Plagiarism - do you really know what it is?

It seems to me that most postgrads are pretty sure they know that plagiarism is copying someone else's work, whether just a sentence or a whole essay, and that it is not okay. I suspect there are some out there who aren't entirely clear that paraphrasing without in-text citations is plagiarism. And I am certain that there will be some who don't know that plagiarism is also, according to the University, submitting all or part of your own work for more than one assessment task. And that in the case of the faculties who deal with these things the most harshly, this 'academic misconduct' can lead to loss of credit for an entire subject, which in some cases may be the difference between graduating and not.

But 'wait!', you say. Surely 'some faculties' aren't dealing with allegations of academic misconduct differently to others? Surely there is an institutional approach and set of procedures and statutes to ensure parity? I'm glad you asked that, because there is a clear University policy, website, and statutes. Yet some faculties are still dealing with it differently or more harshly than others. UMPA is on a mission to achieve parity across the University's policies and procedures, a mission shared by the University's Senior Executive, but not necessarily by faculties. Next week, we'll be sending Deans a letter reminding them of the University's 'educative' response to allegations of plagiarism and collusion, and attaching the Provost's 2005 report and recommendations. As well as that, we'll give them what UMPA considers to be a 'best practice' example of the letter sent to students when a formal process is being initiated and a disciplinary committee convened to consider the allegation. One thing some faculties fail to include in their letters is a reminder to students that they can take a 'support person', who may be a graduate advocate from UMPA or an adviser from the Student Union Advisory Service. We know at UMPA that students often have poorer outcomes from these hearings if they haven't sought support from us, and strongly encourage faculties to tell students to bring an advocate along.

For international students, the consequences of allegations of academic misconduct can be extreme. If they've already left the country at the end of the degree when the allegation is made, they will generally be unable to even return to Australia to defend themselves at their own hearing. Of course, they can make a written submission, but it's simply not the same as being present to explain their case. If they're still in the country and found guilty and the punishment is to fail the subject, they may be unable to complete their degree within the period of their visa. So understanding what constitutes plagiarism and collusion at the beginning of one's degree is important for everyone, but the stakes are much higher if you're from overseas.

Finally, even in cases where a faculty has followed the appropriate processes, they may choose to punish more harshly than the misconduct has warranted. In this case, students are well within their rights to appeal this decision to a committee of the Academic Board. There are student reps on both the disciplinary hearing committee and the appeal committee working to ensure that the ramifications on students' lives of any decision made are fully understood.

The bottom line here: make sure that you are well aware of your responsibilities for academic integrity and your rights should something go wrong. And when in doubt, always seek support.

By the way, did you know that plagiarism comes from 'kidnapping'? (OED)

pax.