(Archive) Results withheld/ deferred

Hi @trephena I am really worried as my result is witheld. I am 100% certain i didn't copy anything. I put quotations and a paraphrased everything. Nothing in my RAP is without a reference in the reference list. I do have a lot of sources and i gathered a lot of different information so i don't know. For SLS... everything is my individual experience but of course it's not my fault if people had the same experience as me. Or if i noticed i had the same experience as them. However every single thing is personalised. I don't know if i should start preparing another RAP for the next submission or wait for my result which i don't even know when it will come!

Pleas read through the last 3 or 4 pages above. If there is nothing wrong you will eventually be cleared - it may be too much copying and pasting of internet material. Beyond a certain percentage this becomes an academic offence (malpractice). Sometimes work is deferred if the moderator believes the mentor has committed an offence then occasionally all their students' work is then looked at (i e. Deferred) This can be where spreadsheets and presentations are considered too similar. According to my marker friend she had a case where a student used his nickname on his computer files and had got his own registration number wrong so it looked like he had taken the work from someone else! If you suspect it could be too much copying and pasting read the section on Malpractice in the Information Pack and look at Golden Rule No. 10 in the Open Tuition Ultimate Guide to Referencing your RAP on our homepage www.opentuition.com/obu

Read through the experience of shay88 above. If you have done nothing wrong and all the work is yours then you will be exonerated. The SLS experiences at be similar but people express them differently so there would only be matches where someone has engaged in copying and rewording (in which case the ACO send you the Turnitin report to show you and you can see from this the amount for yourself). Try not to worry - see the case regarding the nickname -my friend also said she had a similar case where a female student's father called the home computer after the family dog and she wondered why the girl's work was all done by Shenney Boy! If you are innocent your result will be released after they have contacted you and you would be given a further resubmission attempt in P35 as long as you were eligible to submit in P34 if your 10 year period expires before November so do not panic about rushing to do a new RAP at this stage. (Normally I think they try to process those closer to the 10 year expiry first but I cannot be sure). Try not to worry -easier said than done I know :-)

Thanks. What do you mean by too much copy paste of internet material? I didn't copy paste anything. I also used very few quotes. Like maybe 2-3 max short sentences which were essential.

How long does it take for the ACO to respond with his/her queries? Given that this is my 2nd attempt and i have paid for mentor and acca re submission again. Its so depressing with all the efforts and time off from work to complete the project is all going in vain. I tried changing the topic this time as i felt i would do better on a different topic. I would rather do a degree from other universities where i know my hard work and effort will pay off if i fail:(

Thanks. What do you mean by too much copy paste of internet material? I didn’t copy paste anything. I also used very few quotes. Like maybe 2-3 max short sentences which were essential. @trephena

I can only comment generally on what are the 'usual' problems. I am told that before anyone is deferred (unless the issue lies with the mentor) at least 2 senior markers make the decision to refer it to the ACO and it is based on some initial evidence that the content is not entirely the student's original own work. All UK Universities are regulated about the integrity of their degrees and the regulator has warned them that they must ensure that proper procedures are in place to stamp out plagiarism as it affects the quality assurance of all degrees awarded by UK universities. If OBU did not investigate they would be failing in their legal duty. However if as you both insist that you are innocent, as with shay88 you will be cleared and given the result. Apparently 10% of submissions are referred (so upwards of 150 ACO cases each session) with the ACO working its way through them. As with everything I suppose it depends on the complexity of the case and the evidence. As a general comment I have warned about ensuring you choose a reputable mentor - OBU has stripped students of the degree in cases where the mentors have provided sample files rather than just guidance. Ensure the mentor relationship complies with the Guidelines in the Information Pack and question any mentor who offers to give you files - they should be offering advice and correcting your work not replacement work.

@trephena need your kind guidance regarding obu misconduct and acca membership application. I was given zero grade and aco said that he will advise ACCA. Can this be a problem in my ACCA membership application.

If you got Misconduct + zero grade then ACCA is informed. I don't think it affects membership application but serious misconduct possibly would and the latter could result in further disciplinary depending on the facts of the case.

@trephena thank u for your response. It happened 2 years ago, I have received invitation for membership. While transferring to membership will it cause any trouble and also after attaining membership status.

I very much doubt it will be mentioned. So chill baby, chill! :-D

This letter is not very clear about whether they think you have committed Malpractice or Misconduct here (a zero grade and making you chose another topic can indicate either Malpractice or Misconduct). The former is less serious than the latter (and as such does not involve notification to ACCA). It does say that "I will be advising ACCA of this matter" so my guess is Misconduct. I think this means your student record at ACCA will have this recorded as a note but unless you commit a further offence(s) then no action is taken. However what you do need to be aware of is that Misconduct means you will have to pay the penalty resubmission fee (currently GBP 600). This is mentioned somewhere in the Info Pack.

Thanks a lot... Really appreciate it

@trephena hi my course work was refereed for ACO investigation and the outcome was failed due to negligent in academic work. But today i again received mail Although you have received a grade for your Period 34 RAP submission, the coursework you have submitted for assessment for the Research and Analysis Project has been referred to me for investigation because of concerns about its originality. In particular, your project shows a number of striking similarities to other projects which have been submitted by students of the same mentor: 1. Many passages of the Research Report appear to be paraphrases of the same report and use the same elements (including charts) in the same style and place. 2. The spreadsheet is in the same style and comprises the same elements in the same order 3. The presentation file has the same slides with changes only to detail. These similarities indicate that you may have received too much help in preparing your Research and Analysis Project, to the extent that it cannot be said to be entirely your own work. To assist me in investigating these concerns, I must ask you to explain how such a high match could have occurred. You may also send me any other evidence that this was solely your own work, but please note that my major area of concern relates to the similarities outlined above. I appreciate that mail may take some time so I am e-mailing a copy of this letter so that you can begin gathering together your evidence. I am also aware that, like me, you wish this matter to be settled as speedily as possible so must ask that you email or post this evidence so that I receive it by 19 March. Could u please help me regarding this issue.

First I sympathise as an ACO investigation can be quite stressful. A common problem is that mentors sometimes provide too much direct help as opposed to guiding the student with their work. A degree is about researching and working things out for yourself with some constructive feedback from a mentor/tutor /supervisor along the way. Too much input from a mentor or another student such as those outlined in your post would be in breach of the student regulations and is a more serious matter than just academic negligence. Although you were originally failed for negligence it sounds as though new evidence (i.e work and statements from other students) has now come to light and so your case is being reopened. As a forensic accountant myself I have sometimes investigated something I thought was minor which developed into a major concern as I was gathering evidence. So I think this is what has happened here. I would advise you to cooperate fully and not try to distort facts as the ACO probably already have a good idea of what has gone on. In fact I suspect that they are as much (if not more) concerned about the mentor's activities as your work. If you know that your mentor was offering to help out with producing spreadsheets, slides and the written work and handing out a template/ sample then it is best you supply the facts about the mentor's operations as you may escape the worst penalties. Obviously how and what the ACO will decide is up to them but if you can show that your mentor influenced your work and you were misguided and led astray by him /her you are likely to be dealt with more sympathetically. You are potentially looking at Academic Misconduct here with the GBP 600 penalty resubmission fee, however if you own up quickly and demonstrate undue mentor influence you may possibly avoid this and get the slightly slower penalty of Malpractice (with no financial penalty). I know when I conduct investigations if an accused witness helps me I am usually more lenient in my final treatment of them. Where someone insists they have done nothing wrong in spite of mounting evidence I find it tiresome as in effect, they are treating me as a fool and no professional likes that. I suspect it is similar with the ACO officers and if you don't mess them around and cause hassle but instead are truthful and helpful that could benefit you ultimately -let's hope so and that consequently you avoid a really high penalty

hi my results has been defferred guys please pray for me i have emails which i sent to my mentor as a proof that my project is my own work and in these emails even the slightest change on my project is mentioned in total i have more than 20 such emails in the time of aprox 3 months are they enough plus please suggest me for which kind of questions i need to be prepared plus i do have some notes on my register but they are very small in quantity as i have very bad and slow writing due to cerebal palasy so should i also submit my medical certificate while providing my resgiter workings if they ask for evidence guys please reply as soon as possible because i am tensed and unable to focus on my p7 studies

Hi Shamshir Sorry to hear this. Yes, do submit your medical certificate to show cerebral palsy. Also, the email thread is useful. You may wish to find past drafts of your report that shows you refining them along the way. There is not much real preparation that we suggest. Because when one has done his own work, he naturally will be able to answer any questions about it. Being overly prepared can make a person sound artificial and suspicious. Just be yourself and explain your academic journey to them (assuming they have a video call with you) All the best, Irwin The Learning Luminaries

Thanks bro one more question in how much days aco will contact me plus one more thing i have refferenced my work well i have more than 100 and between 110 references in my list of reference plus as far as kmow i was the. Only one student from my mentor who submitted project on Boeing and Airbus so i think there is no chance that my project matches with some one else i want to ask that can you tell me what can be the reason of reffering my project to aco and secondly i have read in this forum that aco will check my project with human eye now by checking with human eye if aco thinks that my project is well refferenced will he still contact me and ask me for proof

Hi i have received an email from my aco tommorrow in that she said she would be looking in my project and she will contact me in next 2 to 3 weeks now i have some questions 1 as stated above i made my project own my own even i made my headings after getting guidance from obu information pack opentuition and annamentor website so i am unable to understand what could be the problem in my project 2 should i sent my aco an email and ask her about the problem in my project? 3 i changed the name of my project file just before submitting that is why the file i sent to my mentor for final review has different name as compared to the file i submitted but both files contain exactly the same information as i have said earlier i will send her all the emails which i had with my mentor if she asks. the question is should i also send her the file which i submitted or the email containing my file for final review is enough? 4 is there any chance that my aco just get satisfied while reading my project and she exonerate me after 3 weeks because i don't want this period to lasts long 5 if she asks for evidence should i provide all evidence in one go or should i provide evidence in steps? Please reply i am curiously waiting for reply from anyone

It is difficult for us to give specific advice as we understand that procedures vary according to the circumstances. According to OBU statistics we believe that 10-15% of cases are exonerated - although this is at the end of their investigation and very few students are exonerated without any investigation. We are told that this is because at least 2 people including a senior marker are involved in the decision to investigate further and therefore the ACO will normally need to satisfy themselves that the decision to defer was unnecessary given the evidence before they are satisfied and will exonerate the student. Our advice is to cooperate fully when your ACO contacts you (and do not try to treat the ACO as fools as they know from experience all of the excuses). As TLL informed, your evidence of the mentor relationship will be useful. Wait until the ACO contact you with their evidence before reacting to them as they will have specific questions. And remember if you are innocent this should be readily apparent -so goodl luck!

thanks guys i will contact you again as soon as my aco contacts me again

Guys i got email it is 19% plaegeurism and she is asking that my sls report is matching aprox half to someone else well i dont know that student plus i made my sls report on my own it was my own words my own experience what should i do please help

How has this 50% match happened? I can understand why they are asking questions about this as normally similarities would only result in small matches in the SLS. Did your mentor or someone else give you samples to work from as that seems like the only plausible explanation? (As a forensic accountant myself I would say a 50% similarity is unlikely normally to have occurred by mere chance as with the SLS it means 900 - 1000 words/ and phrases are the same. Everyone has a different writing style and when it comes to the SLS have different ideas so matches would be expected to be <5% I.e about 75 -100 words max and the occasional sentence might the same).

Mam i am also shocked to see that i was thinking that my other files may have got problem but to see a problem in sls was shocking for me mam i didn't got any file from anyone it wasmy own words and any plagerism is co incidence mam what should i do now

Please reply i am really really tensed what should i don now i didn't copy my sls its my own mam i have worked very hard on my project and i dont want a disciplinary action against me neither i want to resubmit my project because of this small co incidence

I am a bit confused here though as you have said something about 19% plagiarism - in the research report that could be normal and just coincidence. You should be sent all the evidence so that you can see for yourself and examine everything in the context of what they are saying the issue is. Having examined it all carefully you should query it If the work is not yours. Have they sent you the wrong Turnitin report? The only other thing I can think of is are you sure you uploaded the correct file when you submitted? I really don't know what else to say. (Without seeing the evidence I am not in a position to comment with any authority except that a 50% match would not normally be regarded as a co-incidence because in any written text it would tend to indicate a common source. This is why I asked previously if your mentor had supplied 'samples' - if so did you accidentally upload that file instead of your own? )

Well mam they are saying i copied in sls they are not questioning my whole project

i just want to know if there is serious breach of conduct what impact will be with the ACCA status

Hello friends i have received the following report, do i have any hope and what actually is required at this point. The coursework you have submitted for assessment for the Research and Analysis Project has been referred to me for investigation because of concerns about its originality. 1. There was a Turnitin match of 24% 2. 13% of the match was to other OBU submissions, particularly one of 10% (mainly the SLS) to a submission in period 26 3. There were also matches of 12% to the internet indicating a significant amount of cut and paste To assist me in investigating these concerns, I must ask you to explain how such similarities/discrepancies could have occurred. You may send me any evidence you would like to support a contention that this was, indeed, solely your own work, but please consider that my main area of concern at the moment is that which is set out above.

As always I advise you to cooperate -I've heard if you own up straightaway you are more likely to get a lighter punishment. The students who maintain innocence when there is strong evidence against them are fools really as it prolongs the investigation and annoys the ACO and therefore they end up with the worst of both worlds- a higher penalty and often the penalty resubmission fee GBP 600 You are probably looking at academic negligence if you are very, very lucky or realistcally academic malpractice. If you are unlucky then they could give you Misconduct and the Penalty resubmission fee. You will probably get a fail anyway and usually end up having to submit on a totally different company regardless. However on the bright side you are normally allowed to resubmit (and that should certainly be the case for a 24% score), so it's not the end of the line The most incriminating thing may be the SLS and the 10%, Depends if this percentage is 10% of everything ((7,500 + 2,000) *10%) or 2,000 *10% - the difference is about 950 words in the first scenario or 200 words for the second. 200 words in an SLS might be explainable - anything more than this is harder to explain away. Once they see similarities in the written work they might also look at the other files too. Like I say if you know you did it, fess up and hope for the best.