Plagiarism
With the rise of electronic detection software and institutions becoming increasingly technologically-savvy, reported incidences of plagiarism are on the rise. At the heart of the problem lies drawing a clear distinction between mistake and misconduct; between students who unwittingly find themselves falling foul of academic regulations and those who intentionally set out to break the rules.
It is a concern for many students, but particularly acute for international students, many of whom come from different academic traditions and backgrounds. Institutions must work twice as hard to ensure that these students understand what academic writing means in a UK university and that they are given the support to develop these skills.
NUS’ position
NUS believes that deterrence is far preferable to detection and that institutions must work to support students throughout their time studying, especially during the induction process and especially for those groups that tend to be more likely to fall foul of academic regulations.
Extensive research has been conducted that shows that such an approach is far more effective in the long-term for reducing incidences of plagiarism. The ‘plagiarism police’ culture that exists in many institutions only serves to penalise and punish students instead of enhancing their learning experience.
For more information about NUS’ position and more about the issues around plagiarism, download the full NUS briefing.
Further reading and useful links
Peter Levin’s take on why ‘the Writing is on the Wall for the Plagiarism Police’ and explaining what is wrong, in his view, with HE in the UK – apparently exacerbated by efforts to deal with student plagiarism.
This Plagiarism Advisory Service aims to raise awareness of plagiarism in the academic community – it is the most comprehensive online resource on the topic and is the best online plagiarism resource in the UK.
QAA’s Code of practice for the assurance of academic quality and standards in higher education. Section 6: Assessment of students - September 2006
JISC’s useful information about Turnitin – the world’s largest electronic detection software.
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