In our regulations, poor academic practice has a special definition. Poor academic practice is a kind of academic misconduct. It is where you break the rules slightly, but without meaning to.

Poor academic practice is usually because of inexperience: you haven't quite figured out how to present your academic work and acknowledge your sources correctly. If you have been at university for a while, you cannot usually claim 'poor academic practice': it is your responsibility to learn how to present your work correctly.

Poor academic practice normally takes the form of:

• Incomplete references
• Incorrect use of quotations
• Unacknowledged use of AI (for a small quantity of work)
• Minor errors in recognising the work of others in your assignments

Academic Concern Meeting

If your tutor alleges poor academic practice, you will be invited to an Academic Concern Meeting.

The purpose of an Academic Concern meeting is to encourage you to improve your academic skills and scholarship. The most usual outcome of an Academic Concern Meeting is a 'notice to improve'. This is your opportunity to do just that. Visit the Skills Centre for help.

Important: If there continues to be a problem with your academic practice, you might have to face an Academic Conduct Panel, and this can apply more serious sanctions.