MACTT is committed to providing a learning experience of the highest standard whilst ensuring academic integrity and freedom. This policy has been developed to clearly communicate the responsibilities of staff, trainers and students as well as the actions that will be taken in case of plagiarism and dishonesty during coursework and/or exams.
All MACTT staff members are expected to lead by example, displaying academic integrity and educating students in practicing honesty in their work. Staff members and trainers are expected to design the coursework and assignments to minimize the opportunities for breaches of academic integrity. This includes but is not limited to:
- Developing original assignments based on understanding and analysis of material;
- Teaching students how to appropriately reference their sources;
- Ensuring confidentiality of exam questions;
- Ensuring there is an invigilator for all exams;
- Reviewing assignments and exams and investigating suspected cases of plagiarism and cheating.
Furthermore, all staff members are to encourage and support open, vigorous, and challenging debates respectfully among students and trainers in a safe environment. It is also the responsibility of staff members and trainers to encourage students to think critically and to protect free speech during training. This means that students are allowed to investigate and discuss matters, including those that are controversial, inside and outside of class, without fear of institutional restraint or any discriminatory action against them.
Students are required to undertake course study and assignments with honesty and integrity and will agree to this in the Terms and Conditions while registering for the training programme.
Furthermore, all students are to be invited to an induction meeting, that could be done also via web, that takes place before the commencement of a training programme, in which MACTT’s representatives inform all registered students that as part of the institution’s policy, during any course work or exams they are responsible to:
- Create and express their own ideas;
- Acknowledge all sources of information;
- Complete all course work alone or acknowledging collaboration;
- Report results accurately when conducting any sort of lab or field research;
- Be honest without copying from previous work or other
Furthermore, all trainees have freedom of speech that will help them advance their knowledge and understanding, without fear of institutional restraint or any discriminatory action against them. This shall be done with respect towards fellow students and trainers.
Academic dishonesty (including cheating, fraud, plagiarism and any form of copying) inhibits students from achieving a valuable learning experience of the highest standards promoted by the Academy and will not be tolerated.
Plagiarism in Coursework:
Presenting work that is not one’s own for assessment constitutes plagiarism. Plagiarism occurs when a student ‘borrows’ or copies information, data, or results from an unacknowledged source, without quotation marks or any indication that the presenter is not the original author or researcher.
Another form of plagiarism (and hence cheating) is auto-plagiarism or self-plagiarism. This occurs when a student submits work (whether a whole piece or part of a piece) without acknowledging that they have used this material for a previous course work.
If the student uses someone else’s pre-existing work – say, by summarising it or quoting from it – they must reference the original author. This applies to all types of material – not only text, but also diagrams, maps, tables, charts, and so on. Students must be sure to use quotation marks when quoting from any source (whether original or secondary). They have to fully reference not only quotations, but also paraphrases and summaries. Such references should then be included in a bibliography or reference list at the end of the piece of work. The need for referencing also applies to web-based material; appropriate references according to the type of work or image should always be provided.
Cheating during Examinations:
The Academy has a zero-tolerance policy in relation to cheating in examinations. The possession of notes, documents or other unauthorised material and the writing of information on the body or clothing is an offence. If a student is discovered with such material or with information written on their clothes or body, it will automatically be assumed that cheating has taken place (refer to Examinations Section 6.3 of this document).
Penalties:
Any student who is found to have used unfair means in an examination or assessment procedure will be penalised. ‘Unfair means’ here include:
- cheating (such as: unauthorised use of notes or course material in an examination);
- falsification (such as: misrepresentation of the results of experimentation);
- plagiarism (as described in the above Section of this document);
- self-plagiarism (duplication of one’s own work, as described in the above Section of this document);
- unfair collaboration or collusion (representation of work produced in collaboration with another person or persons as the work of a single candidate).
Penalties for unfair practice will be determined by the Education Board which is represented by the Director of Studies, the Head of Academy, the Coordinator of Studies and the trainer of the particular course programme. This may include failure of the module, with no provision for reassessment. Proven cases of plagiarism or cheating can also lead to disciplinary proceedings in which case the student is presented with necessary evidence and may ultimately result in their expulsion from the course.
A record of the proceedings, actions and student’s details will be kept by MACTT administration for future reference.
