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Section 3: Coursework

3.1 About this Section


In this section, you will find information on:

  • Submission and preparation of coursework;
  • Penalties that may be applied to coursework that is submitted late or incorrectly;
  • Academic integrity and academic misconduct.

3.2 Preparation of Coursework


3.2a Referencing

Referencing refers to acknowledging the sources used in producing a piece of work. Referencing correctly allows you to:

  • Demonstrate how widely you have researched the topic;
  • Show the basis of your arguments and conclusions;
  • Acknowledge the work of others;
  • Avoid plagiarism.

3.2b Referencing Style

For modules in Leeds University Business School students should use the official University of Leeds version of the Harvard referencing style.

Guidance on how to source citations within the text and how to reference different types of material is available on the referencing pages of the Library website.

Marking of all submitted coursework will be informed by this guidance and will correspond to the style outlined on the Library’s referencing website pages.

3.2c Group Work

If you are working in a group but are expected to submit an individual piece of work, then the coursework you submit must be your own work, even if the group shares the data or ideas obtained as part of a team.

Copying or paraphrasing another student’s work constitutes plagiarism.

Supporting documents for Business school students can be found on the Forms Guidance & Coversheets page of the Leeds University Business School online Student Guide.

3.3 Submission of Coursework


3.3a Coursework Deadlines

Deadline times are set to ensure that you can submit your work well within office hours. Your teaching School will avoid, wherever possible, setting deadlines on:

  • Fridays, the last day of term and the first day of the formal assessment period.

When you submit your work electronically, the time of submission is automatically logged.

It is your responsibility to ensure that work arrives by the deadline.

The deadline for submitting work is normally by 12 Noon UK time on the specified day.

3.3b Declarations of Academic Integrity

You must complete a Declaration of Academic Integrity for all assessment submissions. The statement reminds you of the University’s definition of academic integrity and the consequences of academic misconduct.

3.3c Submission of Coursework

Students should check the work that they submit carefully and are responsible for ensuring the correct work is submitted. The School will only accept the coursework which is submitted by the deadline, regardless of whether a student accidentally submits the wrong coursework or an incomplete draft.

Students should ensure that their uploaded assignments have the standard front cover sheet, available from the Forms Guidance & Coversheets page of the Leeds University Business School online Student Guide.

Detailed advice about how to submit can also be found on the Leeds University Business School online Student Guide Assessment section

It is the student’s responsibility to ensure that they leave sufficient time to complete the online submission process, as upload times can vary. Accessing the submission link before the deadline does not constitute completion of submission. Students must click the ‘CONFIRM’ button before 12 noon for the assignment to be classed as submitted on time. If the deadline is not met students must submit to the Late Area and the assignment will be marked as late.

Students must click the download icon to download a digital receipt. Students are advised to save the receipt in a safe place as this is the only accepted proof of submission.

From within the document viewer, click the “Download” icon to download your digital receipt.

Save your receipt in a safe place as this will be the only accepted proof of submission.

It is the student’s responsibility to ensure the correct file is uploaded to Minerva, and that it has been uploaded successfully.

3.3d Penalties for Exceeding Word Count

All coursework assignments that contribute to the assessment of a module are subject to a word limit, as specified in the online module assignment brief in the relevant module area of Minerva.

The word limit is an extremely important aspect of good academic practice and must be adhered to.

Unless stated specifically otherwise in the relevant module handbook, the word count includes everything that is included in the main body of the assignment including summaries, subtitles,  tables, and supportive material (whether this is in the form of footnotes or in-text references) It does not include the main title, the reference list and/or bibliography and any appendices.

It is not acceptable to present matters of substance, which should be included in the main body of the text, in the appendices as this is deemed appendix abuse. In addition, it is also not acceptable to attempt to hide words in graphs and diagrams; only text which is strictly necessary should be included in graphs and diagrams.

You are required to adhere to the word limit specified and state an accurate word count on the cover page of your assignment brief. Your declared word count must be accurate and should not mislead.

Making a fraudulent statement concerning your submitted work could be considered as academic malpractice and investigated as such.

If the amount of work submitted is higher than that specified by the word limit or that declared on your word count, this may be reflected in the mark awarded and noted through individual feedback given to you.

3.3e Penalties for Late Submission of Coursework

If you submit your work past the deadline, penalties will be applied.

The penalty is deducted from the mark for the individual piece of work that has been submitted late. For every period of 24 hours or part thereof that your assessment is overdue, you will lose 5% of the total marks available for that assessment component. This includes weekends, Bank Holidays and University closed days. The deduction is applied before any conflation with other marks (i.e. with other assessment components for the module) to give the overall result of the module. If your assessed work is over 14 days late, the submission will be deemed to have failed for non-submission (a day being a single 24-hour period).

Online Time Limited Assessments with a duration of 48 hours or less must be submitted within the time period stated. Late submissions will not be accepted in any circumstances.

If you have not left sufficient time to submit, you may have to submit your work to the Late Area in Minerva and you will incur a late penalty.

If you have not received a receipt for your coursework submission, this may be because your submission has not successfully uploaded. If this is not rectified before the deadline time, you will incur a late penalty. Please see section 3.3c for further information about timely submission and obtaining a receipt.

If you fail to ensure that you have uploaded the correct file to Minerva, it will be deemed that you have not submitted and if this situation is not corrected before the deadline, you will incur a late penalty.

3.3f Penalties for Academic Misconduct

The University takes all forms of academic misconduct very seriously. You may be excluded from the University without award if you present coursework in breach of the University’s rules on academic integrity.

The Academic Misconduct Procedure is available on the Student Cases website page.

3.3g Proofreading

The University policy on proofreading provides definitions of proofreading in the University of Leeds context, and guidance to help avoid contravening the policy, and possible consequences of doing so.

You are required by the University to proofread your own work. Guidance on proofreading is available from the University Library website.

3.4 Academic Integrity and Academic Misconduct


Academic integrity is a commitment to good study practices and shared values, which ensures that your work is a true expression of your own understanding and ideas, giving credit to others where their work contributes to yours. This University definition of academic integrity recognises that each individual has a responsibility to contribute honestly within our academic community.

Breaching academic integrity standards can lead to serious penalties.

Guidance on Academic Integrity and Academic Misconduct can be found on the For Students website pages.

Definitions of specific integrity breaches can be found in the Academic Misconduct Procedure on the Student Cases website page.

3.4a Academic Integrity Tutorial and Test

There is a compulsory online academic integrity tutorial and test for all students.

The tutorial comprises a series of short units and an associated end of tutorial test explaining good study habits (e.g. good note taking and referencing) as well as practices that undermine the integrity of academic work (e.g. plagiarism, collusion and third-party authorship).

If you are new to study at the University, you must complete all the units and correctly answer all questions in the associated test. You should complete this within your first few weeks of teaching, following the timetable specified by your School, and before submitting any formative or summative assessed work. Completion will be monitored by your School.

Further details are available on the Minerva Support website page.

3.4b Academic Integrity Education

All taught programmes provide specific advice regarding academic integrity and good practice in writing and, where appropriate, the production of other forms of academic work. You will also be directed to information that explains how and why such forms of behaviour are not consistent with academic integrity, and the consequences of academic misconduct, such as plagiarism, collusion, reliance on others to do your work for you and unauthorised use of artificial intelligence. The compulsory online academic integrity tutorial will provide advice and guidance on these topics. The Library also provides detailed guidance and training materials related to academic integrity in the Academic Skills section of the Library website.

Leeds University Business School has an Academic Integrity Officer who is a nominated member of academic staff responsible for ensuring consistency within the Faculty in relation to the implementation of plagiarism procedures and practice and the investigation of suspected cases of plagiarism.

The role of the Business School’s Academic Integrity Officer is to ensure equity of treatment of all students. The role holder is also responsible for plagiarism education, including raising staff and student awareness of plagiarism issues.

Leeds University Business School takes plagiarism education very seriously. Good academic practice advice is embedded into induction sessions for all students. Students are directed towards the Academic Integrity Tutorial and Test (see 3.4a above) and are directed to the LUBS Referencing & Presentation Guidance information at the start of their programme.

All students have access to study skills sessions directly via skills@library

Guidance on academic referencing is integrated into selected modules on every taught programme.

Further information about referencing can be found on the Skills@Library referencing pages.

3.4c Re-using Your Own Work

Submitting or re-submitting the same work or part of the same work, in exactly the same form, to satisfy the requirements of more than one assessment is considered misconduct, even if the work is for a different module or qualification. This is because it is unfair to reward the same work twice.

This includes work that you may have completed at school, college, or at another University before coming to Leeds. There may, however, be exceptions to this rule where an initial submission is intended to help you to develop a second, usually larger, piece of work. You will receive specific instructions where this is the case.

If there are other instances where you feel that a further exception is justified, you must have specific written permission from the University staff concerned.

34d Advice from Staff

It is your responsibility to work with academic integrity. Where the School agrees that you can submit a draft for initial advice and feedback, if evidence of academic misconduct is found in the draft, staff will advise you on academic integrity, but it is not their responsibility to identify and highlight academic misconduct in draft work.

Whether or not you have submitted a draft, and whether or not the School has identified academic misconduct in the draft, you remain responsible for the submissions you make.

3.4e Draft or Erroneous Submissions

You are responsible for assessment submissions. If, after making a submission, you claim that you mistakenly submitted a draft or the wrong version, your original version will be treated as the submission.

If the School finds that it contains academic misconduct, it will attract penalties.

3.4f Cheating

Cheating in University examinations is taken very seriously by the University. If you are found to have breached the University’s rules governing the conduct of examinations, you are likely to be permanently excluded from the University with no award.

3.4g Artificial Intelligence in Assessments

Content generated by artificial intelligence assistance tools and presented as your own work does not comply with the University’s definition of academic integrity and would be considered an academic misconduct offence. You will be clearly advised when it may be appropriate to make use of artificial intelligence assistance tools and you will need to clearly acknowledge when you have made use of artificial intelligence tools in developing your work.

The latest statement of principles of academic integrity and good study practices is available on the For Students website pages.

3.5 Checking for Academic Misconduct


The School uses a number of ways to check for academic misconduct, including manual checks from the staff marking your work as well as electronic tools.

3.5a Explanation of Turnitin

The University uses an internet-based text-matching service called Turnitin to provide evidence of originality of electronic coursework submissions. The tool compares text submitted with a wide range of electronic material, including journals, websites and student work from current and previous years, from Leeds and other UK universities.

The software highlights if you have submitted the same or similar text as another student, or published material, or if you have submitted the same or similar text for more than one assessment.

3.5b Use of Turnitin

Your School will provide you with an introduction to Turnitin during your first semester of study to support your understanding of academic integrity.In your first year as a Level 1 Undergraduate or Taught Postgraduate you may be allowed one opportunity to see a part of a Turnitin originality report, based on an example assignment. You may also be allowed one opportunity to see an originality report for a draft assignment you have written, as long as this is under academic supervision.

At level 2 and above, you will not be provided with an originality report.

3.5c Turnitin and Academic Misconduct

Whether or not the School has used Turnitin routinely for a particular assessment, if the person marking your work is suspicious of academic misconduct, that piece of work will be submitted to Turnitin.

3.5d Originality Reports

The originality reports created by Turnitin are considered for possible academic misconduct as part of a review of a submission. However, it is your School, and not the software tool, that will decide whether or not academic misconduct has taken place; Turnitin is just one element of the evidence used to make this decision.

Your School will check all originality reports for work submitted electronically through Turnitin for plagiarism, regardless of the percentage match indicated by the similarity index.

Leeds University Business School checks all assessed coursework for plagiarism using the Turnitin software. The Module Leader is generally responsible for undertaking this check. Where this process identifies sufficient concerns about the originality of content within a piece of work, an investigation will be initiated to explore the academic integrity of the work. The mark and feedback will be withheld until the investigation is complete. In cases where the outcome of that investigation is suspicion of plagiarism or academic malpractice, the student will be required to attend a meeting with the Plagiarism Panel.

3.6 completion of Coursework


You are expected to submit all coursework associated with modules, including formative assessment. If you persistently neglect your studies or repeatedly fail to submit coursework within a reasonable time, the School may begin disciplinary proceedings which could result in you being excluded from assessments and/or required to withdraw from the University.

The School will follow the University’s formal procedures for this.