The university has a policy and a formal procedure for dealing with suspected assessment offences, and imposes penalties where an assessment has been committed.
The consequences of committing an offence can be serious.
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If you’re suspected of committing an assessment offence, your faculty will follow a clear procedure. Your faculty will advise you on this should you need more information.
- If you’re found guilty of an assessment offence, the penalty depends upon its severity and whether or not you’ve committed any previous offences. In some cases your mark for the relevant work is reduced, but the most common penalty is a mark of 0%. (zero)
- A reduced mark may have a detrimental effect on your degree classification.
- You may have to submit additional work or retake the module in full the following academic year. This may mean that an additional year is required to complete your degree.
- A second offence is usually treated more harshly than the first, and you may not be permitted to retake a module in which zero has been given. This might mean that you’re unable to complete your degree.
Consequences whilst studying at UWE
Once an assessment offence allegation has been made against you, you’re required to follow the faculty’s assessment offence procedure. This may involve liaising with the Students’ Union and attending formal meetings with members of your faculty’s academic staff and the Associate Dean. This is bound to be stressful, and can affect you, your family and your studies.
Should you be found guilty of an assessment offence, your faculty is unlikely to accept an extenuating circumstances claim based on the grounds that the process has had a detrimental effect on your studies.
If you’re found guilty of an offence, you may have to come to terms with a lower mark or degree classification than you hoped for when you entered higher education.
Consequences for your future
All documents relating to an assessment offence are retained in your student file. This file is consulted by those you may nominate as referees for future job and/or course applications and this may affect their willingness to provide a reference for you.
If your degree classification is detrimentally affected as the result of an assessment offence, you may find it more difficult to enter certain employment or postgraduate study.