Rising Plagiarism Rates Disquiet Campus Officials
Jeff Griffin
Issue date: 9/6/05 Section: News
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Plagiarism is a rapidly growing problem in American colleges and universities. According to a survey conducted by The Center for Academic Integrity from fall 2002 to spring 2005 and encompassing almost 50,000 undergraduates on 60 campuses, 70 percent of students admit to some form of cheating.
An increasing form of plagiarism being committed is copying from the Internet. A national survey published in Education Week magazine found that 54 percent of American students admitted to Internet plagiarism.
At UB, the number of academic violations is growing as well-seven and a half times higher last year than in the previous year. Of last year's 60 violations that were reported to Kathy Anderson, associate vice president for student affairs, 25 were undergraduates, 33 were graduates and one was a doctoral candidate.
"It's simply distressing every time I find it," said Alec Walen, Ph.D., assistant professor of legal, ethical and historical studies. There is a "tremendous amount of disappointment over something that is so dumb and devious."
According to Turnitin.com, a website for educators trying to stop the spread of Internet plagiarism, 90 percent of students believe cheaters are either never caught or never have been appropriately disciplined.
"While the number of occurrences has risen, I don't know if I believe that is due more to a rise in offenders or the improvements in technology to catch plagiarizers," said Scarlett Corso, a jurisprudence major.
What is plagiarism?
According to the UB Student Policies and Procedures Handbook, "Plagiarism is the copying of the language, structure, ideas or thoughts of another and representing the same as one's own original work...submission of a purchased research paper as one's own work, and paraphrasing and/or quoting material in a paper without properly documenting the source."
"There seems to be three major reasons for plagiarism in college these days," said Fred Guy, Ph.D., associate professor of legal, ethical and historical studies and director of the Hoffberger Center for Professional Ethics. "The first is that students simply don't think they'll be caught. They're mistakenly counting on professors being too tired or busy to carefully read over each student's final exam, term paper or final project.
"The second reason is that, even if they are caught plagiarizing, many students think they can talk their way out of it by claiming ignorance," Guy continued. "My response to that is that ignorance in the face of plagiarism is not an excuse. Although I must confess that, sadly, some students may actually not know what plagiarism is simply because they have never been made to write a term paper.
"The third reason I think students cheat is an obvious one," Guy said. "They simply think that if they can get away with it, and it will help them, then why not?"
Punishment for Plagiarizers
At UB, professors who catch plagiarizers have options. If the professor determines that the violation was minor or that the student didn't understand how to correctly cite a resource then the student may be given the opportunity to sign an official agreement.
The signed and sealed agreement is between the student and the professor only, and it is stored by Anderson. If, during his or her time at UB, no other professor brings the student up on charges of misconduct then, at the time of graduation, the letter will be destroyed.
However, if the professor thinks that the misconduct is serious or if the student doesn't believe that they have acted wrongly, then he or she must appear before a hearing board.
A judicial hearing board consists of two professors, two student representatives and one administrator. Both sides have the opportunity to explain their position, then the board can ask questions. After both parties leave, the board discusses the case and possible punishments.
"I have no respect for anyone who tries to take the easy way out. [It is] lazy, disrespectful and inexcusable," said Jessica Schultheis, an English major. "If you don't feel confident enough to turn in what you have written, there are plenty of tutors available to help you. If you're not willing to get the help, maybe you should rethink college."
Of the 60 conduct violations from last year, 44 students signed a statement of agreement and 16 let their fate be decided by a judicial board.
"I hear the numbers and I think of how our university is mostly grown adults and how we expect a certain amount of professionalism...I am just simply upset," said Ebony Plowden, a research assistant in the criminal justice department and a UB alumna.
If a student is found guilty, punishment ranges from "non-credit for work," which means that the student will receive an "F" for the paper and an "F" for the class, to expulsion. Other forms of punishment include writing an integrity paper or being put on disciplinary probation, "during which a student must not represent the university in any capacity nor hold office in student government or any other student organization," according to the student handbook.
Generally, serious punishments are handed out. Last year, five students were given disciplinary suspension. During the suspension, which has a maximum of one academic year, students are not allowed on campus for any activity and they are not allowed to transfer credit from any school they may have attended while on suspension.
Three students last year received disciplinary dismissal. Similar to a suspension, the student is not allowed on campus for any activity. The minimum length of time is one academic year and the dean's approval must be obtained before the student can be reinstated. The disciplinary dismissal will be placed permanently on the student's record.
And two students last year received the ultimate punishment-disciplinary expulsion, which is permanent removal from the university and the action is on the student's record permanently.
Once a cheat, always a cheat. If we cheat in college, we're likely to cheat at work," Guy said. "You're going to get caught, eventually. So cheating doesn't pay. As corny as it sounds, when you cheat, you're only cheating yourself-out of an education, out of a quality job, out of a good marriage, etc."
Possible Solutions to the Problem
Mike Sontag, a finance major and Undergraduate Student Senate president, thinks the solution is already at hand and just needs a little adjustment.
"We should make students take IDIS 300 within their first year and not whenever they want to," Sontag said.
Ideas in Writing: Purpose and Strategy, IDIS 300, is the writing course that is required for all undergraduate students, which covers plagiarism. In the Undergraduate Catalog, the course description says, "It is recommended that students take this course in their first semester at UB, before or concurrent with other general education courses."
"Undergraduate students at UB come to our school already passing English 101 and 102, not to mention English classes in high school. And as far as graduate students, they have had all this education plus more on the graduate level. There is just simply no excuse for plagiarism," Anderson said. "Having undergraduates take IDIS 300 earlier in their academic career would be a benefit to the student."
"You want to stop plagiarism? Then more instruction needs to be done by the university," said Stephanie Smith, a graduate student in criminal justice. "Students are simply lacking the knowledge of what plagiarism really is. Maybe there should be a class on plagiarism for all incoming students."
A university committee has been formed to examine the problem of plagiarism. Anderson, one of the members on the committee, is looking forward to initiating a program for all students to take within his or her first year at UB.
The tutorial would take less than 20 minutes to complete and could be done on any computer. The program would not only teach students not to plagiarize but would provide students with resources, such as the Academic Resource Center's website and office hours. The program would also give the university's definition of plagiarism, as well as possible punishments if one is found guilty of plagiarism.
For more information about plagiarism, contact the Academic Resource Center.
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