Ghostwriter in the university

The request was successful.

Wan Ulfa Nur Zuhra

Dear Oxford Brookes University,

This request is under the Freedom of Information Act 2000:

1. Please inform me of the number of disciplinary actions taken against students resulting in a fine and/or expulsion in the last five academic years, the reasons for such action being taken, and the results of any appeal.

2. In those academic years (2013 to 2017), How many of those are the case where a ghostwriter involve? (for ex: assignment or dissertation were written by somebody else)

3. How to find out that ghostwriter involvement since many ghostwriter organisations offer the plagiarism checking?

4. Is there any case where your staff involved in that unfair practice, being a ghostwriter for the student? Please give details about the case.

I would request this data in either Excel or CSV format or searchable PDF.

If you feel the information that I have requested cannot be compiled within a reasonable time frame, I would appreciate if you at least can answer my first question.

If you need any clarification then please contact me via email. Under your section 16 duty to provide advice and assistance, I would expect you contact me if you find this request unmanageable in any way.

Yours faithfully,

Wan Ulfa Nur Zuhra

Vanna Leathart, Oxford Brookes University

Dear Wan Ulfa Nur Zuhra,

Freedom of Information Act Request - our reference 2018-050.

Thank you for your email dated 5 March 2018 requesting information from
Oxford Brookes University about ghostwriters.

The University will respond on or before 5 April 2018, the date on which
the 20 working day response period permitted by the Freedom of Information
Act ends.

I may need to contact you again if the request needs to be clarified; this
is to ensure that we provide you with the information you require.

Please note that in certain cases some information you have requested may
not be provided to you; this will only be information that can be withheld
by law. In these cases the reasons will be explained to you along with
your copy of any information that can be released to you.

Yours Sincerely

Vanna Leathart
--
Vanna Leathart
University Records Manager
IT Services
Oxford Brookes University
Tel: +44 (0)1865 484046
Please note my normal working days are Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday.

Vanna Leathart, Oxford Brookes University

1 Attachment

Dear Wan Ulfa Nur Zuhra,

Freedom of Information Act Request - our reference 2018-050.

Further to your email of 5 March 2018 asking for information from Oxford
Brookes University about ghostwriting, I am able to provide the following
information in response to your request.

You asked:

1.      Please inform me of the number of disciplinary actions taken
against students resulting in a fine and/or expulsion in the last five
academic years, the reasons for such action being taken, and the results
of any appeal.

2. In those academic years (2013 to 2017), How many of those are the
case where a ghostwriter involve? (for ex: assignment or dissertation
were written by somebody else)

3. How to find out that ghostwriter involvement since many ghostwriter
organisations offer the plagiarism checking?

4. Is there any case where your staff involved in that unfair practice,
being a ghostwriter for the student? Please give details about the case.

Answer:

The answers to questions 1, 2 and 4 are set out in the attached
spreadsheet.  We do not have the data from 2012-13, but have provided it
for all the other years.

We are withholding some of the information under section 40 of the
Freedom of Information Act 2000.  
Section 40, by virtue of section 40 (3) (a) (i) stipulates that personal
data should not be disclosed if it breaches any of the data protection
principles as set out in the Data Protection Act 1998. In some cases
here the numbers concerned are very low, so releasing these would mean
that individuals could be identified and therefore breach Principle 1
(Personal data should be processed fairly and lawfully). The individuals
concerned would have a reasonable expectation that the fact that they
cheated has been dealt with by the University and penalties applied as
appropriate without this being made public.  However, section 16 of the
Freedom of Information Act 2000 explains that we have a duty to assist
and advise.  Therefore the attached spreadsheet shows the number of
expulsions/fines by year, but the reasons why these penalties were
imposed are not broken down by year.  Where the number is fewer than 5
instances the number has been withheld, but shown as <5.  The same
system is applied to the numbers of appeals.

For question 3, we are withholding this information as we believe
section 43 of the Freedom of Information Act applies here.  Section 43
(2) explains that information is exempt if disclosing it would or is
likely to prejudice the commercial interests of the organisation.  All
our students all know that we use plagiarism software, but we feel that
publishing the other methods we use to detect cheating of this kind
would make it easier for the ghostwriting to remain undetected.  This
could undermine the value of our degrees and harm our reputation. 

If this information does not address your requirements under the Freedom
of Information Act or you wish to complain about any aspect of the
handling of this request, then you should contact the undersigned in the
first instance. Should you remain dissatisfied, then you may apply for an
internal review by contacting the Director of Marketing and Communications
at Oxford Brookes University, Headington Campus, Gipsy Lane, Oxford OX3
OBP (email: [1][email address] ).  Your request for internal
review should be submitted to us within 40 working days of receipt by you
of this response. 

During the independent review the handling of your information request
will be reassessed by staff who were not involved in providing you with
this response. If you remain dissatisfied with the handling of your
request or complaint, you have a right to appeal to the Information
Commissioner at The Information Commissioner's Office, Wycliffe House,
Water Lane, Wilmslow, Cheshire SK9 5AF. Further contact information and
details of the role and powers of the Information Commissioner can be
found on the Commissioner's website: [2]http://www.ico.org.uk/ 

Please note that the Information Commissioner is unlikely to investigate
your case until the University’s internal review process has been
completed.

Yours sincerely

Vanna Leathart

-- 
Vanna Leathart
University Records Manager
IT Services
Oxford Brookes University
Tel: +44 (0)1865 484046
Please note my normal working days are Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday.

References

Visible links
1. mailto:[email address]
2. http://www.ico.gov.uk/