As part of Skills Week this year, read this blog to understand how you can help protect yourself from academic misconduct. Especially when it comes to AI!
As part of Skills Week this year, read this blog to understand how you can help protect yourself from academic misconduct. Especially when it comes to AI!
Academic Misconduct is anything which is against the rules which govern the assessment of work. This includes things like plagiarism, commissioning, and collusion. In other words, academic misconduct is any sneaky shortcut that goes against the rules for assessing your work. Things like plagiarism, hiring someone else to do your homework, or collaborating when you shouldn’t – these are all no-go's. Sure, copying someone else's work or asking for help sounds tempting when you're staring down a deadline, but trust me, the long-term consequences are really not worth it.
It may seem like a quick and easy solution to copy off someone else’s work or even ask someone else to do the work for you but there could be long term repercussions. Remember, university is all about learning – researching, writing, and using your critical thinking skills. If you skip that process, you miss out on the skills that are going to help you be amazing in your future career.
If you're feeling overwhelmed, don't take the “easy” route. Instead, talk to your personal tutor or module leader – they’re there to help you out. We know how stressful student life can be and if there are personal difficulties that are making things tougher, consider applying for an extension or extenuating circumstances rather than resorting to ‘cheating’.
Getting caught up in an academic misconduct case can drag on, slow down your progress, and could even mess with your graduation plans. Definitely not the kind of stress you want!
Even if you make a tiny mistake - like forgetting to reference or not quite getting the hang of academic writing - don’t freak out. There’s plenty of support to help you avoid these little slip-ups, so you can stay on track without any drama.
Before diving into your assignments, make sure to check if you're allowed to use AI tools. If you can use AI tools, the extent of how you can use these is likely to be School and/or course specific so always check with your School or your module leaders for more clarification. Don’t be afraid to ask if you’re ever unsure!
Generative AI (GenAI) tools can be really useful and can support learning in a variety of ways, but you must make sure you are using them in an appropriate way. If use of an AI tool is permitted and/or required in the description of the assignment, you should clearly state in your submission which AI tool has been used and how it has been used. Take a moment to familiarise yourself with how to cite AI use and always check with your School about specific referencing styles.
If you use an AI tool for notetaking or summarising your lectures, make sure that they do not infringe on intellectual property rights or violate privacy regulations. Make sure to re-read the notes so that the content is accurate and covered all of the key points.
Keep a track of all your reference and research materials, as well as any earlier drafts of your work even after you have submitted the assignment so that in the unfortunate event you are flagged for academic misconduct you can use those documents as evidence.
Based on the first floor of the Students’ Union, the Advice Centre is a free and independent service for all students at Royal Holloway. You can talk to an advisor for free, confidential and impartial advice around academic misconduct. Their email is advice@su.rhul.ac.uk and you can go to a drop-in during term time on Tuesday afternoons 13:30-15:30pm, and fortnightly online-only drop-ins on Thursday evenings 17:30-19:30pm.
An SU Advisor can:
If you would like to book an appointment with Academic Skills, you should, as it is always better to be more prepared that not. See more ways in which AI can be used responsibly and have a look through the Library’s guide on Gen AI use.