As a student, you are responsible for becoming thoroughly acquainted with the rules that apply when it comes to examinations, projects, master's theses, etc. Not all students are fully aware of what qualifies as cheating at an exam.

Examples of exam cheating can be:

• If you before or during an examination get help answering an assignment, when you are not entitled to help, or when you use other kinds of aids during an examination which are not allowed. It could be use of a mobile phone, if you talk to fellow students in the lavatory, or if you use a calculator when it is not allowed.
• If you during an examination try to influence or change the grounds for assessment. It could be if you continue your assignment when the examinations has finished.
  If you during a written examination let the person sitting next to you look after your assignment, or if you use the lavatory to talk to fellow students about the assignment.
• If your assignment includes an identical or almost identical reproduction of other person’s writing or work without proper reference. This constitutes plagiarism, and is one of the most common examples of cheating.
• If you re-use texts/ideas from your own assignments which you have previously handed in for assessment or publication without proper reference (self-plagiarism).
• If you copy text from shared notes into you assignment without noticing that the notes are composed with others
• If you use ChatGPT or any other forms of artificial intelligence or AI-chatbots during exams (even if all aids are permitted), unless it is specifically listed as a permitted aid for the exam 

Exam cheating or attempts to cheat is processed according to AAU's rules regarding disciplinary measures.

Suspicion of exam cheating will lead to a concrete evaluation, where any mitigating or aggravating circumstances will be taken under consideration.

According to the rules regarding disciplinary measures there are three different sanctions, which can be employed depending on the grossness of the violation:

• A warning from repeated violation of the rules
• Expulsion from an examination
• Expulsion from the university

If you have been issued a warning, and you later violate the rules again, there will be aggravating circumstances, and you will therefore risk a more severe sanction, than if you previously had not been involved in a case regarding cheating at an examination. 

You can be expelled from an examination before, during and after the examination, if cheating at an examination has been established. Expulsion from an examination means, that you use an examination attempt, and that your assignment will not be graded. If you already received a grade for your assignment, the grade will be cancelled.

If you have done something categorised as gross cheating at an examination, you risk expulsion from the university. The expulsion can be limited to a certain period of time, or it can be permanent. If you get expelled from the university, you will not be able to participate in any activities at the university, in the expulsion period. Consequently, you will not be able to participate in classes or examinations.

Upon receipt of a report, the administrator in charge (e.i. head of school) carries out preliminary investigations of the incident by collecting the necessary documentation and by summoning the student for a personal interview to throw light on the incident. The student is entitled to bring an observer. If it is not possible to summon the student for an interview, written communication may be used instead.

Based on the report, documentation and interview the administrator in charge makes a decision concerning the case. Depending on the grossness of the violation the administrator may impose the following sanctions: a warning from repeated violation of the rules and/or expel the student from examination.  If the administrator in charge finds that the gravity of the incident ought to cause the student to be expelled from the University the case is forwarded to Rector who then imposes the sanction.

Read more about the university's exam policies and procedures.

Plagiarism entails to use someone else’s work and pass it off as your own work without source references.

You can also risk plagiarism if you share notes with fellow students. This can be the case if you and your fellow students copy or paraphrase  the exact same shared notes in your exam papers. Thus, we recommend that you are mindful when you are using shared notes in your exam papers.

Self-plagiarism involves if you submit your own material for assessment more than once.

Please be aware that special rules may apply to the individual exam. Some examinations may allow you to "reuse" work or parts of your work that you have previously submitted for assessment. However, it is important that you familiarise yourself thoroughly with the rules for the specific examination before you reuse any of your previous work in an exam paper. If you are in doubt whether or not you are allowed to reuse your own material in an examination, we recommend that you get confirmation from your examinator or study programme.  Remember to refer to yourself and your previous work if you choose to reuse your own work. If you fail to make adequate references to your own work, you can be caught in self-plagiarism.

Do you know how to use quotations correctly and provide sufficient documentation in your assignments?

Read about plagiarism and how to avoid it.

Acquaint yourself with important information regarding those elements of copyright law that you - as an affilate of AAU - should know about before you use texts, pictures, film, or any other type of media .