Plagiarism Prevention Policy

Please be advised that the Plagiarism Prevention Policy was approved by Senate on 19 September 2019.

Plagiarism poses a considerable problem for academic institutions worldwide as many students and/or researchers do not realise that it is a serious form of academic misconduct that can lead to expulsion from an institution such as a university, civil claims and even criminal charges.

The policy provides a framework for deterring, detecting and dealing with plagiarism consistently across all faculties and departments of the University.

The policy applies to the academic activities of the University and by implication all those involved in these activities. The emphasis is primarily on undergraduate and postgraduate students and the assessment of students’ learning. Two mechanisms are proposed: firstly, deterrence and assessment through informative, educative and preventative mechanisms (i.e. Library training on plagiarism prevention and referencing as well as guidance in class or in study guides or online), and secondly, policing (i.e. detecting plagiarism and dealing with transgressors).

More information and guidance regarding the policy and implementation thereof can be obtained from the Department for Education Innovation and the Department of Library Services.

The policy, guidelines and relevant forms are available on the academic policies page on the staff intranet, the policies page of the student intranet and the policies page on the UP public website.

Support service departments and faculties are required to delete all previous versions of the policy that were uploaded to either the intranet or the public web.

Thank you for your attention and cooperation.

Escalation Policy

Please be advised that the Escalation Policy was approved by the University of Pretoria’s Executive Committee on 13 August 2019. The Policy is supported by the Guidelines for staff members for escalation of matters and the Guidelines for students for escalation of matters.

The purpose of this policy is to set out clearly the route that should be followed by staff, students, researchers, service providers and contractors in escalating issues, concerns and complaints to Senior Management and the Executive of the University of Pretoria.

It should be noted that this policy is applicable to all staff, students, researchers, service providers and contractors at the University of Pretoria, and all persons whom they may engage to take up issues with the University on their behalf.

It is therefore important to ensure that staff members, service providers and students are informed of the said policy and guidelines.

The Policy and supporting guidelines are available on the UP Policies page on the University’s website; the Governance policies page on the Staff intranet; and the Student policies page on the Student intranet.

Thank you for your attention and cooperation.