RE: The truth about cheating, plagiarism, and academic dishonesty, Sept. 28, 2015
University students deal with a variety of issues every day, but there’s one problem in particular that tends to be overlooked: cheating. Cheating is a major problem, and universities are not taking enough initiative to prevent it.
Plagiarism is one of the biggest problems most students face. Students will plagiarize because it’s easy and convenient, especially if they’re tired, or can’t think of a way to begin their assignment.
But this means that while there are people out there working their butts off on assignments and cramming like crazy for tests and exams, there are also people who aren’t doing anything. It needs to stop.
There should be more, and better-advertised, opportunities at Carleton for students to learn about plagiarism and its risks.
Each and every professor needs to discuss plagiarism at the beginning of a class without assuming students already know what they need to about plagiarism. Every student has a different academic background that may or may not have included learning how to avoid cheating accidentally.
Students need to be reminded they’ll lose marks if they do it. Strategic deterrents should also be used, such as a tutorial group that meets every week for students to “unlearn” plagiarizing. Students must practice taking their own notes and studying using proper kinds of source material, because so much of cheating is accidental.
These methods to prevent plagiarism have to be repetitive, easy to grasp, and strategic.
Students need to know more about plagiarism and about the risks they are taking if they do it. Every school has a policy available online, and the consequences can be harsh if you’re caught.
As institutions of higher education that pride themselves on academic excellence, universities should be more strategic about upholding academic integrity. We all need to take more initiative to prevent plagiarism from happening, and when it does, it should not be treated as a light offence.
Students need to lay off the copy and paste on their computers, and insert from their own heads instead.
