From time to time, Stonebridge Colleges update our policies, terms and conditions to adjust to changing demands. We endeavour to keep our students informed of any such updates, in order to keep the channels of communication open and transparent between parties.
As such, we would like to notify you that we have updated two of our policies: our plagiarism policy and our course reactivation policy. These policies have been updated within our terms and conditions, will be included in the welcome packs for new students, and are posted below.
Should you have any questions about these updates, please contact the college at +44 (0) 1288 356 300, or info@stonebridge.uk.com.
PLAGIARISM POLICY
This section is important. Please read it carefully.
What you learn from our courses is driven by your own effort. The more work you put into studying and learning the material covered, the greater the reward in return. Many of the questions in the assignments can be answered using the course materials provided for you. However, we encourage students to seek out additional information to further their understanding and to gain the most from their learning experience.
In any case, Stonebridge Colleges expects our students to reference their sources appropriately, demonstrating their knowledge clearly and authentically so that our tutors are best able to determine the levels of comprehension. Stonebridge Colleges takes plagiarism very seriously and does not accept copied work submitted as one’s own. To ensure authentic work from our students we have laid out the following guidelines.
What is plagiarism?
Plagiarism is copying or imitating the language, ideas, thoughts, or writings of someone else and pretending that the work is your own. This includes all manner of sources such as books, articles, interviews, websites, television or radio shows, movies, songs, and more. Plagiarism involves cheating, stealing and lying and is a serious offense.
Properly citing sources gives appropriate credit due to the original author and is an opportunity to share important and valuable resources with others. Learning to properly reference your sources sets you up for success in your professional life where you may be required to write reports or articles, or prepare other media.
How to avoid plagiarism?
Stonebridge Colleges requires that students make a concerted effort to reference their sources, giving all the necessary details as to the author, date of publication, type of source, and where it can be found.
Therefore, any direct quotes used in your answers must be put into quotation marks and the source noted with an in-text citation, as well as the full details of the source included in a reference list at the end of the assignment. Additionally, any sources you may have used to research your answers should be included in the reference list.
While we do not require the use of the Harvard System of Referencing, we do prefer it over other systems. Details and examples of this system can be found here: http://libweb.anglia.ac.uk/referencing/harvard.htm.
A hypothetical example of an in-text citation for a direct quote:
“Quoted text.” (Richardson, 2012, p.53)
A hypothetical example of the same source included in a reference list:
Richardson, S., 2012. Good referencing practices: a student’s guide. 1st ed. London: Stonebridge Colleges in association with Sage.
Plagiarising unintentionally is not an excuse. You must make sure that your note taking and any copying of materials from your booklets, texts or reference works is properly identified as you do it, so that when you come back to the material for an assignment, you know whose material and ideas you are working with. You may forget and think they are yours!
Additional Resources:
The Office of Qualifications and Examinations Regulation. (2009). Using sources. A guide for students: Find it – Check it – Credit it. July 2012. Retrieved from http://www.ofqual.gov.uk/files/2009-12-24-plagiarism-students.pdf?Itemid=143.
Plagiarism.org. n.d. What is Plagiarism? July 2012. Retrieved from http://www.plagiarism.org/plagiarism-101/what-is-plagiarism/.
Harvard College Writing Program. n.d. Citing Sources. Harvard Guide to using Sources. July 2012. Retrieved from http://isites.harvard.edu/icb/icb.do?keyword=k70847&tabgroupid=icb.tabgroup112025.
Harvard College Writing Program. n.d. How to Avoid Plagiarism. Harvard Guide to Using Sources. July 2012. Retrieved from http://isites.harvard.edu/icb/icb.do?keyword=k70847&pageid=icb.page342057.
University Libraries, The University of Southern Mississippi. n.d. What is Plagiarism? Welcome to the Plagiarism Tutorial. July 2012. Retrieved from http://www.lib.usm.edu/legacy/plag/whatisplag.php.
COURSE REACTIVATION POLICY
If you are intending to take leave from your course for a period of 6 months or more you are required to notify us in order for us to honour our policy of ‘no time limits’. If you fail to notify us, continuation of your course will incur a £40 reactivation fee.
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