What is academic misconduct? Teesside Uni defines it as "Any activity or attempted activity which gives an unfair advantage to one or more students over their peers". It is a very serious matter for any student accused of it and covers a range of misdemeanours from collusion, plagiarism, blackmail, bribery, and theft to cheating in exams or paying outside/ online agencies to help with your coursework, especially essays and dissertations. 

How can I avoid issues with academic misconduct? The simple answer is to be as careful what you do and who you do it with when producing coursework as possible! Here are a few other top tips (This is not a definitive list, again, make sure you check out the detailed info from the Uni through the link at the top of the page for more good advice).

• NEVER loan work to other students or borrow work from them or previous students.
• Ensure you know how to reference properly and always keep a record of where you have taken quotations or notes from.
• Avoid paraphrasing apps to help you reword something. Remember that your tutors or academic librarian will always be happy to help and advise on academic writing/ correct referencing if you are unsure.
• TUSU and the Uni both advise making use of the Turnitin website for assessing the quality of your work before submitting. Ensure you are submitting your original work and not a photograph of your work.
• NEVER pay for services provided by unknown commercial providers who will often offer to help with writing essays or producing other course-related material for you.

What should I do if I do get accused of academic misconduct? We realise it will be very worrying and it is, of course, serious but try not to panic! Support and advice is available from both the SU and the University. If you are facing an allegation of academic misconduct, contact the SU Student Support (SUSS) team here in the Students' Union for a confidential discussion; We work closely with the Uni but do operate independently and are here to advise and, where appropriate, represent you when you are facing action against you by the institution. Our staff will advise on what they feel is the best next course of action after reviewing your case, but if you know that the allegations against you are true, then it is always better, to be honest as soon as you meet them; they will not be judgemental about your actions or make you feel uncomfortable, they just want to help if they can.

When meeting with an adviser, try to ensure that you fully understand what you are being accused of and have all relevant materials related to the accusation available for review, including any evidence sent to you from the university. For advice on how to avoid plagiarism and improve your academic writing skills, please contact the Student Success Team through their online hub or by asking at the Student Life Building Reception (Open weekdays from 9 am to 5 pm) and situated just across the road from the Students' Union Building on Southfield Road next to The Clarendon Building. The Learning Hub in the library also provides support to improve your academic writing skills and offers drop-ins, 1:1 support, workshops and lots of online skills guides.