Action Plan against Academic Misconduct
Hanken promotes good scientific practice in research as well as studies. The action plan on academic misconduct outlines how cases of academic misconduct in connection with study performance are handled.
Action Plan for Academic Misconduct in Studies (full document)
Contact information: studycounsellor-hki@hanken.fi or studycounsellor-vaasa@hanken.fi
Academic misconduct in studies includes
- Plagiarism: using someone else's work without proper citation, whether through direct copying or paraphrasing. This also includes self-plagiarism, i.e., reusing one’s own previous work without referencing it.
- Fabrication or distortion: inventing, manipulating, or omitting data, materials, or methods in a way that renders the results false, unfounded, or misleading.
- Exam cheating: use of unauthorised aids, sources or communication channels, or accessing or sharing another student’s answers during an examination.
- Unauthorised collaboration: working together on assignments meant to be completed individually or using a so-called ghostwriter.
- Unauthorised use of artificial intelligence: using AI-based tools in violation of the teacher's instructions.
- Attendance fraud: giving a false account of one's own or someone else's attendance at teaching or other mandatory activity.
- Misrepresentation of contribution: providing a false account of one’s own or another person’s contribution to a piece of work, such as listing co-authorship without having contributed.
The list is not exhaustive. In all cases of academic dishonesty in studies Hanken's Action Plan against Academic Misconduct will be followed.
Hanken's Action plan against academic dishonesty
The following apply if you are suspected of academic misconduct
- Right to respond to allegations: If you are suspected of academic misconduct, you always have the right to be presented with and respond to the accusations.
- Right to rely on evidence: You have the right to provide any written explanations or evidence of your working process (notes, version history, how you used aids, etc.). You are expected to be able to present the documentation within 48 hours of being informed of the suspicion.
- If you admit to misconduct: The examiner will decide on the assessment and report it to the Disciplinary Committee.
- Formal handling: The case always proceeds to formal handling according to the Action Plan if:
- you dispute the misconduct,
- the suspicion remains or is deemed to be more serious, or
- the misconduct concerns a bachelor’s or master’s thesis.
If you are caught cheating during an exam the exam supervisor can end your exam immediately. They must report the course of events to the examiner, who then follows the Action Plan.
Academic misconduct usually results in failing the course. All serious cases of academic misconduct (for example in thesis work) or cases that are seen as precedents will be dealt with by the school's Disciplinary Committee. A student found guilty of cheating or otherwise violates the order at the universtiy can be given a written warning by the Rector of, if the act is serious, suspended from the university for a certain period of time by the Board. The Disciplinary Committee cannot make decisions on penalties, but makes a recommendation to the examiner, the Rector or the Board.
You have the right to file a request for rectification also when you have been failed due to cheating.
Plagiarism and plagiarism check
You must always acknowledge when you have borrowed text from other sources by including a reference. Copying from articles, books, a fellow student’s work, or the internet without informing the reader constitutes plagiarism. Plagiarism violates proper academic conduct and is therefore considered cheating.
To avoid plagiarism, it is essential that you master referencing techniques. Instructions on how to reference correctly can be found in the library’s Reference Guide. As a Bachelor’s student, you will learn referencing techniques in the course Introduction to Academic Studies and during your introductory courses.
All Master’s, Licentiate, and Doctoral theses at Hanken are checked for plagiarism using a plagiarism detection software. Other written assignments may also be subject to plagiarism checks. The software generates a report that the teacher uses as a tool to assess whether a written assignment or thesis contains elements of academic misconduct.
Cheating during exams
During exams
- you are only allowed to bring with you your ID, pens and what possible materials or aids that are explicitly mentioned on the exam paper
- it is forbidden to talk, share materials or use any help not explicitly mentioned on the exam paper
- the exam supervisor has the right to immediately end a student's exam if s/he is caught cheating or is intentionally creating a disturbance.