Academic and general misconduct

“Misconduct” means any behaviour on the part of a Student that:

impairs the reasonable freedom of the University community to pursue and participate in academic, community or other University activities, or in the life of the University

contravenes the provisions of the Murdoch University Act 1973, any statute, rule or by-law of the University, or a University code of conduct, policy, procedure or set of guidelines

contravenes any lawful direction by a member of the staff of the University

contravenes any written law of the Commonwealth of Australia, a State or Territory of Australia where the written law relates to an activity associated with the Student being a Student of the University.

We treat all allegations of academic and general misconduct seriously.

Academic misconduct process

Examples of Academic Misconduct include plagiarism, collusion, cheating, hiring a ghost writer and submitting downloaded work as your own. Our online unit, MAP100, provides more details on the different types of academic integrity breaches and how to avoid them through developing good study and assessment practices. You can also watch this video.

The following steps outline the process that occurs following an allegation of Academic Misconduct.

1. Reporting

The process is started by a unit coordinator submitting an allegation for academic misconduct to Student Integrity Services. Some examples of what reporting could be based on include the marking of an assessment, similarity reports from Ouriginal or behaviours witnessed in exams.

2. Triage

An initial review is conducted by Student Integrity Services to determine the level of seriousness of the allegation and whether you have any previously recorded misconduct cases. There are three Intervention Levels.

3. Intervention Levels

Level 1 – a caution letter is sent with a directive to book a consultation with a Learning Advisor and have a letter signed that must be given to your Unit Coordinator that reported the misconduct. If you receive this letter, follow the instructions carefully.

Level 2 – you will receive an allegation letter with evidence attached and have the opportunity to send in a written response within a set time period. The Senior Coordinator of Student Integrity Services will then provide an outcome based on the evidence supplied and your response if you choose to send one in that time frame.

You may request a review of Level 1 and Level 2 outcomes, however this will progress to a Level 3. The Investigator may adjust the details of the allegation based on their initial review of the evidence and details. Please note that the outcome initially provided may decrease, increase, or remain the same, based on the findings of a Panel.

Level 3 – you will receive an allegation letter with evidence attached and have the opportunity to either send a written response, or attend a set interview time with an Investigator and Student Integrity Coordinator. You may choose to bring a Guild representative or support person to the interview. The role of the Investigator is simply to gather any further evidence, statements and hear your story. The interviews take place online and are recorded for accurate record keeping. The evidence, statements, interview recording, and Investigator Summary is then shared with a Panel to decide on the outcome. The Chair of the Panel will send you the outcome once it has been decided. If you choose not to engage with the process, then the Investigator and Panel will complete their roles without your statement. For Level 3 Interventions, you have the option to appeal within 20 days as outlined in the  student appeals procedure.

4. Outcome

Outcomes can vary from a caution letter with a directive to expulsion from the university depending on the severity of the misconduct and any previous misconduct committed by a student. The outcome of your case will be shared with the person who uploaded the allegation, so they can take any action required (e.g. reduce the grade and release marks).

Regardless of the level of intervention, any misconduct is not placed on your academic transcript. However, it is stored in our confidential system.

For more details, you can read our Regulations, Policy and Procedure documents.

General misconduct process

Some examples of General Misconduct are harassment, intimidation, bullying, violence, use of drugs or alcohol, falsification, trespassing, weapons, failure to comply with a directive, disorderly behaviour, property damage, uploading content to contract cheating websites or offering ghost writing services.

The following steps outline the process that occurs following an allegation of General Misconduct.

1. Reporting

The process is started by a staff member submitting an allegation of General Misconduct to Student Integrity Services. This may be based on what they have witnessed or experienced, or on behalf of a student that has informed them of a matter.

2. Triage

An initial review is conducted by Student Integrity Services to determine the level of seriousness of the allegation and whether you have any previously recorded misconduct cases. There are three Intervention Levels.

3. Intervention Levels

Level 1 – a caution letter is sent with a directive. If you receive this letter, follow the instructions carefully.

Level 2 – you will receive an allegation letter with any relevant evidence attached and have the opportunity to send in a written response within a set time period. A Chair will then look over the case and decide on an outcome.

You may request a review of Level 1 and Level 2 outcomes, however this will progress to a Level 3. The Investigator may adjust the details of the allegation based on their initial review of the evidence and details. Please note that the outcome initially provided may decrease, increase, or remain the same, based on the findings of a Panel.

Level 3 – you will receive an allegation letter with evidence attached and have the opportunity to either send a written response or attend a set interview time with an Investigator and Student Integrity Coordinator. You may choose to bring a Guild representative or support person to the interview. The role of the Investigator is simply to gather evidence, statements and hear your story. The interviews take place online and are recorded for accurate record keeping. The evidence, statements, interview recording, and Investigator Summary is then shared with a Panel to decide on the outcome. The Chair of the Panel will send you the outcome once it has been decided. If you choose not to engage with the process, then the Investigator and Panel will complete their roles without your statement. For Level 3 Interventions, you have the option to appeal within 20 days as outlined in the  student appeals procedure.

4. Outcome

Outcomes can vary from a caution letter with a directive to expulsion from university depending on the severity of the misconduct and any previous misconduct committed by a student. The outcome of your case will be shared with the person who uploaded the allegation, so they can take any action required.

Regardless of the level of intervention, any misconduct is not placed on your academic record. However, it is stored in our confidential system.

For more details, you can read our Regulations, Policy and Procedure documents.

Contact us

All correspondence relating to an academic or general misconduct allegation is to always be sent via email reply, so it is stored with your case file. Do not copy and paste the email address, as we will not receive it.

For all other queries, please email us at studentintegrity@murdoch.edu.au

We understand that this may be a stressful time for you, so please see these Murdoch services if required: