Academic integrity: Fraud and consequences
You commit fraud when you make it impossible to assess your knowledge, or the knowledge of another student.
We all know that some students cheat intentionally. Other students cheat through ignorance, carelessness or because they succumb to pressure. Could that happen to you? How much do you really know about academic fraud? Have you read VU Amsterdam's Student Charter (chapter 10.2.3)? Did you read the Education and Exam arrangements of your faculty? Can you apply copyright and citation rules? Take some time and find out.
If you are new at VU, you can prevent unintentional fraud by reading and applying the rules used at VU Amsterdam. Every student should know the rules on fraud and plagiarism. If you do not, you can still be held accountable. You may not find cheating very tempting when you know the risks.
Consequences
When you are caught cheating, your work will be declared invalid. The sanction is determined per individual case. Even though details may vary across faculties, all students can receive one or more of these sanctions:
- a reprimand;
- exclusion from this examination;
- all examinations for up to one year.
For the severest cases of fraud, you can be expelled from VU Amsterdam. You can also hurt others: if large scale fraud is suspected, an exam can be declared invalid for the entire class.
Long term
Cheating is not a shortcut; it will put you on the wrong track. When you pass exams through cheating and have not learned the study goals, you have made things more difficult for yourself. You will have trouble keeping up with more advanced courses or you can run into difficulties in your professional life.
No need for panic
If you know the rules you can act accordingly and prevent suspicions of fraud. If at some point you are suspected of fraud, there is no need to panic. A suspicion of fraud does not always result in a ‘guilty’ verdict. You will get the opportunity to give a statement before any judgement is made.