VIII. Academic Offences

Note: Consideration of a request to withdraw from a course or courses involved in an academic offence will not be given until the case is resolved. 

Academic offences include, but are not limited to, the following:

A. PLAGIARISM 

Plagiarism includes:

1. quoting verbatim or almost verbatim from any source, regardless of format, without acknowledgement;
   
   
2. adopting someone else's line of thought, argument, arrangement, or supporting evidence (such as, statistics, bibliographies, etc.) without indicating such dependence;
   
   
3. submitting someone else's work, in whatever form (essay, film, workbook, artwork, computer materials, etc.) without acknowledgement;
   
   
4. knowingly representing as one's own work any idea of another.

NOTE: In courses which include group work, a penalty may be imposed on all members of the group unless an act of plagiarism is identified clearly with an individual student or students. 

Procedures

 In the case of plagiarism, the instructor must make every reasonable effort to discuss the case with the student or group and follow one of two courses of action:

1. If the instructor is satisfied that the plagiarism was the result of a genuine misunderstanding, the instructor shall complete an academic offence incident report in a form approved by the Registrar's Office, containing the student's name and the particulars of the incident, and submit to the Registrar who shall advise the appropriate Dean, and the Chair of the student's program or Department where applicable. The Registrar shall notify the student by registered letter and/or electronic mail of the regulations governing plagiarism, the possible consequences, the student's right to appeal, the right to appear before the appropriate appeals committee (Student Standing and Promotions Committee on the Fredericton campus and Senate Student Appeals Committee on the Saint John campus), and the procedures involved. The Registrar shall make available to the student a copy of the academic offence incident report and supporting documentation. While a case of plagiarism resulting from genuine misunderstanding will not be considered a student's first offence, a second plea of ignorance by the same student in response to a subsequent allegation of plagiarism will not be accepted; similarly, a subsequent incident report indicating that the alleged plagiarism is a result of genuine misunderstanding responding will be treated as an allegation of deliberate plagiarism. A student responding to the instructor's allegation must do so in writing within three weeks of the date of the Registrar's notification. The student is urged to submit to the appropriate appeals committee a written statement regarding the case.
   
   In a first incident of plagiarism resulting from genuine misunderstanding, the instructor may permit the student to submit a genuine piece of work to be graded in place of the one plagiarized. If the student does not appeal, the time allowed for submission of work is three weeks from the date of the Registrar's letter of notification. In the case of an appeal, where the instructor's allegation is upheld, the period of time allowed for submission is as determined by the appropriate appeals committee.
    
2. If, in the view of the instructor the plagiarism was deliberate, the instructor shall complete an incident report in a form approved by the Office of the Registrar, containing the student’s name and the particulars of the incident, and shall submit to the Registrar who will advise the Dean of the Faculty concerned and the Chair of the student's program or department where applicable. The Registrar shall notify the student by registered letter and/or electronic mail of the regulations governing plagiarism, the possible consequences, the student’s right to appeal, the right to appear before the appropriate appeals committee, and the procedures involved. A student appealing the charge of an academic offence must do so in writing within three weeks of the date of the Registrar's letter of notification. On receiving an incident report alleging an act of deliberate plagiarism, or on receiving an incident report alleging a second commission of plagiarism by the student which is determined viewed by the instructor to be as a result of genuine misunderstanding, the Registrar shall refer the matter for a hearing to the appropriate appeals committee. A student who wishes to respond to this allegation is urged to submit to the appeals committee a written statement regarding the case, within three weeks of the date of the Registrar’s letter of notification. The Registrar shall inform the student by registered letter or electronic mail of the referral to the appeals committee, and the wish of the Committee that the student be present when the case is heard.
    
3. The appropriate appeals committee, upon the conclusion of a hearing into the case, or following the review of the written materials if the student does not appear, must make one or more of the following findings prior to proceeding to an assessment of a penalty for deliberate plagiarism.
   
   i.  On hearing a case involving a first incident report alleging that a student has committed an act of deliberate plagiarism, the appeals committee must first decide whether an act of plagiarism has occurred. If the Committee so finds, the Committee must then determine whether the plagiarism was deliberate, or an act of genuine misunderstanding. If the former, the appeals committee will proceed to assess penalties in accordance with this Regulation, if the latter, the appeals committee will assess no penalty, but will direct the Registrar to note in the student’s academic file that the student has had one finding of genuine misunderstanding.
   
   ii. If the case before the appeals committee (i) follows a prior finding of plagiarism, or (ii) is a second allegation of plagiarism as a result of genuine misunderstanding, the appeals committee may not make a further finding of genuine misunderstanding in disposing of the case. The appeals committee may only make a finding that the alleged act of plagiarism was deliberate plagiarism or that the alleged act of plagiarism was not an act of plagiarism.

Penalties for Deliberate Plagiarism

In case of deliberate plagiarism, the penalties are:

First Offence: If the student does not appeal or if, on appeal, the Committee upholds the instructor's allegation:

1.  A notation will be placed on the student's transcript of academic record concerning the academic offence. The length of time the notation appears on the student's transcript of academic record is to be decided when the penalty is imposed and will depend on the severity of the offence.
   
   
2.  The student may be required to submit a satisfactory and genuine piece of work to replace the one involving plagiarism. If the assignment is not resubmitted or is unsatisfactory, the student will receive a grade of F (zero) in the course. Note: If this penalty is assessed, the period of time allowed for the submission of the work will be determined by the Registrar in consultation with the faculty member making the charge and, where appropriate, the Committee.
   
   
3.  The student will receive a grade of F (zero) for the piece of work and, depending on the severity of the offence, may receive a grade of F for the course.
   
   
4.  Other penalties as outlined in penalties for Other Academic Offences may be imposed.

Subsequent Offence: In cases where the Committee considers that the student has plagiarized again:

1.  The student will receive a grade of F for the course, and a notation of the academic offence will appear on the student's transcript of record. The length of time the notation appears on the student's transcript of academic record is to be decided when the penalty is imposed.
   
   
2.  Other penalties as outlined in penalties for Other Academic Offences may be imposed. 

B. OTHER ACADEMIC OFFENCES

1. Cheating on examination, tests, assignments or reports, including but not limited to:
   
   Impersonating a candidate at an examination or test or in connection with any assignment in a course or availing oneself of the results of impersonation.
   
   Obtaining, through theft, bribery, collusion, purchase, or other improper manner, 
   1. an examination or test paper prior to the date and time for writing the examination or test;
   2. academic materials belonging to another person, e.g. laboratory reports, assignments, papers, computer materials, datasets. 
    
2. Falsifying or knowingly submitting false assignments or credentials, records, transcripts, or other academic documents.
   
   
3. Submitting a false health or other certificate.
   
   
4. Submitting identical or substantially similar work for one course or program of study, which has been or is being submitted for another course or program of study, without the prior express knowledge and approval of the instructors.
   
   
5. Interfering with the right of other students to pursue their studies.
   
   
6. Knowingly aiding or abetting any of the above offences.
   
   
7. Tampering with, or altering, in any deceptive way, work subsequently presented for a review of the grade awarded.

Procedures

The instructor and, where applicable, the invigilator or other appropriate person shall, where practical, discuss the matter with the student concerned. 

The instructor or the instructor's representative, if satisfied that an academic offence has been committed, shall complete an academic offence incident report and shall submit it, together with attached information, to the Registrar. The Registrar shall report it to the Chair of the Department (where applicable) and the Dean of the Faculty concerned. Each case will be referred by the Registrar to the appropriate Committee for review and appropriate action. The Registrar shall inform the student by registered letter and/or electronic mail of the referral to the Committee, the student's right to respond, the wish of the Committee that the student be present when the case is heard, and the procedures involved. A copy of the academic offence report and attached information will be provided to the student in a timely manner. The student is urged to submit to the Committee a written statement regarding the case. A student responding to the decision, shall do so in writing within three weeks of the date of the Registrar's letter of notification.

Penalties 

A student who is found guilty of an academic offence will have two penalties imposed:

1. A notation on the student's transcript of academic record concerning the academic offence. The length of time the notation appears on the student's transcript of academic record is to be decided when the penalty is imposed. 
   
   
2. A grade of F (zero) in an examination, test or course.
   
   One of the following penalties may also be imposed.
   
   
3. A recommendation to the President for suspension for a specified period. The recommendation is to include the length of time the notation is to appear on the student's transcript of academic record.
   
   
4. A recommendation to the President for expulsion from the University. If the student is expelled, a permanent notation will appear on the student's transcript of academic record. 

C. GENERAL

1. Consideration of a request to withdraw from a course or courses involved in an academic offence will not be given until the case is resolved. 
   
   
2. Students on the Fredericton Campus will submit appeals to the Senate Student Standings and Promotions Committee; on the Saint John Campus, appeals will be submitted to the Students Appeals Committee.