• Plagiarism is the literal adoption of someone else’s work or parts thereof without citation of sources and presenting it as one’s own work. Paraphrasing or summarizing other people’s work may also constitute plagiarism if insufficient reference is made to the source. Plagiarism is a form of academic misconduct. 
• Academic misconduct is any action or failure to act by a student that is intended to fully or partially prevent the formation of a correct verdict on his knowledge, understanding and abilities. The application of falsified research data in the context of an education component and/or the thesis is also regarded as academic misconduct.

The procedure and sanctions regarding cases of academic misconduct at SSC are as follows: 
See also the SSC memo on its academic misconduct policy.

• If the examiner establishes or has a clear suspicion that academic misconduct is taking place, he immediately notifies the Examination Board of this (preferably by sending an e-mail to the official secretariat of the Examination Board). This notification must be properly substantiated and documented. He also informs the student about his notification to the Examination Board.
• The Examination Board invites the student to a hearing on the alleged academic misconduct and decides on the basis of the documents and, if present, on the basis of the written or oral information provided by the student whether academic misconduct has occurred or not. Further explanation may be required from the examiner.
• In the event that the Examination Board is convinced that academic misconduct has occurred, a sanction will be imposed.
• The Examination Board may award the mark 0 to the examination or constituent examination to which the academic misconduct relates or declare it invalid, hereby observing the principles of legal equality and proportionality. Furthermore, the Board may exclude the student from the following examination for the same course.
• In the event of recidivism or a serious form of academic misconduct, the Examination Board may exclude the student from participation in one or more designated examinations or final degree assessments at VU Amsterdam for a maximum of one year.
• If a very serious form of academic misconduct is established, the Examination Board may propose to the Executive Board that the student’s enrolment be definitively terminated.
• The Examination Board shall not grant an exemption on the basis of an examination that has been taken at another faculty or university during the period in which the student is excluded from participating in examinations.
• The student may lodge an appeal against the decision of the Examination Board with the Examination Appeals Board within six weeks of the announcement of the decision.
• In urgent cases not covered by these rules and guidelines on academic misconduct, the Examination Board will make a decision with due regard for the principles of proper procedure.