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NTU Academic Integrity Policy

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Issued: Jan 2016
Next review: Jan 2019

1. Policy Statement
   1. The Student Academic Integrity Policy reinforces the University’s commitment to maintain integrity and honesty in all academic activities of the University community. This document sets out the University’s policy framework on academic integrity for students (undergraduates and graduate students) and the procedures to implement them.
2. Rationale
   1. The Student Academic Integrity Policy supports the University in the “pursuit of truth which depends on the integrity of all members of the community” and in creating “a climate of respect for the individual, and encourages self-respect which makes an individual worthy of trust”¹ All members of the NTU community are responsible for upholding the values of academic integrity in all academic undertakings.
3. Applicability
   1. The policy and procedures detailed in this document shall apply to all students (undergraduates and graduate students) of the University in all programmes of study, including non-graduating students.
4. Definitions

   1. The following are defined as acts of academic dishonesty in the context of this policy:

      (a) Plagiarism

      Plagiarism is ‘to use or pass off as one’s own, writings or ideas of another, without acknowledging or crediting the source from which the ideas are taken’. This includes:

      • The use of words, images, diagrams, graphs or ideas derived from books, journals, magazines, visual media, and the internet without proper acknowledgement;
      • Copying of work from the internet or any other sources and presenting as one’s own; and
      • Submitting the same piece of work for different courses or to different journals and publications.

      (b) Academic Fraud

      Academic fraud is a form of academic dishonesty involving cheating, lying and stealing. This includes:

      • Cheating - Bringing or having access to unauthorised books or materials during an examination or assessment, or in any work to be used by the lecturer, tutor, instructor or examiner as a basis of grading.
      • Collusion - Copying the work of another student, having another person write one’s assignments, or allowing another student to borrow one’s work.
      • Falsification of Data – Fabrication or alteration of data to mislead such as changing data to get better experiment results.
      • False Citation – Citing a source that was never utilised or attributing work to a source from which the referenced material was not obtained.
      • Contract Cheating - Students get academic work completed on their behalf, usually involving the payment of a fee to a third party, which they submit as their own.

      (c) Facilitating Academic Dishonesty

      This includes allowing another student to copy an assignment that is supposed to be done individually, allowing another student to copy answers during an examination/assessment and taking an examination/assessment or doing an assignment for another student.

5. Policy Contents
   1. The foundation of good academic work is honesty. Maintaining academic integrity upholds the standards of the University.
   2. The responsibility for maintaining integrity in all the activities of the academic community lies with the students as well as the faculty and the University. Everyone in this community must work together to ensure that the values of truth, trust and justice are upheld.
   3. Academic dishonesty affects the University’s reputation and devalues the degrees offered.
   4. The University will impose serious penalties on students who are found to have violated this Policy. The following penalties may be imposed:
      • expulsion
      • suspension;
      • zero mark/fail grade;
      • marking down;
      • re-doing/re-submitting of assignments or reports; and
      • verbal or written warning
   5. The University may deprive a graduate of any degree, diploma or certificate or other academic distinction awarded who is found to have violated this Policy when he/she was a student of the University.
6. Procedures

   1. Awareness Raising

      To foster a campus-wide climate that values academic honesty, students are educated on the importance of academic integrity through the following channels:

      (a) Students

      1. Students are required to sign an undertaking as part of the acceptance procedure to declare that they have read and agreed to observe the NTU Student Code of Conduct.
      2. Students are to read the write-up on academic integrity and the NTU Student Code of Conduct featured in the Freshmen Portal.
      3. Students are to refer to the academic integrity webpage for resources and information.
      4. Students are required to check all written assignments through electronic text-matching software adopted by the University to detect plagiarism or possible acts of academic dishonesty. This is required only when the format of the assignments is capable of being assessed by such software.
      5. Students are required to submit all assignments with the electronic text-matching software reports which state the extent of ‘matched text’. This is required only when the format of the assignments is capable of being assessed by electronic text-matching software.
      6. Students are required to submit a signed declaration on the originality of their work including making proper referencing and citations together with their assignments for major assignments to be determined by the course lecturer or tutor.

      (b) Colleges, National Institute of Education (NIE) and Schools

      1. Deans of Colleges, Director NIE and Chairs of Schools will disseminate information on the Student Academic Integrity Policy and Procedures to their faculty at start of each academic year. They should ensure that faculty members read and understand the policy and abide by it.
      2. Deans of Colleges, Director NIE and Chairs of Schools to ensure that briefing on academic integrity be incorporated as part of the orientation activities and that students are informed of the Student Academic Integrity Policy and Procedures.
      3. Deans of Colleges, Director NIE and Chairs of Schools to encourage and facilitate faculty to attend academic integrity-related workshops conducted by the Teaching, Learning and Pedagogy Division (TLPD) or other service providers.
      4. Faculty members are to emphasise to students the importance of academic integrity and to remind students of the academic integrity policy before the start of assignments or presentations/quizzes and other forms of assessment.
      5. Faculty members are to ensure that students submit their written assignments with the signed declaration on the originality of their work for major assignments to be determined by the course lecturer or tutor.

      (c) Teaching, Learning and Pedagogy Division (TLPD)

      1. TLPD to provide Colleges, NIE and Schools with an academic integrity pack comprising tools and information for faculty members to use to reinforce the message of academic integrity to students.
      2. Workshops will be conducted by TLPD for faculty members to detect and deal with academic dishonesty cases and in the design of assignments to make them difficult for students to plagiarise. The School-based workshops will be customised to cater to respective Schools specific to their needs.
      3. TLPD to own and maintain the academic integrity website as a useful resource for students and faculty members.
      4. TLPD to design the online contents on Academic Integrity to educate students.

      (d) Centre for IT Services (CITS)

      1. CITS to recommend and make available electronic text-matching software for faculty members’ and students’ use.

   2. Monitoring and Detecting

      Colleges, NIE and Schools are the key authorities to monitor and detect cases of academic dishonesty. This policy requires the Colleges, NIE and Schools to have in place the following:

      (a) Use of Electronic Text-matching Software

      Colleges, NIE and Schools are to ensure that students check their written assignments through electronic text-matching software adopted by the University to detect plagiarism or possible acts of academic dishonesty. This is required only when the format of the assignments is capable of being assessed by such software.

      (b) Signed Declaration

      Faculty members are to ensure that students submit their written assignments with the signed declaration for major assignments to be determined by the course lecturer or tutor. They must exercise due diligence in monitoring and detecting cases of academic dishonesty.

      (c) Appointment of School Academic Integrity Officer

      Dean of College and Director NIE to formally appoint a faculty member as a School Academic Integrity Officer (SAIO) who shall:

      1. Provide advice to students and faculty members on the Student Academic Integrity Policy and Procedures;
      2. Consider referred cases of academic dishonesty, determine and take appropriate follow-up and refer more serious cases to the Board of Discipline (BOD);
      3. Record all referred cases of academic dishonesty incidents on the Student Academic Misconduct Register, including outcomes and penalties imposed; and
      4. Be a member of the Committee on Academic Integrity to promote and support a culture of academic integrity

   3. Processes to Deal with Cases of Academic Dishonesty

      (a) Faculty Members

      If a faculty member who is a course lecturer/tutor suspects a case of academic dishonesty in any assignments/tests/projects/quizzes or is alerted to a case, he/she shall gather all evidence (softcopy and/or hardcopy of the students’ work, details of course assignments/tests/projects/quizzes and other pertinent materials) and investigate the case.

      The faculty may follow up on the case in consultation with the Head of Division (if applicable) and mete out the appropriate penalty based on the set of guidelines determined at the College level. This include initiating remedial action such as counselling or training on proper academic conventions; zero mark/fail grade in the assignment/test/project/quiz; marking down; re-doing/re-submitting of assignment/report; or verbal warning. Cases of major infringements or repeat violations should be referred to the SAIO with all supporting documents and/or observations.

      (b) School Academic Integrity Officer (SAIO)

      The SAIO shall investigate all referred cases as follows:

      1. Check the Student Academic Misconduct Register for the student’s record;
      2. Examine the materials submitted in light of the Student Academic Integrity Policy and Procedure; and
      3. Consider all evidence and consult the course lecturer/tutor who made the report or the Course Co-ordinator or any other faculty deemed necessary

      The SAIO may follow up on the case as follows:

      1. Dismiss the case;
      2. Initiate remedial action such as counselling or training on proper academic conventions;
      3. Form a School Academic Integrity Committee (SAIC) to hear the case; and
      4. Report to the respective Dean of College/Director NIE/Chair of School for forwarding the case to the BOD.

      (c) School Academic Integrity Committee (SAIC)

      The School Academic Integrity Committee (SAIC) is to hear academic dishonesty cases referred to by the SAIO at the College/NIE/School level. The SAIC shall comprise the following members:

      • Dean of College/Director NIE/Chair of School or his nominee who must be a senior faculty member
      • Course Co-ordinator
      • Course lecturer/tutor
      • SAIO

      The student concerned will appear before the SAIC to hear the charges and be given the opportunity to explain or defend himself/herself. If the student is found guilty of having committed academic dishonesty, the SAIC may impose the following penalties:

      1. zero mark/fail grade in the course;
      2. zero mark/fail grade in the assignment;
      3. marking down;
      4. re-doing/re-submitting of assignments or reports; and
      5. verbal or written warning.

      The student concerned will be informed of the outcome of the hearing in writing by the SAIO. The case will be recorded in the Student Academic Misconduct Register.

      Faculty members, SAIO and SAIC will apply the above same processes for students taking their College/School courses regardless of the ‘home’ College/School of the students. The ‘home’ College/School will be consulted on the penalty to be meted out for their respective students.

      (d) Board of Discipline (BOD)

      The Board of Discipline (BOD) will consider serious cases of academic dishonesty referred to it by Deans of Colleges, Director NIE and Chairs of the Schools and may consider suspension or expulsion in line with other serious forms of disciplinary offence. The composition of the BOD and the processes in dealing with such reported cases are governed by Statute 6 Student Discipline, Regulation 6.1 Student Discipline and Student Discipline Policy and Procedures.

   4. Appeals Process

      Only a penalty of zero mark/fail grade in the course imposed by the SAIC may be appealed in writing by the student to the BOD within 14 days of the decision being made known to the student. The student concerned will appear before the BOD and the BOD may uphold or rescind the decision of the SAIC.

      Penalty imposed by the BOD may be appealed in writing by the student to the Appeal Committee in writing within 14 days of the decision being made known to the student.

      Such appeal cases are governed by Statute 6 Student Discipline, Regulation 6.1 Student Discipline and Student Discipline Policy and Procedures.

   5. Student Academic Misconduct Register

      The policy requires that a central Student Academic Misconduct Register (SAMR) be maintained by the Academic Governance and Support (AGS) of the Student & Academic Services Department of all cases of academic dishonesty dealt with by the SAIC and the BOD including outcomes and penalties imposed. The SAIO in the Schools are required under this policy to record all cases of academic dishonesty dealt with by the SAIC in this central register as a reference for all SAIOs, Deans of Colleges, Director NIE, Chairs of the Schools and the BOD. For cases referred to the BOD, AGS will update the BOD’s decisions regarding the cases. This will facilitate the detecting of students who commit academic dishonesty acts across Colleges and Schools.

7. Committee on Academic Integrity

   1. To give greater emphasis on the University’s commitment to maintain integrity and honesty in all academic activities, there shall be a Committee on Academic Integrity (CAI) to promote and support a culture of academic integrity. The CAI’s role is educational, informational and advisory as follows:

      1. Educate the campus community on academic integrity;
      2. Recommend periodic revision to improve the Student Academic Integrity Policy;
      3. Identify and disseminate best practices in dealing with academic misconduct; and
      4. Advise Colleges, NIE and Schools on the use of the formal policy for determining and dealing with academic misconduct

   2. Members of the CAI comprise:

      1. All SAIOs; and
      2. A representative each from the NTU Students’ Union and the Graduate Students Council

   3. Provost to appoint a University Academic Integrity Officer (UAIO) who will be the champion of academic integrity in the University. The roles of the UAIO are:

      1. chair the CAI which will have all SAIOs as it members;
      2. coordinate the SAIOs across the University; and
      3. work closely with the Research Integrity Officer
8. Responsible Parties and Contact Information

For clarification on this policy, please contact:

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