Staff guidance
Cases of suspected academic misconduct should be investigated with care and concern for both the student and the member of staff raising the case. Whilst all academic misconduct is in breach of the University’s disciplinary regulations, it is accepted that misconduct can encompass both minor breaches and serious disciplinary offences.
Investigating and acting on misconduct
The following guidance is designed to guide staff through their responsibilities and allowable actions when investigating suspected misconduct. Staff with queries about the process should contact the Office of Student Conduct, Complaints and Appeals (OSCCA) in the first instance.
For work submitted from 1 Oct 2023
- How to investigate and sanction suspected academic misconduct: Responsibilities for Chairs of Examiners, Senior Examiners and Chairs of Degree Committees (link to OSCCA site); this document was published in September 2023 and applies to all University courses from 1 Oct 2023. Work submitted prior to 1 Oct 2023 will be managed by the previous procedure below
For work submitted prior to 1 Oct 2023
- Investigating suspected academic misconduct (guidance now withdrawn)
Identification, detection and prevention
The University offers access to Turnitin text-matching software to assist in the identification and detection of academic misconduct; access is only provided to staff. Use of Turnitin is not required to take forward investigations, but it can be a helpful tool. See our pages about Turnitin for more details.
The following may also be helpful:
- Forms of academic misconduct
- Assessment at Cambridge (Cambridge Centre for Teaching and Learning)
Most forms of academic misconduct can be mitigated, to a greater or lesser degree, through clear assessment design. The Cambridge Centre for Teaching and Learning (CCTL) would be happy to discuss your assessment needs and outcomes in more depth.