Early Intervention

How can DUSA Advocates help me? We can:

• Listen to you
• Assist you to understand the Early Intervention offer and your options
• Advise you about aspects of Deakin policy that are relevant in your individual case
• Assist you if you have a concern about the Early Intervention process.

Contact us today to arrange a free Advocacy appointment for individualised advice and support. There’s lots more information below to help you too

What is an Early Intervention?

An Early Intervention provides you with “an opportunity to correct areas of poor academic practice, such as poor paraphrasing, insufficient of limited acknowledgement of sources or inaccurate referencing without receiving an allegation of a breach of academic integrity” (Student Academic Integrity Procedure, clause 20).

I have received an offer of an Early Intervention. What should I do?

Read the offer email and attached documents carefully and follow the directions provided.

Consider making an appointment with Student Support for support with understanding and correcting areas of poor academic practice in your assessment task.

Consider making an appointment with a DUSA Advocate if you wish to discuss the Early Intervention process and your options. This may be particularly helpful if you are considering not accepting the Early Intervention offer.

Resubmit your corrected assessment task by the due date (within 7 calendar days of the email).

What happens if I don't respond to the Early Intervention offer?

The Unit Chair will report this to the Academic Integrity Committee who will decide whether to make an allegation of an academic integrity breach.

I’m not able to make the corrections to my assessment by the due date. Can I submit late?

If it isn’t possible for you to get the advice you need (e.g. from Student Support) and make corrections and resubmit by the due date, DUSA Advocates recommend you contact your Unit Chair before the due date and explain this. A DUSA Advocate can provide individualised advice and support if you are not able resubmit your task by the due date.

Am I eligible for an Early Intervention?

You should be offered an Early Intervention if you meet these criteria:

1. The assessment or activity in which some poor academic practice occurred is not an online quiz, end of unit assessment or examination.
2. You have not received an Early Intervention in a previous study period.
3. You have received no more than one previous Early Intervention in a specific unit in the same study period.
4. You did not use another student’s work.
5. You did not draw substantially on only 1 or 2 sources.
6. You did not attempt to hide or disguise the poor academic practice.
   (Student Academic Integrity Procedure, clauses 20 and 21.)

Who decides if I am offered an Early Intervention?

The Unit Chair decides, sometimes with support from the Chair of the Academic Integrity Committee. If you think you are eligible for Early Intervention, but you instead received an academic integrity breach allegation or your assessment was marked down without the opportunity to resubmit, contact the DUSA Advocates for advice.

How will my resubmission be marked?

First, your Unit Chair (or another academic staff member) will decide whether you have sufficiently addressed the areas of poor academic practice.

If you have corrected the issues in your assessment task, they will remark it.

• If it is a 1st year unit in an undergraduate or postgraduate course, your resubmitted assessment task will be marked for the full range of possible marks.
• If it is any other unit, your resubmitted assessment task will be marked for a maximum of 50% of marks.

If you have not sufficiently corrected the poor academic practice, the Unit Chair will report this to the Academic Integrity Committee who will decide whether to make an allegation of an academic integrity breach.

Is a record kept of the Early Intervention?

Yes, your Unit Chair will record this in a system that is maintained by the Student Success division. The Early Intervention will not appear on your academic transcript.

If you have further questions, or if you would like free and confidential advocacy support, please contact us today to arrange a free appointment.