Your supervisor has emailed to say your thesis “has been referred to the examination board”. What happens now? A referral for academic misconduct is the start of a formal procedure, not a final decision. Universities must investigate, hear your side and decide on evidence, and many referrals end with no penalty or a minor one. This guide explains what counts as misconduct in a thesis, the stages of a typical procedure in European and UK universities, the possible outcomes, the evidence that helps, and how to appeal.
This article is part of our guide How to Write a Master’s Thesis by the Mastermind PhD team and relates to our Paraphrasing & Plagiarism Check service. Sources last checked: November 2026.
What is academic misconduct? Academic misconduct is any act that gives a student an unfair advantage or makes it impossible to assess the student’s own knowledge and skills fairly. In a thesis it usually means plagiarism, self-plagiarism, fabricated or falsified data, collusion, work produced by someone else, or use of AI tools that the regulations do not allow or that the student did not disclose.
What counts as academic misconduct in a thesis?
Definitions differ slightly between universities, but the core categories are stable. Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam, for example, defines fraud as any act or omission that makes it fully or partially impossible to properly assess a student’s knowledge, insight and skill, and lists plagiarism, self-plagiarism and research violations as separate forms.
| Category | What it looks like in a thesis |
|---|---|
| Plagiarism | Text, ideas, figures or code from others without acknowledgement, including close paraphrase of a source that is cited only once |
| Self-plagiarism | Reusing your own earlier essay or paper without citing it or without permission |
| Fabrication and falsification | Invented data, altered results, selectively dropped cases without reporting, or citations changed to fit an argument |
| Collusion | Writing sections jointly when the work must be individual |
| Contract cheating | Submitting work that another person produced for you, paid or unpaid |
| Undisclosed AI use | Generated text or analysis that the regulations prohibit or require you to declare |
The European Code of Conduct for Research Integrity treats fabrication, falsification and plagiarism as the most serious violations, and most thesis regulations follow the same logic.
What does a “flag” actually mean?
A thesis is usually flagged in one of three ways: a high or unusual similarity report, an AI writing indicator, or an examiner’s own suspicion (a change of style, a reference that does not exist, data that look too clean).
None of these is proof. Turnitin states that its similarity report shows matching text and that the decision about plagiarism belongs to the instructor. A 25% match made of correctly quoted and cited passages is not misconduct; a 6% match made of one uncited paragraph may be. The flag simply triggers a closer reading, and if the examiner still has concerns, a formal academic misconduct referral.
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The academic misconduct procedure, stage by stage
Every university publishes its own procedure, so read yours first. The stages below are the common pattern in Dutch, other EU and UK regulations.
| Stage | Who acts | What you can do |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Suspicion | Examiner or supervisor | Nothing yet; grading is usually paused |
| 2. Referral | Examiner reports to the examination board or a misconduct officer, with evidence | Keep all drafts and files untouched |
| 3. Written notice | Board or officer informs you of the allegation | Ask for the evidence and the regulation that applies |
| 4. Hearing or interview | Usually two or more board members or an investigating officer | Give your account, bring your evidence, ask whether an adviser may attend |
| 5. Decision | Board or panel decides whether misconduct occurred | Read the reasons carefully |
| 6. Sanction | Same body, applying proportionality | Note the deadline for appeal |
| 7. Appeal | Appeals board or university appeals committee | Appeal on procedure, evidence or proportionality |
At VU Amsterdam, a lecturer who suspects plagiarism must notify the Examination Board immediately and must not award a grade. The Board informs the student in writing and assesses the case on the evidence plus an interview with the student and two Board members. At the University of Edinburgh, School and College Academic Misconduct Officers investigate suspected cases and decide on penalties.
What sanctions can follow?
Sanctions depend on the seriousness of the case, whether it is a first offence, and the stage of study. Published examples from VU Amsterdam show the range:
| Situation | Typical sanction (VU Amsterdam examples) |
|---|---|
| Minor or first case | A reprimand, or the work declared invalid |
| Plagiarism in a piece of work | Grade 0, normally with exclusion from that course for three months |
| Serious or repeated fraud | Exclusion from all examinations for up to one year |
| Most severe cases | Recommendation that the student’s registration be terminated |
For a thesis, the practical effect of a grade 0 is that you must revise and resubmit, often with a new deadline that delays graduation. Proven academic misconduct is also recorded in the student file, and some programmes state that it rules out graduating with distinction or cum laude.
How should you prepare for the hearing?
The hearing is your chance to explain how the thesis was produced. Evidence of process is far more persuasive than statements of good intent.
- Version history. Word, Google Docs and Overleaf keep earlier versions; export the history that shows the text growing over weeks.
- Notes and reading records. Your reference manager library, annotated PDFs and reading notes show where ideas came from.
- Data and analysis files. Raw data, SPSS or R files, interview recordings and transcripts show that results were produced, not invented.
- Supervisor correspondence. Emails with feedback on chapters show the work was seen as it developed.
- Your own similarity report. If you checked the thesis before submission, bring the report and explain what the matches are.
- AI declaration. If you used an AI tool in a permitted way, show your disclosure statement and what the tool did.
Answer questions directly, admit genuine errors such as a missing citation, and explain how they happened. Examination boards distinguish careless citation from deliberate deception, and honesty about a mistake usually counts in your favour.
How do appeals and external review work?
Most regulations allow an appeal on three grounds: the procedure was not followed, the evidence does not support the finding, or the sanction is disproportionate. Disagreeing with the examiners’ academic judgement is rarely a ground on its own. VU Amsterdam states that students may appeal against an Examination Board verdict, while lecturers may not; the appeal body and deadline are set in the faculty regulations, so check them as soon as you receive the decision.
In England and Wales, once you have finished your university’s internal procedures and received a Completion of Procedures Letter, you can take a complaint to the Office of the Independent Adjudicator for Higher Education (OIA). Other countries have their own appeal routes, such as the examination appeals boards at Dutch universities.
Can a degree be withdrawn after graduation?
Yes, in many systems. Several university regulations allow a degree to be revoked if academic misconduct in the thesis is discovered later, for example through a published article or a complaint. This is one reason to fix citation problems before submission rather than hoping they go unnoticed.
Common mistakes that make a case worse
- Deleting or editing files after the notice arrives. It looks like concealment and removes your best evidence.
- Ignoring deadlines. A missed hearing is often decided without your account.
- Blaming software or the supervisor. Responsibility for the submitted text is yours.
- Producing a “corrected” version before the decision, unless the board asks for one.
- Arguing about the percentage instead of explaining each matched passage.
Where can a student get legitimate support?
Your students’ union advice service, the university’s academic integrity or writing centre, and your supervisor are the first places to go. For prevention, a careful pre-submission check helps: the Mastermind PhD team provides a Turnitin report with every file and an AI-writing check, so you can see what an examiner will see and fix citations yourself. The thesis remains your work, and you remain the person who must explain every part of it.
📱 Ask on WhatsApp now — 5 years of experience across all disciplines and 14 academic services. Two-stage payment (80/20); revisions are free until supervisor approval, within 30% of the chapter.
Frequently asked questions
Will I fail my degree if my thesis is flagged?
Not automatically. A flag starts an investigation, and many cases end with no finding or a minor sanction such as a resubmission. Failure of the degree is reserved for serious or repeated academic misconduct.
Can I bring someone to the hearing?
Many universities allow you to be accompanied by a students’ union adviser or another member of the university. Check your regulations and tell the board in advance who will attend.
What if the similarity comes from my own earlier paper?
Reusing your own published or submitted work without citation can count as self-plagiarism. If the regulations allow reuse with acknowledgement, show the earlier work and how you cited it.
Is an AI detection score enough to prove misconduct?
No single score is proof. Turnitin itself presents its AI indicator as information for the instructor, and boards should weigh it against evidence of how the thesis was written.
How long does an academic misconduct procedure take?
It varies from a few weeks to a whole term, depending on the hearing schedule and any appeal. Ask the board for the expected timeline and how it affects your graduation date.
Sources
- Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam. Academic Integrity: Fraud and consequences. https://vu.nl/en/student/examinations/academic-integrity-fraud-and-consequences (accessed November 2026)
- Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam. Plagiarism in assignments and theses (staff guidance). https://vu.nl/en/employee/testing-and-assessing/plagiarism-in-assignments-and-theses (accessed November 2026)
- University of Edinburgh, Academic Services. Academic misconduct. https://registryservices.ed.ac.uk/academic-services/staff/discipline/academic-misconduct (accessed November 2026)
- Office of the Independent Adjudicator for Higher Education. Students. https://www.oiahe.org.uk/students/ (accessed November 2026)
- Turnitin. Turnitin and plagiarism. https://guides.turnitin.com/hc/en-us/articles/34400565079053 (accessed November 2026)
- ALLEA. (2023). The European Code of Conduct for Research Integrity (revised edition). https://allea.org/code-of-conduct/ (accessed November 2026)
Sources last checked: November 2026. This article is general educational guidance and does not replace your university regulations or your supervisor’s instructions. How we prepare our content.