Procedure for suspected fraud and/or plagiarism
Fraud and plagiarism are serious violations of professional ethics. In order to avoid suspicion of plagiarism all submitted work needs to be properly referenced. The Reinwardt Academy has developed a style guide for this purpose.
If the lecturer or supervisor in charge suspects that fraud and/or plagiarism may have taken place, he/she shall immediately inform the student and also the Examination Board in writing, submitting the written documents and findings. Within 10 working days after the notification, the Examination Board will give the student the opportunity to be heard. A report will be made of the hearing. The Examination Board establishes whether a case of fraud or plagiarism has been committed and informs the student of its decision and sanctions in writing within a period of three weeks, including the possibility of appeal. If plagiarism is discovered or suspected in a particular piece of work, the Examination Board may decide to investigate earlier pieces of work submitted by the same student(s) for plagiarism. The student is obliged to cooperate with such an investigation and may be required to submit digital versions of earlier papers.
The Examination Board is authorised to impose sanctions. Sanctions may include: a reprimand, declaring an examination result invalid, declaring results obtained earlier invalid, if plagiarism is still found in these results, exclusion from participation in one or more examinations for a maximum period of 12 months.
As laid down in the WHW, article 7.12b.2, in case of serious fraud the Executive Board may, at the suggestion of the Examination Board, permanently terminate the enrolment in the study programme of the person concerned. If during the study programme it is established that fraud was committed during the application process, de-enrolment still follows.
If an investigation shows that plagiarism has been committed earlier in the study, the Examination Board may decide to declare invalid the results obtained earlier for components in which plagiarism has been established.
The Examination Board archives the documentation concerning plagiarism and fraud.