This paper explores why an institutional framework for dealing with plagiarism by students is necessary and it outlines the main ingredients of such a framework that has been developed at Lancaster University. It defines plagiarism as a form of academic malpractice and frames it as a breach of academic integrity. The framework places a strong emphasis on prevention and education, backed up by robust and transparent procedures for detecting and punishing plagiarism. It is informed by a number of core pillars, including transparency, ownership, responsibility, academic integrity, compatibility with the institution's academic culture, focus on prevention and deterrence and support for and development of students' skills. The key criteria in evaluating the usefulness of such an institutional framework are transparency, appropriateness, fairness and consistency.