Plagiarism Avoidance Guide

The term ‘sanctions’ refers to potential penalties or actions taken towards a student that are set in place when a student is found guilty of plagiarism. The tables below indicate the applicable sanctions for undergraduate and postgraduate students respectively.

Point of clarity for understanding the tables of sanctions:

Where the tables below refer to students losing 20% of the assignment mark or 50% of the assignment mark this means that if the original mark awarded to the work was 60%, then the student’s assignment final mark will be reduced to 48% (the less 20% rule) or reduced to 30% (the less 50% rule).

Plagiarism Sanctions for Undergraduate Students
Plagiarism from textual/Internet sources
Harvard referencing
Category	Sanction
	1^st Offence	2^nd Offence
Incorrectly done	Warning letter	0% for the assignment
Presenting someone else’s work as your own
Category	Sanction
	1^st Offence	2^nd Offence
Content plagiarised	Assignment mark less 50%	0% for the assignment
Paraphrasing someone else’s work and presenting it as your own
Category	Sanction
	1^st Offence	2^nd Offence
Content paraphrased	Warning letter	0% for the assignment

Plagiarism from another student/group of students
Voluntary syndication
Category	Sanction
	1^st Offence	2^nd Offence
a) Student can present proof of own work b) Student cannot present proof of own work	a) Assignment mark less 20% b) Assignment mark less 50%	a) 0% for the assignment b) 0% for the assignment
Involuntary syndication
Category	Sanction
	1^st Offence	2^nd Offence
a) Student did not collude – with clear evidence of innocence b) Student appropriated the work of others c) Student did not attend inquiry: guilty in absentia	a) Award full mark b) 0% for the assignment c) 0% for the assignment	a) n/a b) Suspension for 3 semesters c) Suspension for 3 semesters

Table 1: Plagiarism Sanctions for Undergraduate Students

Plagiarism Sanctions for Postgraduate Students
Category	Sanction
	1^st Offence	2^nd Offence
a) Up to 59% of content plagiarised regardless of the category b) 60% + of the content plagiarised regardless of the category	a) Another submission to be provided b) 0% for the module. Re-register for the module	a) Suspension for 3 semesters b) Suspension for 3 semesters

Table 2: Plagiarism Sanctions for Postgraduate Students

3^rd Offences for All Students
Category	Sanction
Third offence of plagiarism (as a total during all years of study at the IMM Graduate School)	Dis-enrollment

Table 3: Plagiarism Sanctions for 3rd Offences - all students

Please note: The total number of offences is calculated as the sum of offences that take place during the entire period of study with the IMM Graduate School, regardless of the programme or the year of study registered for.