University Assessment (Amendment) Regulations, 2021

L.N. 355 of 2021

EDUCATION ACT

(CAP. 327)

University Assessment (Amendment) Regulations, 2021

IN EXERCISE of the powers conferred upon him by articles 74 (5) and 75 (6) of the

Education Act (Cap. 327), the Chancellor of the University of Malta has promulgated

the following regulations made by the Senate of the University of Malta by virtue of

the powers conferred upon it by articles 75 (3) and 79 (b) of the said Act

Citation

These regulations may be cited as the University Assessment

(Amendment) Regulations, 2021 and shall be read and construed as one with the

University Assessment Regulations, 2009, published as Legal Notice 274 of 2009,

hereinafter referred to as “the principal regulations”.

Applicability

These regulations shall be applicable from 1 August, 2021 onwards.

Amendment to regulation 28 of the principal regulations

For sub-paragraph (b) of paragraph (2) of regulation 28 of the principal

regulations there shall be substituted the following

“(b) When the mode of Assessment is by assignment, and there are reasons

for non-submission which the board of examiners considers valid, students shall be

allowed an extension of the deadline by a maximum of three weeks, or if this is

not sufficient because of their circumstances, they shall be allowed to submit the

assignment at the first practicable opportunity, but not later than a maximum of two

months, after the initial deadline.”

Amendment to regulation 38 of the principal regulations

For sub-paragraphs (d) and (e) of paragraph (1) of regulation 38 of the

principal regulations there shall be substituted the following

“(d) in any Assessment, collude with other students to cover one’s own or

other students’ breach of these regulations;

(e) in any Assessment, by any means act in any way that may be reasonably

considered by the Assessment Disciplinary Board to constitute an act of cheating, or

an attempt at cheating or an act intended to assist others to cheat in an Assessment;

and”

The following sub-paragraph (f) shall be added after sub-paragraph (e)

of paragraph (1) of regulation 38 of the principal regulations

“(f) submit work which is not truly their own. In such cases, the student

shall be called for an oral examination. If during the oral examiniation it is confirmed

that there is a serious mismatch between the quality of work submitted and the

performance of the student during the oral examination, a report shall be made to the

University Assessment Disciplinary Board.”

Amendment to regulation 40 of the principal regulations

For regulation 40 of the principal regulations there shall be substituted

the following

“40. (1) When students are alleged to have committed a breach of any of

the provisions in regulation 38 (1) (b), (c) and (d) in work submitted for Study Units

of any value

(a) any case of plagiarism and/or collusion which is deemed to be

minor, and being the student’s first offence, shall be investigated by the Faculty

Assessment Disciplinary Board of the Faculty offering the Study-Unit, composed

of the Dean of the Faculty or his delegate as chair, the Head of Department or his

delegate and a student from among the students’ representatives on the Faculty Board.

The academic who reports the case shall not form part of the Faculty Assessment

Disciplinary Board;

(b) any case of plagiarism and/or collusion which is deemed to be

major, even if being the student’s first offence, shall be investigated by the University

Assessment Disciplinary Board composed as in regulation 42 of these regulations;

and

(c) all second and subsequent offences, whether major or minor,

shall be investigated by the University Assessment Disciplinary Board composed as

in regulation 42 of these regulations.

(2) When a breach of any of the provisions in regulation 38 (1) (b),

(c) and (d) is established to have occurred and the provisions of paragraph (1) of this

regulation apply, the Faculty Assessment Disciplinary Board shall

(a) issue an oral or written reprimand; and/or

(b) reduce the mark of the Assessment or of the relevant Assessment

component if applicable down to, and including, the mark of zero with the possibility

of a reassessment

provided that for a component carrying a weight of up to 20%, it shall reduce

the mark of the relevant Assessment component down to, and including, the mark of

zero with or without the possibility of reassessment.

(3) Instances of collusion or minor plagiarism which occur in the

first year of an undergraduate course may be considered by the Faculty Assessment

Disciplinary Board as academic incompetence.

(4) The University Assessment Disciplinary Board may give direction

and more guidelines to Faculty Assessment Disciplinary Boards on procedures to be

used in such cases.

(5) In cases covered by sub-paragraphs (a) and (b) of paragraph (1)

of this regulation, a report shall be made in writing by the academic who found the

plagiarism and/or collusion in consultation with the Head of Department / Dean of

the Faculty offering the study-unit, stating whether the plagiarism and/or collusion

is deemed to be minor or major. In cases deemed to be minor, the report will be

referred to the Faculty Assessment Disciplinary Board and in cases deemed to be

major, the report will be referred to the University Assessment Disciplinary Board for

confirmation of admissibility.

(6) In cases covered by sub-paragraph (c) of paragraph (1) of this

regulation, the academic who found the plagiarism and/or collusion, in consultation

with the Head of Department / Dean of the Faculty offering the study-unit, will

produce a report in writing to be sent to the University Assessment Disciplinary

Board.”

Amendment to regulation 60 of the principal regulations

The following paragraph (3) shall be added after paragraph (2) of

regulation 60 of the principal regulations

“(3) Work for which the result of a study-unit, or any of its components, has

been reduced or cancelled as a penalty by the Faculty Assessment Disciplinary Board

or the University Assessment Disciplinary Board, cannot be reviewed for the purpose

of a revision of paper.”

€0.27