The majority of the 456 academic violations reported in 2007 at the University were related to students committing different types of plagiarism.
“Plagiarism comes in waves,” said Eric Norman, associate dean of the Office of Judicial Affairs. “It’s a big problem during mid-terms and at the end of the semester during finals.”
All violations of the Code of Student Conduct are handled in the Office of Judicial Affairs.
“We take the accusation and look at it at face value,” Norman said. “If we see a violation has occurred, we take action.”
Norman said after the department is notified of a violation, the students come in and tell their side of the story.
Norman said there are three different scenarios for plagiarism: the student is deceptive in their work, does sloppy research or is unaware that he or she is plagiarizing.
“Some of our students don’t understand what plagiarism is,” said David Kurpius, associate dean at the Manship School of Mass Communication. “And it has such a potential for repercussions.”
Kurpius encourages all students to read one of the many manuals or guides printed on plagiarism.
The Code of Student Conduct is very strict, Norman said.
“The punishment for a first violation ranges from a zero on an assignment to an ‘F’ in the class,” he said. “The second violation can be a one-year suspension from the University.”
“It’s fair,” said Orlando Gunn, mass communication sophomore. “You don’t want a university full of cheaters.”
Amanda Stone, psychology sophomore, said she didn’t think the punishment is too harsh.
“It’s more wrong from the student’s perspective to take a student’s work and use it,” Stone said.
Norman said Judicial Affairs wants to make students aware of ignorance in plagiarism, but the department is unsure of what steps to take to notify them.
“I see it as they don’t know how to cite appropriately,” Norman said. “Anything they submit in a first or final draft that is not cited is considered plagiarism.”
Norman said each college at the University deals with plagiarism.
The departments of English and history have problems with students plagiarizing their essays, but the College of Arts and Sciences catches students not citing charts and other forms of artwork, he said.
“I’ve been fortunate to not have too many cases,” said Gaines Foster, chair of the Department of History.
Foster said he can usually tell just by reading a student’s paper if it is not their own work, and he knows different ways to search on Google.com for the answers.
Many students don’t understand what policies the University has, Kurpius said.
“If a professor suspects plagiarism, they have to report it to the authorities,” Kurpius said.
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Contact Joy Lukachick at [email protected]