The University assumes that a student’s work will be sufficiently independent for the result to be attributable to the student him/herself in both form and content. This means, for example, that written assignments (including take-home assignments) must not be copied from other people’s work in full or in part. If an assignment includes quotations and summaries, quotation marks and source references must be used in accordance with the principles of academic integrity.
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The general principles for quoting in academic assignments are as follows:
- Any direct quotation must be marked as such – by using italics or quotation marks, for example.
- In cases where only facts or arguments are taken from another text, a precise page reference for the argument/fact must be provided in a note.
- When re-using previous assignments you have written, you must treat them like any other source material by quoting them directly or referring to them in a note and including them in the bibliography.
- When reference is made to unprinted material such as other people’s exam assignments or information provided verbally, the same rules regarding direct quotation and footnotes apply.
- You must treat references to or quotations from websites in the same way as other material and use quotation marks or a footnote specifying the URL.
The following rules apply to direct quotations:
- if you insert one or more words in the quotation, you must indicate that you have done so – usually by putting them in square brackets
- if you remove words or sentences from the quotation, you must indicate that you have done so – usually by inserting three full stops in square brackets
- if you translate quotations from a foreign language or standardise archaic spellings, you must indicate this after the quotation – usually by writing (My translation/Spelling modernised) in brackets.
Breaking the rules of academic integrity
If you break the rules, you may be suspected of exam cheating.
There is no precise, unambiguous definition of exam cheating, but a number of practices and examples can be mentioned.
Exam cheating is possible in written examinations held at the University, written take-home assignments and oral examinations.
Whether or not exam cheating is involved depends on an assessment of whether the rules and regulations for the particular examination have been breached or bypassed in each case, e.g. the extent to which aids can be used.
Students therefore need to familiarise themselves with examination procedures and the relevant rules for each subject.
Generally speaking, students need to keep up to date with the customs and ethical rules of their subject area, as these can vary from discipline to discipline. This also applies in cases where a study programme involves a combination of several different subject areas.
The University has four general principles with regard to exam cheating. They are as follows:
- exam cheating is always dealt with in accordance with the University’s disciplinary rules for cheating in examinations
- exam cheating cannot become time-barred
- if cheating is not discovered until after the examination is over, the examination will be declared null and void
- anyone who assists another person in breaking the rules can also be subject to disciplinary proceedings
Here are some examples of exam cheating:
Please note that this list is not exhaustive:
- you are not the author of (all or part of) your examination assignment
- you re-used an examination assignment or parts of it
- you did not obey the examination rules laid down for the particular exam
- you used aids that are not permitted during the exam
- data have been falsified
- you did not obey the rules for quoting correctly or citing sources
If it is suspected that the rules of academic integrity have been broken, the rules regarding disciplinary measures for students at the University of Southern Denmark will be applied. Read the RULES
If you have any questions in this respect or are unsure about anything, guidance can be obtained from:
- the academic adviser
- your lecturer
- the SDU CounsellingCenter