Academic Integrity
I’ve received a Notice of Allegations email or Suspected Breach of Academic Integrity email. What should I do now?
We strongly advise that you book an appointment with us to discuss - and the earlier you do so, the better. We can help you understand the process and prepare your response within the timelines you are given in the email.
If you can't get an appointment before your response is due, please write to your Chief Examiner or Student Conduct and Complaints requesting an extension to your due date because the Student Advocacy and Support Office is busy. If you are not given an due date extension please email us at msa-advocacy-l@monash.edu to let us know. Details in the next section on what to include in your email to us.
The university takes academic integrity extremely seriously. When responding to an allegation of academic misconduct it is very important that you are honest, upfront and reflective. If your conduct was dishonest, and your response to the allegations is also dishonest, this is likely to increase the severity of the penalty that is applied as you have not demonstrated that you have reflected on how your conduct fits within the academic integrity rules at the university. Again, we strongly recommend that you seek our advice prior to responding to the university.
If your due date is soon and you cannot get an appointment with us prior to your response due date, email the following to msa-advocacy-l@monash.edu
Please forward the correspondence you have received from the university so far, including any evidence they have attached to your Notice of Suspected Breach/Allegation and a first draft of your Student Response Form (SRF).
- Is this the first time you have received an allegation? If not, what was the outcome of the previous breach?
- Please re-do the Academic Integrity Module. You should then mention in your response that you have done this.
- Have a read of: "What happens if I breach Academic Integrity?
- Email through your first draft response so we can review it for you. Honesty results in the best outcome for students. Being dishonest may result in a harsher penalty. See below for advice on how to write your first draft Student Response:
- Honestly detail how you completed your assessment, in chronological order. Keep this simple and factual. It is best to use dot-points.
Remorse: apologise and show that you are sorry that these standards have been breached
Responsibility: Focus on what you have learnt from this experience, what you now realise that you didn't before, give specific examples of what you will do differently next time.
Recognition: demonstrate that you are aware of why it is so important for the Uni to maintain standards of Academic Integrity. Acknowledge the importance of students producing and submitting original work in their own words so their knowledge level can be assessed, and properly referencing words where they are not a student's own. Show understanding that maintaining standards of Academic Integrity is crucially important for Monash or any learning institution.
Rehabilitation: finally, what are you doing to ensure this never happens again? What skills could you further develop to guard against this happening again? Such actions are re-doing the Academic Integrity Module and Learn HQ. Additionally LearnHQ has some great modules on citation and referencing which I strongly recommend you complete and you could also reach out to the wonderful Student Academic Success team.
- This page gives a good overview of the Academic Integrity/Misconduct procedure in case you still have questions. Furthermore the penalty guidelines are outlined here.
What penalty am I going to get?
If you are found guilty of breaching the university’s academic integrity rules, you could receive one or some of the following penalties:
- your name may go on the confidential Academic Integrity Warnings Register
- deduction of marks
- zero for assessment task
- zero for unit
- suspension
- exclusion
What is academic integrity?
You need to understand what the term ‘plagiarism’ means and what is included (e.g. passing someone else’s work off as if it were your own, as well as re-using your own work). You also need to know what ‘collusion’ is, and what constitutes ‘cheating’.
Every time you submit a piece of work you sign a cover-sheet to confirm that you understand and are following the academic integrity rules at the university. Do you really know what these rules are? Complete the module on academic integrity, and check out these other academic integrity resources on LearnHQ.
I’ve received a Notice of Decision, and I am not happy. Can I appeal?
Appeal processes do exist, depending on the grounds for an appeal. Book an appointment and we can discuss further.
