How to deal with

suspicion of cheating
A guide for UiB staff
How to deal with suspicion of cheating
A guide for UiB staff

December 2010
Introduction
Ethics and academic integrity have been an important focus area at UiB since
the appointment of the Strand Committee in 2007. The Action Plan for Work
on Academic Integrity was adopted by the University Board in April 2009.
This guide follows up the plan and it aims to provide guidance for staff by
giving a brief overview of procedures and who is responsible for what in cases
involving suspicion of cheating.

“The fundamental values relating to academic activities

at UiB are openness, verifiability, scientific integrity and
critical discussion. ”
 UiB’s pillars

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Contents
Introduction 2
What is cheating? 4
How is suspicion of cheating dealt with? 6
Use of Ephorus 7
Cheating in class exams 9
The Appeals Committee 9
Student’s rights 10
More information 10

Content
Division of Student Affairs, UiB
Layout
Division of Communication, UiB
Photo
Colourbox.no: Cover
Paul Sigve Amundsen: p. 8

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What is cheating?
Cheating and academic integrity are multifaceted concepts. In education,
cheating is a term associated with exams and the assessment of students’
work. Pursuant to the Act relating to Universities and University Colleges, The
Appeals Committee can annul an exam or approval of a course if the student
‘has attempted to cheat or wilfully or through gross negligence has cheated
in the course of or prior to the final assessment of the examination or test
concerned, or while taking the course in question’ (§ 4–7). ‘Gross negligence’
is when a student did not mean to cheat, but has failed to comply with an
existing norm for how careful one has to be in order not to break the rules.
What is cheating in the educational context? A general definition is that the
student ‘has illegal aids available during an exam or otherwise act in conflict
with the exam regulations or rules for use of sources in written work. ’1 When a
student cheats, it is impossible to give a fair assessment of the student’s work.
It is also a sign that the student has not learned and understood the academic
norms that are central to our work. One important category of cheating,
therefore, is scientific misconduct, ‘falsification, fabrication, plagiarism and
other serious breaches of good scientific practice that have been committed
wilfully or through gross negligence when planning, carrying out or reporting
on research’.2
Students can be directed to the document “The use of sources in written
work at the University of Bergen” which gives an introduction to correct
referencing. The document is available at My Space and uib.no/academic-
integrity .

1 Proposition No 40 to the Odelsting (2001–2002)

2 Act of 30 June 2006 No. 56 on ethics and integrity in research, Section 5

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Examples of cheating
Not referring to your sources or referring to fake sources.
Not clearly marking text from other sources as citations.
Finding a paper on the internet and submitting it as the student’s own paper.
Submitting a paper used by another person earlier or by the student for another class or
assignment.
The paper is written by someone other than the student
Breaking the rules regarding collaboration and working together
Using aids that are not allowed

Signs of cheating/plagiarism
Change of writing style
The text seems familiar/I have read it before
Mix of citation styles, missing citations/references
Sources in the bibliography that have not been cited
Strange formatting and changes in formatting/lay out
The academic quality of the paper is very varied

When cheating is suspected in a written assignment, it is important to

consider:
• The amount of cheating: identical text, missing citations, missing reference
list.
• How serious is the plagiarism? The more the student has actively and
deliberately tried to cheat and the more the student has tried to cover up
the act, the stronger the reaction will be. Repeated attempts to cheat will
warrant a stronger reaction.

If you are uncertain whether or not there are reasonable grounds for suspicion
of cheating, you should present the documentation to the academic and
administrative management of the department or centre.

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How is suspicion of cheating dealt with?
Ephorus reports text similarities
(assign. submitted electronically)
The Appeals Committee
considers the case and
makes a decision (can
be appealed to the Joint
Appeals Commitee for
Student Matters).
The faculty prepares
the case for the Appeals
Committee with a cover
letter. The student is
informed about the
faculty’s decision.
The student receives a
warning, guidance on
better work practices, and
the paper is graded. A
deduction may be made
from the grade.
The student’s paper is
graded as usual. The
student receives a letter
that the case will not be
pursued further. Guidance
on better work practices
may be included.
* The term lecturer refers to everyone who is in contact with students in a
teaching context.
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Cheating is suspected in a paper
The other papers are graded
in accordance with the
normal procedure, and the
results are announced as
normal by the applicable
deadlines.
Based on the conversation, it
is concluded that the student
has cheated. The department
sends a report to the faculty
as an urgent matter.
Based on the conversation,
it is decided that the case
concerns minor violations of
academic norms. The case is
handled by the department.
Based on the conversation,
it is decided that the case
does not involve cheating.
The case is closed by the
department.
The paper is not graded
The examiner/
lecturer* writes a
report in which the
suspicion of cheating is
documented (refer to
sources that have been
plagiarised).
The report is presented
to the Management
of the department
(academic integrity
committee if
applicable).
Based on the report,
the leadership of the
department requests
the student to attend
a meeting. The case
is discussed and the
student is given an
opportunity to explain
him/herself.
Examples of non-extenuating circumstances when dealing with cheating
In the Act relating to Universities and University Colleges,
attempts to cheat are deemed to be on a par with cheating
– assuming the student has had the intent to complete the
Attempts to cheat act. This means that it is not necessary for the student to have
actually completed the exam or other mandatory task in
violation of the regulations. It is sufficient that he/she has made
preparations to do so (wilfully or through gross negligence).
Strict requirements apply to everyone, but the more
experienced the student is, the more stringent the
The student’s requirements. There is nothing in UiB’s practice to indicate
situation that students are treated differently depending on where they
are from or whether they have previously studied at other
institutions.
The university is responsible for informing students about the
regulations and ensuring that relevant information is readily
available. However, the Ministry of Education has stated: ‘In
exam and test situations, strict requirements apply to students.
The student did not
Each student is responsible for familiarising him/herself before
know the rules
an exam with what aids are lawful and with the guidelines for
their use. ’ (Ruling of 21 March 2001 in an appeal case following
the annulment of an exam because of cheating at the University
of Oslo).
All written work that is produced and submitted by a student
Assignment vs.
is subject to the same requirements for academic integrity and
exam
the use of sources.

Use of Ephorus
The University of Bergen has used the anti-plagiarism program Ephorus since
autumn 2004. The program is based on electronic submission of assignments.
It is integrated with the learning support systems Kark and My space. All
submitted assignments can be sent directly to Ephorus from these systems.
Ephorus searches the submitted assignments and compares them with text
on the internet and in previously submitted assignments. In cases where a
sufficient amount of textual similarities are found, notification will be sent
by Ephorus by email. The results must be checked and it will be up to the
individual staff member to decide whether there are sufficient grounds for
suspecting the student of cheating. All members of staff who want to use
Ephorus can do so.

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Cheating in class exams
One of the invigilator’s duties is to check the exam premises before and
during an exam. Illegal aids are nevertheless sometimes found on the
student’s desk. In recent years, mobile phones have been a particular
problem. If an invigilator suspects cheating in a written class exam, the chief
invigilator must be informed. The chief invigilator must record the incident,
collect any documentation, inform the Division of Student Affairs, and then
write a report about what happened. The student is allowed to complete the
exam, but is informed that the Division of Student Affairs will not forward
his/her exam paper to the examiner. The Division will send the report to the
relevant faculty, which is responsible for bringing the case before The Appeals
Committee.

The Appeals Committee

Pursuant to the Act relating to Universities and University Colleges § 5–1,
the university shall have an Appeals committee. The committee has five
members: two university lecturers, two students and a chair (who meets
the requirements for a Court of Appeal judge). The committee meets about
once a month and hears, among other things, cases involving cheating. The
Appeals Committee has the authority to annul a student’s exam or course
pass. The committee can also expel a student from UiB and all universities
and university colleges in Norway for one or two semesters. No time bar
applies to the right to annul an exam. 3 Suspicion of cheating can therefore
be investigated long after it happened, even after the student has left the
university. If it is decided to annul an exam, transcripts of grades and any
diploma must be returned to the university. 4

3 The Act relating to Universities and University Colleges § 4–7 no. 4

4 The Act relating to Universities and University Colleges § 4–7 no. 5

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Student’s rights
While the department or faculty are carrying out investigations to decide
whether or not to initiate a case on grounds of cheating, the student is
entitled to see relevant documents, to explain her/himself and to voice her/
his opinion. The student can also be assisted by a lawyer or another person,
although such expenses will not be covered by the university.
Once the faculty has sent the case to The Appeals Committee, the student is
entitled to a lawyer at the university’s expense. The student is still entitled to
have access to the case documents and to comment on the case in writing.
The student can also request a meeting with the board’s secretary. If the
student is convicted, he/she can appeal the decision to the national “Felles
klagenemnd” (Joint Appeals Committee for Student Matters) within three
weeks. The student is entitled to have her/his legal expenses covered if he/she
has been expelled, but not otherwise.

More information
Contact your department/centre or faculty or see:
uib.no/academic-integrity

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