University of Sheffield schools ranked by students reported for cheating and plagiarism

The Sheffield Tab has obtained data showing the number of reports of academic misconduct in each University of Sheffield school.

The data, obtained via a freedom of information request, shows a total of 1,988 cases of academic misconduct raised at school-levels in the 2022/23 and 2023/24 academic years.

When ranked, the Information School tops the list with 335 cases. It is followed by Computer Science (144), East Asian Studies (142), and Biosciences (132).

Architecture, the Medical School, and the Advanced Manufacturing Research Centre are all at the other end of the ranking – with only four reported instances between them.

The most common category of academic misconduct was plagiarism, of which there were 1,392 cases. The second is collusion – working with someone else on an independent task – with 366.

Other cases are categorised as misuse of AI (86), exam cheating (65), self-plagiarism (53), fabrication (13), and commissioning (12) – someone else completing an assessment on a students behalf.

There was only case of academic misconduct relating to ethics.

Of the total number of cases, 143 cases were not admitted by students and subsequently referred to faculties to seek approval to impose a penalty.

35 students were referred to the Student Conduct and Appeals team for potential disciplinary action as set out in Student Discipline Regulations.

A University of Sheffield spokesperson told The Sheffield Tab: “The University of Sheffield takes academic misconduct extremely seriously. The reported figures reflect our robust processes for identifying and addressing these issues.

“The vast majority of cases are resolved at school level, demonstrating the effectiveness of our investigation processes.

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“We provide support and guidance to help students understand what good academic practice looks like to avoid academic misconduct and ensure everyone is assessed fairly.”

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