As a student at SLU, you have a responsibility to be familiar with the university's rules on cheating and plagiarism. Below you will find examples of cheating and plagiarism, where most examples are taken from SLU's Education planning and administration handbook.
Cheating
Cheating is for example:
- unauthorised aids in written tests
- modification of a returned marked examination
- unauthorised cooperation between students in individual assignments
- plagiarism
- fabricating data, i.e. making up facts
- using AI tools in an unauthorised way
- falsification of documents
- incorrect record of attendance at compulsory education
- incorrect information on previous academic performance relevant to the assessment of credit transfer
To be considered cheating, it must be misleading, that is, it must be done intentionally. The student must have deliberately misled the teacher.
Plagiarism
Plagiarism is a form of cheating. Plagiarism means presenting someone else's work, ideas or text as if they were your own, without giving proper credit or reference to the original source. Common cases of plagiarism are:
- Using someone else's ideas by rewriting their text, but without referring to the source.
- Reproducing text verbatim without labelling it as a quotation, even if the source is indicated.
- Using illustrations, maps, photographs or data without referring to the original source.
When using other people's illustrations, maps and photographs, you must also respect copyright.
Plagiarism can be intentional or unintentional, but whatever the purpose, it is a serious offence against academic integrity. If it is done with the intention of misleading in exams or when assessing academic performance, it is considered cheating and may result in disciplinary action.
How to avoid plagiarising
To avoid plagiarism, it is important to be careful about how you reference. In an academic text, you often use the work of others, and it must be clear what are the works, ideas or texts of others and what are your own analyses and conclusions.
To clearly show when you have used someone else's material, and if you have adapted it in any way, you need to do the following:
- Cite the sources you used, both with in-text citations and a full reference in the reference list.
- Mark when you use someone else's text verbatim through quotations. Depending on the length, the quotation should either be surrounded by quotation marks or written as a block quote. When quoting, always include the page number in the source reference in the text.
- Acknowledge the source of any illustrations, images, maps or similar, and respect copyright.
- Also refer to your previous work as a source. If you use material from a previous academic paper or course, you should refer to it as you would other sources.
Incorrect referencing can constitute cheating. If you are unsure, ask your teacher or library staff.
Read more about referencing and learn how to avoid plagiarising:
Using AI-generated material
SLU has no general guidelines for using AI tools in courses. Generally, you should always be transparent about the sources, including AI tools. Check the course and assignment instructions or ask your teacher if AI tools are allowed and if they are, how to report their use.
Remember that presenting a text or image as your own is cheating if you didn't create it, regardless of it being made by another person or an AI tool.
Consequences of cheating and plagiarism
If you cheat or plagiarise, you not only risk missing out on the knowledge you are expected to learn and the real creators don’t get the deserved recognition – it can also lead to other serious consequences. SLU may take disciplinary action against students who have cheated or done any of the other things listed in Chapter 10 of the Swedish Higher Education Ordinance (see fact box below). The penalty may be a warning or suspension from the programme for up to six months.
SLU works actively against cheating and plagiarism. This includes both preventive and control measures. You can read more about this in the Education planning and administration handbook at SLU, section 10 Cheating and disciplinary measures:
Plagiarism check via Ouriginal by Turnitin
All teachers at SLU have access to the Ouriginal by Turnitin plagiarism detection tool. This tool can be used to review examination and assignment papers by comparing them with a wide range of sources to identify possible plagiarism. The programme generates a report for the teacher showing any similarities with other sources. A match in Ouriginal by Turnitin does not automatically mean plagiarism, since correctly cited texts can also be flagged. The teacher then examines these similarities and compares them with the original source to assess whether there are reasons to suspect deliberate plagiarism.
