Cheating and plagiarism
To deceive during examinations, commonly referred to as cheating, is a violation of the rules that the University of Gothenburg takes very seriously. Disciplinary measures are a warning or a suspension from studies up to six months.
What is considered as cheating?
The legal term for cheating is to deceive during examinations. An attempt to deceive during examinations means that a student attempts to give a false impression of their performance in an exam or a study performance is otherwise to be assessed. Common forms of cheating are plagiarism, prohibited aid and prohibited collaboration.
Plagiarism
Plagiarism involves presenting someone else's text or other material as if it were your own, for example by not marking a quote or copying a material without correct referencing.
Examples of plagiarism are:
- Using phrases from someone else’s work, where only a few words are replaced with synonyms, whether or not the source is cited.
- Paraphrasing the content of someone else's work without acknowledging the source.
- Reproducing someone else's text through a verbatim translation without indicating that it is a translated quote.
- Copying, reproducing, or using tables, diagrams, or images from someone else's work without providing the source.
Prohibited aid
If you use aids that are not permitted according to the examination instructions, it is considered cheating. Examples of prohibited aids include cheat sheets, mobile phones, calculators and textbooks.
Prohibited cooperation
Cooperating and communicating with someone when it is not allowed according to the instructions is also an example of cheating.
Suspected cheating will be reported
If a suspected case to deceive during examinations (cheating) is discovered, it must be investigated by the department concerned and, if suspicion remains, reported to the Vice-Chancellor. The case may be dealt with by the University’s Disciplinary Board, which decides on any disciplinary measures.
Disciplinary measures are a warning or suspension from the studies up to six months. The most common disciplinary measure decided when a student has attempted to deceive during an examination is suspension from their studies for six weeks.