Case Study : Academic Malpractice Allegations Dismissed

Case Study
Final Year language student

initially found guilty of academic

malpractice. RT Coopers instructed

thereafter to draft a Review to the

Deputy Vice-Chancellor. Successful

outcome as Allegations dismissed

and first-class degree awarded.

Final year student (‘our client’) studying BA (Hons) languages. Our client was wrongly accused of plagiarism in two assignments. Following an investigation by the Investigative Panel No 1 into plagiarism, it was decided that there was no plagiarism.

Introduction
The module leader (tutor) was convinced that there was academic malpractice, and our client was then wrongly accused of academic malpractice. A second hearing held by the Investigative Panel No 2 found that it was extremely probable that our client had received support in the preparation of the assignments. The outcome letter stated that:
‘Based on your previous academic writing and performance, it was considered that you were not the sole author.’

Although our client denied all allegations on appeal, the Investigative Panel No 2 referred our client to a committee. The Committee found our client guilty of academic malpractice. The main penalties were to resubmit and obtain pass grades for the new assignments. Once our client passed the assignments, the university would zero the marks for each assignment. Zero marks would have changed the degree classification from a predicted first class to a 2:1. The Committee further stated that if our client failed any of the assignments then our client would be excluded. The Committee stated (i) the outcome of academic malpractice was based on academic judgment; and (ii) the work was of such a high standard that it had to be written by a native person (which was not the case). Another firm represented the client up to this outcome.

RT Coopers were instructed at this point to prepare the Review to the Deputy Vice-Chancellor. Our client was being penalised for working hard and exceeding the expectations of a tutor who clearly thought our client was a mediocre student, which was not the case. The tutor had previously referred to our client as an ‘average student’, which fitted the narrative that our client would not be capable of achieving this high standard of work, despite having a record of high achievements.

The tutor was a native speaker of the specific language of the assignments and was present during the Investigative Panel 2 hearing. No other Panel members understood or were able to speak this language. The tutor believed our client had cheated. During the hearing of the Investigative Panel No 2, the Panel asked the tutor to match our client’s speed in answering the questions in the foreign language to our client’s capability.

Grounds
RT Coopers drafted a robust Review document to the Deputy Vice-Chancellor on grounds of procedural irregularity and new evidence. It was our view that our client deserved a first as our client always strived to reach high standards in academic work and showed persistence in the face of adversity.
There was no question that our client drafted these assignments. The Committee had based the outcome on the tutor’s academic judgment.

Outcome
On review by the Deputy Vice-Chancellor, our client’s assignments were marked and given the correct grades. There were two remaining assignments for our client to submit and pass. On passing these assignments, our client was awarded a BA (Hons) first class in languages. © RT Coopers, 2023

Testimonial
Final year language student wrongly accused of academic malpractice. The allegations were denied by the student. There was clearly mishandling of the case by the university as the university had no evidence and sought to rely on academic judgement. The case was investigated and referred to a committee. RT Coopers picked up the case after another firm of solicitors had drafted a statement for the student and academic malpractice was upheld. RT Coopers drafted a detailed appeal on grounds of procedural irregularity and mitigating circumstances. Student academic appeal was successful - allowed to progress with first class honours. First published in Google Business Profile Reviews.

'Update: I have received a successful outcome to my case and I do not think I will ever be able to express my gratitude to Dr Rosanna Cooper enough. Rosanna agreed to take on my case at a time that I truly began to accept that all might be lost after being ignored, misled and mistreated by my University. I was told by previous legal representation that once a University sides with academic judgement there isn’t really much you can do to challenge that. However, when I came to Rosanna, she reassured me that all was not lost and that there was a way to fight back. I can honestly say Rosanna’s tenacity, meticulousness, insight, humour and heart was a heaven send when I needed it most. She told me to let go of my distress and emotion and to pull my socks up and get to work and that’s exactly what we did together. Rosanna understood me more than I understood myself and showed me that she was going to fight as hard as she could in my corner. From the get-go, Rosanna demonstrated her expertise and intellectually sophisticated approach to understanding every minor detail of my case in order to truly grasp what had gone on. Once she understood all of the evidence and with her impeccable understanding of University policies and procedures, she skilfully linked the important details of my case with the necessary evidence into succinct arguments. She also helped me to comprehensively convey that I have mental health issues that had an unforeseeable impact on my studies and which had previously not been considered by my University. She worked morning through the night and over and above what she had previously predicted, in a very short space of time, to help me build my case from scratch all over again. I can honestly say I have never met someone so dedicated to their work and achieving the right and just outcome. She had an envious ability to see the bigger picture whilst also being able to unearth the small but indispensable arguments in my case. If you need a lawyer on your side, not only to fight with their skill but also their heart, Rosanna is without a doubt, the person you want on your side. As someone has said in a previous review – there is no number of stars that could qualify my satisfaction with Rosanna Cooper and RT Coopers Firm'. j t