Ofqual Guides

Ofqual, in partnership with plagiarismadvice.org, has published three new guides to give teachers, students and parents/carers a greater understanding of how to produce honest, authentic and correctly referenced work. The guides are available for download from http://www.ofqual.gov.uk/plagiarism The Student Guide describes how sources can be checked for authenticity, authority and accuracy using a range of techniques including specific advice about popular wiki resources, such as Wikipedia - which the guide highlights as an excellent starting point for research - so long as the material is verified using authoritative sources! The Teachers Guides covers current best practice to help ensure that student work is authentic including the increasingly popular use of originality checking services such Turnitin which is currently used by 97% of UK universities, many colleges and all the JCQ (Joint Council for Qualifications) awarding bodies. To find out more about Turnitin click here.

Training

We also offer training on all aspects of addressing plagiarism, which can either be provided on site or online, ranging from general awareness to bespoke consultancy tailored to your institution’s specific needs. Training topics can include background information and best practice, strategies to promote original assessment tasks, review of academic misconduct policies and procedures and implementation of TurnitinUK. For further details please refer to our promotional leaflet or email: This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it

Acadmic Misconduct Benchmarking Research (AMBeR)

The AMBeR project aimed to identify the range and nature of penalties applicable to cases of student plagiarism in UK Higher Education Institutions (HEI). The project involved a three-fold study of the regulatory and practical aspects of dealing with student plagiarism.

The first phase of the project involved a desktop survey of academic misconduct regulations currently applicable in UK HEI's. Over 150 institutions responded to the request for information, representing a reponse rate of 94% from the sector. The full report and executive summary from the first phase of the project are now available.

The second phase of the project, conducted by the Academy JISC Academic Integrity Service investigated actual application of penalties for cases of student plagiarism by institutions. The full report and executive summary from this phase are now available.

An extension of this research is to consider the feasibility of developing a generic penalty tariff for UK Higher Education Institutions (HEIs). A consulation exercise with a representative selection of institutions will conclude shortly.

Developing assessment strategies which encourage original work: an online guide

This online guide, developed as part of the Higher Education Academy/JISC collaboration initiative collates a range of resources from the academic community and aims to support practitioners in higher and further education to promote original assessed work from students.

Ofqual

We have recently been commissioned by Ofqual, the regulator of qualifications, exams and tests in England to develop guidance on plagiarism and appropriate use of electronic sources of information for students, teachers and parents in the 14-19 education sector. This guidance will be available shortly.