The ACO:
- Upholds the academic integrity of the OU’s qualifications to the benefit of all students, by ensuring students do not benefit, gaining marks or credit and ultimately to graduate, based on work that is not their own.
- Educates students referred to them by clearly showing and explaining how they have demonstrated academic misconduct and breached OU policy, providing them with resources to improve their academic practice to prevent a future referral.
ACOs are often experienced central or regional academics, with experience of module production and/or presentation at the OU or, if new to the university, with previous experience of academic integrity work in a Higher Education Institution. However, we welcome applications from candidates with experience of conducting investigations of a disciplinary nature, preferably in a regulated context.
Under Section 4.7 of the Code of Practice for Student Discipline, an Academic Conduct Officer (ACO) is the University’s disciplinary authority able to provide a ruling in cases where a student is deemed to have breached the Academic Conduct Policy. Academic Conduct Officers are the appropriate authority to apply an Academic Penalty (3.4 a. b. c.) or if appropriate, a warning (3.2) or a formal caution (3.3).
Several roles are available on a part-time basis 0.2 – 0.5 FTE (full-time equivalent). At the Open University, 1.0 FTE is 37 hours per week. These posts require a regular weekly commitment (typically 1–2 set days per week, depending on FTE) and are not suited to ad hoc or irregular working patterns.
