La Salle Campus Barcelona trains its students in the academic knowledge and competences which form part of the programmes we offer, while also fostering the transversal skills and values in an effort to contribute to their life projects. In this sense, professionalism and good practices such as honesty and integrity are aspects which La Salle Campus Barcelona endeavours to consolidate. As a consequence, fraudulent actions, such as cheating, have no place in our university.
As a general rule, any action that can be considered as cheating or plagiarism must be considered inadmissible if we intend to live in a harmonious environment and respect the rules of the Code of Conduct set out by La Salle Campus Barcelona. In line with the general vision of the Code of Conduct of La Salle Campus Barcelona and in an aim to achieve the educational and social objectives set out therein, the main objective of this set of rules on cheating and plagiarism is to dissuade students from carrying out such actions and to establish the sanctions to be applied in the event of cheating or plagiarism.
In the case of PhD students, the research activities which form part of the doctoral thesis shall be carried out according to the ethical principles and good practices set out in the “Document de Compromís’, (Commitment Statement), a document signed by the PhD student, the thesis supervisor and the Director of the PhD Programme at the beginning of the studies. This set of rules on cheating and plagiarism is intended to form part of the Code of Conduct which concerns the misconduct derived from cheating or plagiarism in the evaluation activities of the undergraduate and postgraduate programmes of La Salle Campus Barcelona.
In this respect, these rules complement the Code of Conduct, particularly in the area of cheating and plagiarism. The disciplinary measures and sanctions applicable correspond to the disciplinary framework set out in the Code of Conduct for these types of misconduct.
Cheating: definition and severity
Definition of cheating: Any action which involves the falsification or dishonest behaviour in any form of academic assessment or marking.
Severity of cheating. In accordance with the Code of Conduct of La Salle Campus Barcelona, plagiarism and cheating are considered as very serious misconduct (see Article 15.4.2.1).
This Code of Conduct, proposes a modification in the severity of cheating or plagiarism to serious misconduct (see Article 15.3.2.1).
Circumstances and responsabilities to be taken into account when determining the severity of cheating
Without prejudice to the previously mentioned list and without limiting the conduct concerning exams of other assessable activities described in the Code of Conduct of La Salle Campus Barcelona, this set of rules proposes, in accordance with point 1 of “Article 14. Circumstances and responsibilities” of the Code of Conduct, the following circumstances should be considered when disciplinary measures are applied to students who have cheated or plagiarised work.
Type according to timing
- Premeditated cheating: cheating which involves a premeditated action in the assessment activity or exam. For example:
- In an exam: take written materials to the exam (“crib sheets”), communicate with someone outside the exam hall, pretend to be someone else, use an electronic device which is forbidden (mobile phone, tablet, laptop...) which enables the Student to store information or make contact with someone outside the exam hall, etc.
- Submission of assignments or practical work: submit work (programmes, codes, audio-visual material or designs) which has been partly or completely undertaken by another person, etc.
- Any type of plagiarism in an assessment activity, etc.
- Unpremeditated cheating: cheating which occurs in the course of an assessment activity which has not been previously prepared. For example:
- Talking in an exam or test
- Look at the exam of another person
- Give another student information, etc.
Type according to academic activity
- Highly important academic activity: assessments whose type (importance in marking system, obligatory nature, workload, etc.) are very important in the marking system. Examples of highly important academic activities: exams (mid-term exams, semester exams, final exam sessions and re-takes), compulsory coursework, assignments or practicals which count for a significant percentage of the final mark, etc.
- Moderately important academic activity: assessments whose type (importance in marking system, obligatory nature, workload, etc.) are not very important in the marking system. Examples of moderately important academic activities: activities with continuous assessment tests, optional coursework which count for a moderate percentage of the final mark, etc.
Type of cheating and applicable disciplinary measures
Type of cheating
Cheating in any type of academic assessment activity is considered as misconduct and can be divided into 3 categories: Very serious, Serious or Minor. These categories correspond to the Code of Conduct of La Salle Campus Barcelona.
As a general rule, the severity of the cheating misconduct established in the Code of Conduct will be modified in accordance with the circumstances previously set out as follows:
For cheating misconduct which is considered to be very serious:
Table 1: Severity of the cheating misconduct
| Premeditated cheating | Unpremeditated cheating | |
|---|---|---|
| Highly important academic activity | Very serious misconduct | Serious misconduct |
| Moderately important academic activity | Serious misconduct | Minor misconduct |
For cheating misconduct which is considered to be serious:
Table 2: Severity of the cheating misconduct
| Premeditated cheating | Unpremeditated cheating | |
|---|---|---|
| Highly important academic activity | Serious misconduct | Serious misconduct |
| Moderately important academic activity | Minor misconduct | Minor misconduct |
The sanctions associated with the severity of cheating are as follows:
- Very serious misconduct: the student is awarded a mark of 0 as the final course mark of that official examination session, the student cannot take the following official examination session (No Presentat/No show) and a disciplinary file is included student’s academic records.
- Serious misconduct: the student is awarded a mark of 0 as the final course mark of that official examination session and the student cannot take the following official examination session (No Presentat/No show.
- Minor misconduct: qualification of 0 for the continuous assessment activity in question.
If considered appropriate, sanctions for minor misconduct can be substituted by education sanctions. In order to do this, a disciplinary procedure will be opened.
Other aspects concerning disciplinary measures in cases of cheating
Scope of the application of the measure: with the exception of those referred to in point 2 of” Article 14. Circumstances and responsibilities” of the Code of Conduct, the disciplinary measures will be applied to all the students who have cheated in any way, or those who have aided another student to do so.
Repeated misconduct: in the case of a student cheating more than once, the misconduct will be considered one category more serious than it would otherwise be according to the degrees set out in tables 1 and 2 (from minor to serious, or from serious to very serious). If a student cheats on a third occasion, the misconduct will be considered very serious.
Opening of a disciplinary file: The Campus Conduct Commission will be informed of any form of misconduct and will determine the consequences of the action.
Action to be taken in cases of cheating
Detection and activation of disciplinary measures for cheating
As established in the Code of Conduct, all the members of the academic community of La Salle Campus Barcelona are jointly responsible for its proper application. Therefore, this set of rules affirm that in the event of a teacher detecting any form of cheating, s/he will be directly responsible for activating the disciplinary action to be taken, in accordance with the guidelines herein explained.
The disciplinary action will be activated as follows:
- The teacher who has detected the cheating will inform the course director or coordinator or director of the incident.
- The course director or coordinator or director will then inform the tutor (provided that the student has a tutor assigned) of the student(s) involved and the director of their degree programme (s).
- The director of the degree programme will inform the course director or coordinator and the tutor of the disciplinary measure to be implemented.
- The tutor will digitally include this information in the internal system and will inform the student(s) of the sanction to be applied.
In all cases, the model of disciplinary measures set out in this document must be respected. The sanctions applicable for the assessment activities of one subject cannot be different to those of stipulated herein.
Documentation required to prove cheating has occurred
The documentation required to prove cheating has occurred must include:
- Explanation and evidence of the events and actions concerning the cheating
- Proposal to establish the circumstances and responsibilities to be applied
- Proposal to establish sanction to be applied
Each subject can assign the type of cheating to the assessment activity of her/his subject (highly important or moderately important). This assignation must be agreed upon with the director of the degree programme and must be included in the presentation of the subject posted in the e-study and available to the students.
Student appeals
If they consider it appropriate, students who have been affected by the disciplinary actions for cheating can appeal against the decisions taken, through the Vice Dean of Students and the Campus Conduct Commission.