University regulations and policies in brief

• Academic Appeals (Regulation XIX)

The purpose of this regulation is to safeguard the interests of all PGRs.

It may be used only when there are adequate grounds for doing so, and may not be used simply because a PGR is dissatisfied with the outcome of his or her assessment or other decisions concerning their academic position or progress.

• Guidance to students on plagiarism and other forms of academic malpractice

Academic malpractice is any activity, intentional or otherwise, that is likely to undermine the integrity essential to scholarship or research.

It includes plagiarism, collusion, fabrication or falsification of results, and anything else that could result in unearned or undeserved credit for those committing it.

Academic malpractice can result from a deliberate act of cheating or may be committed unintentionally. Whether intended or not, all incidents of academic malpractice will be treated seriously by the University (taken from Procedure for Handling Academic Malpractice Cases).

Plagiarism is presenting the ideas, work or words of other people without proper, clear and unambiguous acknowledgement. You should make every effort to ensure that the work you submit for assessment is always your own, written in your own words and presented with appropriate referencing.

Guidance on referencing and avoiding plagiarism is available on the Doctoral Academy webpages on thesis submission and the eProg milestone profile for the Continuation/Transfer Report. 

The Student Conduct and Discipline Committee (SCDC) have developed a new Academic Integrity resource. In this guide you will learn what is meant by Academic Integrity and what it means for your studies.  You will find guidance and resources on how to avoid academic malpractice, and what may happen if it is suspected.  

Procedures for dealing with academic malpractice

Allegations of academic malpractice by research PGRs are referred to the Research Governance and Integrity Manager.

Should a PGR be found to have committed academic malpractice, the matter will be referred to the Student Discipline Panel of Senate (SDP).

• Monitoring Attendance and Wellbeing of Students (Regulation XX)

The University monitors the attendance of all students:

• To support academic attainment and progression.
• To ensure student wellbeing.
• To satisfy external body reporting/accreditation requirements.

While it is accepted that research degrees do not follow the standard format of taught programmes, there is still a requirement for PGRs to meet with their supervisors on a monthly basis.

In all likelihood, it will be more frequently than this, though it will vary over the course of the programme.

Attendance points for PGRs are recorded monthly via the attendance and engagement forms within the University's online progression system, eProg.

It is the main supervisor's (or appropriate member of the supervisory team's) responsibility to ensure that attendance and engagement forms are completed in a timely manner for each of their PGRs.

The University online monitoring system (eProg) identifies trigger points, which indicate that non- attendance on two consecutive months has occurred.

Reports are provided via the online system and will be used to indicate patterns of nonattendance which are a cause for concern.

Schools and Institutes will follow the processes set out in Sections 4 and 5 of the Policy on Recording Monitoring Attendance and Wellbeing of Students (PDF).

You should refer to the support services set out in this handbook or to your Student Support Administrator if you feel that there are circumstances that are impacting on your ability to meet the requirements for work and attendance.

Where PGRs fail to meet the requirements for minimum attendance and the School has taken the case through the appropriate channels as set out in the policy, a PGR may be excluded from the programme following the review of the case by a School Progress Committee.

• Policy on circumstances leading to changes to PGR study

Within this area of the Code of Practice, you will also find policies on maternity, paternity and adoption leave, which include information relating to eligibility for continued stipend payments during maternity or sick leave absence.

• Code of Good Research Conduct

The University of Manchester is committed to being a research-led institution that engages world-class scholars and scientists in a pioneering research culture that values knowledge-creation for its own sake, for the potential benefits it promises humankind and for the ways it enriches higher learning.

This Code defines the standards of research conduct that underpin this vision. The University has a responsibility for ensuring that the research undertaken in its name is conducted in accordance with the law, in the public interest and is consistent with best practice.

The University, in turn, expects the highest standards of research integrity from the researchers it supports. This includes staff, students, and other individuals working on University premises or using University facilities irrespective of the sources of their funding, their area of research, their experience as researchers or whether they are lone scholars or members of a research team.

It is the responsibility of all researchers and staff supporting research to be aware of their commitments and the expectations of the University outlined in this Code.

The Code includes the requirements to:

• Ensure that the design of your research meets the expected standards for research ethics and integrity. You must assess the ethical implications of your research and be aware of your responsibilities to society, the environment, your profession, the University, research participants and the organisation(s) funding the research.
• Make yourself aware of, and comply with, any legislation or regulations that govern your research.
• Observe the standards of practice set out in guidelines published by professional societies, funding agencies and other relevant bodies, where appropriate and available.
• Ensure that your research obtains the appropriate level of ethical screening and approval before commencing.  

These expectations extend to the need to undertake appropriate consideration of sensitive areas including research which:

• Investigates illegal behaviours, or
• Investigates highly sensitive, controversial or stigmatised social practices, groups or topics,  or
• Requires access to materials, websites or other sources related to narcotics, pornography, terrorism etc. that cannot be accessed legally in the UK.

This list is not exhaustive but advice in relation to the last two bullet points can also be sought from karen.morgantallents@manchester.ac.uk

Research involving human participants – including when you are the sole participant, for example when using auto-ethnographic research methods – must follow our procedures for research ethics approval by using the University’s Ethics Decision Tool.

This will enable you to identify whether you must gain approval for your research through an application to the University Research Ethics Committee (UREC).

Where ethical issues are complex, or it is unclear whether an application should proceed to UREC, advice must be sought from your supervisor in the first instance or the Research Governance, Ethics and Integrity Team (research.ethics@manchester.ac.uk)

• Complaints Procedure (Regulation XVIII)

As part of its commitment to ensuring the standard and quality of its programmes of study, services, and facilities, the University has established this procedure to deal with complaints from students.

Complaints provide useful feedback information from students and, where appropriate, will be used to improve services and facilities.

• Conduct and Discipline of Students (Regulation XVII)

The essence of misconduct under this regulation is the improper interference with the proper functioning or activities of the University.

This includes those who work or study in the University or actions which otherwise damage the University or its reputation.

The provisions of this regulation define that behaviour which constitutes misconduct as it relates to students studying or registered at the University and the consequences of that misconduct. See also Academic Malpractice below.

• Dignity at Work and Study Policy

Discrimination, bullying and harassment come in many guises, all of which are unacceptable to the University and which have no place in a civilised working and learning environment.

It is vital that we create an environment within the University in which demeaning, destructive and often unlawful behaviours can be identified early and managed effectively, and in which those victimised are provided with support and assistance as early as possible. This policy outlines the informal and formal steps that can be taken to address such behaviours.

It is important to report any instances of bullying and harassment to someone you trust. This will ease the burden on you and will help you receive the support you need.

There are many ways this can be achieved in addition to talking with friends and family. You can report any incidences of harassment, bullying or discrimination using the Report and Support system, either anonymously or to receive support.

The Report and Support system has been put in place for both staff and students to use.

For more information please see key contacts for ethics and governance.

• Policy on Supporting Health, Fitness and Return to Study (PDF)

• Intellectual Property (PDF)

The University of Manchester regards the creation of intellectual property as one of its major objectives, complementary to the core objectives of knowledge creation, scholarship and learning.

Where you are taking part in funded research, sponsored studentship, industry-related schemes, and so on, you may be required to assign the IP to the University. The IP assignment form is at the end of the main policy.

• Lone Working Policy

This policy should be consulted if any lone working will be undertaken as part of your research programme. 

Divisions/buildings may also have more specific policies/local guidance, which should also be considered.

You should liaise with your supervisor to ensure a risk assessment is completed, using university and local guidance to do this.

All research conducted during the period of study for a PhD will be considered part of the learning process undertaken for the qualification, even if the results of that research do not form part of the final thesis.

All research must be conducted with honesty and integrity in accordance with best practice and the University's Code of Good Research Conduct.

The University takes research misconduct very seriously. Research misconduct is defined as the following.

• Fabrication, falsification, plagiarism, or deception in proposing, carrying out or reporting the results of research.
• Piracy (the deliberate exploitation of ideas and work of others without acknowledgement).
• Fraud (including the invention of data, using false information on a funding application or the misuse of research funds, equipment or premises).
• Publication of data known or reasonably believed to be false or misleading.
• Deliberate, reckless, dangerous or negligent deviation from current accepted practice in carrying out research (including failure to meet requirements of ethical review, legislation, relevant guidelines of professional, academic, scientific or government bodies) if this failure results in unreasonable risk or harm to humans, animals, property or the environment.
• Misrepresentation, including deliberate misrepresentation of data, undisclosed duplication of publication, failure to declare material interests, misrepresentation of qualifications or experience and misrepresentation of involvement (i.e. inappropriate claims to authorship);
• Intentional failure to acquire the required favourable opinion from the appropriate ethics committee for research.
• Mismanagement or inadequate preservation of data and/or primary materials.
• Breach of duty of care, including breach of confidentiality, improper conduct in peer review of research proposals or results.
• Facilitating misconduct in research (as defined by this Code of Practice) by collusion in, or concealment of, such actions by others or planning, conspiring or attempting to commit research related misconduct, or any incitement to do so.

The penalty for being found guilty of research misconduct may lead to expulsion from the University.

If you become aware of research misconduct, you should report this to the Head of Student Experience in the Faculty.

The use of interactive and multi-authored webpages which characterises blogs, wikis and social networking sites is increasingly popular.

While the University does not wish to bar access to and use of such sites, you should first consult with your supervisor to discuss the possible implications of participation in these sites.

Undertaking a full-time PGR programme is a significant commitment. We acknowledge there may be some instances where a PGR wishes to undertake part-time work alongside their programme. There may be specific requirements set by funders/sponsors/UKVI around part-time working hours, but in general the Doctoral Academy expectation is that PGRs do not undertake more than 0.2FTE/1 day/20% of paid employment during the normal working week alongside a full-time programme. This includes teaching/demonstrating (see our What's involved page for more information) or research assistant/project management/clinical work etc.

All PGRs must discuss part-time work with their supervisor before proceeding. If a PGR decides to undertake paid employment alongside their programme, this would not be accepted as mitigation for requests for eProg milestone extensions, programme or thesis submission extensions. PGRs must adhere to all required induction and training as prescribed by their programme.

There are other options for PGRs to support flexible arrangements such as part-time study. Any queries should be directed to the Doctoral Academy.