, substantially or in essence: o sentences or whole passages of written text, without appropriate paraphrasing and referencing of sources; o another person’s or persons’ assignment; o Research data or results, formulae, proofs, designs, computer code or software, without appropriate referencing or acknowledgement; or o figures, drawings, cartoons, paintings, still photographs, audio or visual files, multimedia objects, art objects or practical artefacts, without appropriate referencing or acknowledgement; Copying (identically, substantially or in essence) one’s own work that has been submitted for assessment at another time (either at ECC or another institution), without permission from the Unit Coordinator for which the assessment is to be submitted. This does not include copying your own work when repeating a Unit or resubmitting an Assessment Task.
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Academic Breach and Academic Misconduct Rules (Students) Research
Refers to research relating to student assessments and the scholarship of learning and teaching. ECC does not conduct research nor offer research training that leads to a Higher Degree by Research (HDR) qualification.
Scholarship
Activities concerned with gaining new or improved understanding, appreciation and insights into a field of knowledge, and engaging with and keeping up to date with advances in the field.
Staff
Any person involved in the preparation and delivery of an ECC Unit or Course, including any member of ECC staff (Pathway or ELICOS) and Partner Provider employees.
Student
Any person enrolled in any Award or non-Award Unit or Course delivered by ECC or an ECC Partner Provider.
Study Period
For Pathway students, one Study Period comprises one trimester or one semester. For ELICOS students, one Study Period comprises one 10-week block unless otherwise stated in the Letter of Offer.
TEQSA
Tertiary Education Quality and Standards Agency – Australian regulatory and quality agency for Higher Education.
Unauthorised Collaboration
To work with one or more persons in a dishonest way to develop a response or submission for an Assessment Task, which is restricted to individual effort. This may include, but is not limited to a Student: • • •
Working with one or more persons on an Assessment Task, which is presented as an individual Student’s response; Working with another group or other groups on a group Assessment Task, which is presented as an individual group’s response; or Assisting another Student or group, intentionally or recklessly, to commit an act of Academic Misconduct by sharing responses or allowing another Student or group to copy their work.
Unit
A discrete component of study within a Course.
Unit Coordinator
ECC academic staff member who is responsible for the development, delivery and continuous improvement of learning and teaching of a Unit or Course and the student experience across all locations. It includes any ECC academic staff (Pathway or ELICOS) and Partner Provider academic staff.
3. ACADEMIC BREACH AND ACADEMIC MISCONDUCT PROCEDURES: 3.1. ECC staff will refer to the ECC Academic Breach and Academic Misconduct Procedures which is to be read and implemented with these Rules. From time to time, the Academic Breach and Academic Misconduct Procedures may be amended with the approval of the ECC Academic Council. 4. REPORTING: 4.1. A Staff member who has been told about, or who has reasonable grounds to believe that a Student has committed Academic Breach or Academic Misconduct, will report it in accordance with the Academic Breach and Academic Misconduct Procedures. 4.2. Where there is insufficient evidence of Academic Breach or Academic Misconduct, the ECC Nominee may dismiss an allegation of Academic Breach or Academic Misconduct. 4.3. Where there is sufficient evidence of Academic Breach or Academic Misconduct, the matter will be further investigated by the ECC Nominee.
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Academic Breach and Academic Misconduct Rules (Students) 5. INVESTIGATION: 5.1. In conducting an investigation, the Nominee: 5.1.1.May seek evidence from whatever sources as they consider to be appropriate; 5.1.2.May interview any person(s) who made an allegation or reported the matter; 5.1.3.Will take reasonable steps to contact and ask the Student to participate in a Student interview; 5.1.4.Will (subject to Rule 6.1) provide the Student with copies of evidence (documents, information, or photos) before any Student interview and before making an adverse decision against the Student; 5.1.5.Will provide the Student with natural justice (the right to be heard); 5.1.6.Will make reasonable and fair decisions based on the evidence and on the balance of probabilities (that the allegation is more than 50% likely to have occurred) 5.1.7.Will act as quickly as is practicable and in line with Academic Misconduct Procedures; and 5.1.8.May dismiss an allegation if, in their reasonable opinion, there was no Academic Breach or Academic Misconduct. 6. INTERVIEWS WITH STUDENTS: 6.1. Student interviews will be conducted in line with the Academic Breach and Academic Misconduct Procedures. If, after taking reasonable steps to make contact, the Student fails to respond or fails to participate in an interview, the Nominee will investigate and decide the matter without input from the Student 7. DECISIONS AND OUTCOMES: 7.1. The first step in an investigation is that the Nominee will decide if there is evidence of Academic Breach or Academic Misconduct. 7.2. If the Nominee determines that Academic Breach or Academic Misconduct occurred, then he/she will consider: 7.2.1.the context (circumstances) and severity of the conduct; 7.2.2.the Student’s previous record of Academic Breach or Academic Misconduct-related Outcomes, and 7.2.3.any mandatory Outcomes to be imposed as described in the Academic Breach and Academic Misconduct Procedures; 7.2.4.which Outcome described in Rule 7.3 will be imposed.
7.3. The Nominee may impose one or more of the following Outcomes: 7.3.1.require the Student to engage in educational interventions – if the Student fails to provide evidence of completing this within a reasonable period, the Nominee may apply another Outcome; 7.3.2.give the Student a written warning; 7.3.3.require resubmission of an Assessment Task, to be awarded a maximum 50% pass mark; 7.3.4.deduct marks based on severity of the Academic Misconduct; 7.3.5.award zero (0%) for the Assessment Task or Examination 7.3.6.for Academic Misconduct in an Examination, require the Student sits another Examination (only in cases of extreme extenuating personal circumstances); 7.3.7.record a Fail in the relevant Unit;
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Academic Breach and Academic Misconduct Rules (Students) 7.3.8.suspend the Student from ECC for up to twelve months; or 7.3.9.expel the Student from ECC. 7.4. The Nominee (or in the case of Academic Breach – the Unit Coordinator) will notify the Student in writing of the Outcome of any investigation – regardless of whether it was dismissed or if a penalty was imposed, and the reasons for the decision. 7.5. If, at a later date, new evidence arises, the Academic Director or Director of Studies may have the matter re-investigated and if applicable, apply a different Outcome. 7.6. Nothing in these Rules limits the provisions for cancellation of enrolment or Student expulsion under the Admission, Enrolment and Academic Progress Rules.
8. APPEALS: 8.1. If a Student is dissatisfied with a finding of Academic Breach or Academic Misconduct, or the Outcome imposed, the Student may appeal against that decision in line with the grounds specified in the ECC Complaints and Appeals Policy.
9. CONTACT INFORMATION: For queries relating to this document please contact: POLICY OWNER
Academic Director
ALL ENQUIRIES CONTACT:
Academic Program Coordinators Student and Academic Services Manager
TELEPHONE:
08 6279 1100
EMAIL ADDRESS:
[email protected] [email protected]
10. CONTACT INFORMATION: APPROVED BY:
ECC Academic Council
DATE FIRST APPROVED:
New
DATE LAST MODIFIED:
13 May 2019
REVISION HISTORY:
Previously incorporated into the Student Misconduct Policy
NEXT REVISION DUE:
May 2021
For further information on the ECC Rules and Procedures Framework contact: Quality and Compliance Manager – Edith Cowan College Telephone: 6279-1112 Email:
[email protected]
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