Academic misconduct
Find out what you can do if you've received an academic misconduct letter.
If you've received an academic misconduct letter, it means you may have breached academic integrity standards. Breaches can be deliberate (like cheating in an exam or using unauthorised AI to write an essay) or accidental (like not referencing properly). You'll find a full list in the Student Misconduct Procedure. Your letter will outline the concerns that relate to your case and include evidence of the alleged breach.
What to do next
Follow these steps or download a pdf version (186 KB).
How Student Advocacy can support you
You can ask for help at any point in the process, but the earlier the better. We can:
- clarify what you're being accused of and explain the penalty
- advise you on your rights and the procedures
- help you write a response
- review a draft of your response and give you feedback
- prepare you for your hearing
- attend the hearing with you as a support person
- help you with any further appeals processes.
Schedule a time to chat
Write some notes about why you think you received an academic misconduct letter and what your response is going to be, then book an appointment with Student Advocacy.
Access other support if you need it
If you'd like to talk to someone about any challenges you're having, consider booking time with one of our counsellors. The service is free and confidential.
Our LSAs can help you improve your academic writing, referencing or time management skills. You can meet on campus or online.
Complete this self-paced Moodle module to learn how to paraphrase and reference correctly, what counts as plagiarism and how to avoid it.