UPM DOES NOT COMPROMISE ON ACADEMIC INTEGRITY

CORPORATE STRATEGY AND COMMUNICATIONS OFFICE
Universiti Putra Malaysia, 43400 Serdang, Selangor Darul Ehsan
Tel: 03-97696092

UNIVERSITI PUTRA MALAYSIA (UPM) STATEMENT REGARDING ISSUE OF
ACADEMIC INTEGRITY AT PUBLIC UNIVERSITIES
July 2nd, 2019

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UPM DOES NOT COMPROMISE ON ACADEMIC INTEGRITY

This statement is a response to Tan Sri Rafidah Aziz's statement as reported by The Malay Mail dated June 29, 2019 on the issue of academic integrity and the stance of the Malaysian Education Minister through a press release by the Education Ministry’s Office dated June 30, 2019 relating to this academic crime.
Universiti Putra Malaysia (UPM) views this unethical practice which includes any form of exploitation, plagiarism or stealing students’ work by academics in universities very seriously. UPM will not tolerate such an unethical practice which tarnishes the integrity and reputation of the country’s universities and education institutions. Hence, UPM will not hesitate to take firm actions including disciplinary actions against the staff and students involved.
UPM would like to highlight that it has a complaint channel that can be accessed by all staff, students and the general public, namely:
1. The U-Response system which has been developed to address the freedom of expressions among students, staff and the public. Any party wishing to provide any feedback or report of any misconduct may use this system which operates in a transparent manner. The system is monitored on a daily basis, and every complaint received is reviewed carefully and attended promptly;
2. Complaints may also be made by mail or e-mail directly to the Vice-Chancellor or any appropriate university officer. Complaints received through this channel will also be investigated, and actions will be taken in accordance to the applicable Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs).
The Integrity Unit under the purview of the Vice-Chancellor's Office has been given the responsibility to handle all integrity cases including academic integrity cases which are referred to several relevant committees that will carry out investigations in a structured and professional manner. Cases will be referred to the Office of the Deputy Vice-Chancellor (Academic and International), and if elements of plagiarism are evident, an Internal Investigation Committee will be established to investigate and obtain further information as necessary. Among the Action Committees are the Student and Staff Disciplinary Committee, the University Research Ethics Committee, the University Research Misconduct Committee and the University Academic Writing and Publishing Committee. Another platform to discuss the issue of plagiarism is the Anti-Corruption Committee (JAR), the official committee that discusses issues pertaining to integrity, including plagiarism.
All these committees are given the authority to conduct an independent investigation on academic integrity cases such as plagiarism in articles, journals or theses based on the enforced regulations. Upon conviction, staff or students will be subjected to disciplinary action.
In addition, UPM upholds the rules and regulations established to address such cases that all staff and students may refer to, namely:
1. Universiti Putra Malaysia (Undergraduate Academic Matters) Rules 2014: Articles 57 (1) and (2): Plagiarism
2. Universiti Putra Malaysia (Graduate Studies) Rules 2003 (Revision 2012-2013) : Part 12: Scholarly Integrity
3. Postgraduate Student’s Guide: Thesis Preparation – Chapter 5: Plagiarism
4. Guidelines to Plagiarism Detection
5. Universiti Putra Malaysia (Research) Rules 2012: Part D – Plagiarism & Research Data Integrity
As a precautionary measure and an initiative to instill continuous awareness on this matter among staff and students, UPM through entities such as the Integrity Unit, School of Graduate Studies, Admission and Academic Development Centre have collaborated to take the following steps:
1. Make announcements on integrity including plagiarism through Info Integrity to all campus citizens on a regular basis;
2. Hold academic integrity briefings to all new undergraduate and postgraduate students;
3. Brief all newly appointed lecturers in the Mind Transformation Programme (PTM) - Integrity, Bribery and Security;
4. Organise Academic Integrity courses to lecturers on a regular basis;
5. Require students to submit Text Similarity Search Report when submitting their thesis for examination.
UPM wishes to emphasise that the measures that have been taken through the establishment of a comprehensive monitoring and enforcement ecosystem to address such cases prove UPM's commitment in strengthening and upholding the university as an educational institution with integrity. Hence, UPM wishes to express its commitment in maintaining academic integrity and will not compromise with any misconduct related to academic integrity.