Plagiarism and cheating are forbidden at all stages of the studies and in all courses. These forms of misconduct, however minor, are punishable.
Using notes or source material when not specifically allowed as well as any other form of cheating in examinations falls under this category.
Plagiarism means using the thoughts, texts, research results or pictorial material of another person as your own without the appropriate references. One of the fundamental university-level study skills is to make the separation between quoted information and original research. References to the texts and works of others must follow the rules of academic referencing. The teacher of your course can provide more information on correct referencing.
If you are found guilty of cheating or plagiarism, you will receive a grade of fail and lose the right to take the course or examination for which you had registered and in which the cheating or plagiarism was established. The matter will be handled administratively in accordance with the guidelines approved by the Board of the Open University (pdf). Allegations of cheating by students of University of Helsinki faculties will also be handled according to the above guidelines.
The guidelines for the measures to be taken in the case of cheating and plagiarism have been drawn up with reference to the Universities Act, Rector’s Decision No 172/2011 (pdf) and the Regulations on Degrees and the Protection of Students’ Rights at the University of Helsinki (pdf in Flamma).
The University of Helsinki uses the Urkund system for recognising plagiarism. Plagiarism detection and using Urkund