Ethical Challenge

While the internet has provided many amazing changes to higher education, including the rapid and continued growth of online education, issues that professors often face with students have become exacerbated in the online course room. Plagiarism continues to be a major area of concern for all professors; however, many students come to college with no true knowledge what plagiarism really involves. The ethical challenge that professors encounter in a plagiarism case is to maintain the balance between appropriate discipline and a teachable moment with a student, while following the university’s required steps for a plagiarism situation.

Step 1: Review the different Web sites from which the alleged copying occurred to gather evidence of the alleged violation.

               

All humans, including highly educated humans who have devoted their lives to educating others and are considered experts in their fields of study, can make mistakes and errors in judgment. Before accusing students of plagiarism, professors must ensure they have substantial evidence to prove that plagiarism occurred. Additionally, professors should utilize programs such as Turnitin.com and include a print out of the plagiarism report on students’ papers to reveal how the plagiarism was detected and researched. What would happen if a professor reported a student for an academic violation of plagiarism and did not provide any documentation to support the allegation?

Hopefully, the university will have policy for the faculty to follow in this situation. However, if a professor turns in a student without proof, gives the student a failing grade in the course, and the student appeals based on the lack of evidence, several scenarios could take place. The student or the student’s parents could file a lawsuit against the university; the professor could face reprimand by the President or the Provost ; the student may withdraw from school, which will affect retention rates, and in some cases, students have even contacted the media, thus damaging the university’s reputation with the community.

Step 2: Contact the learner, review the violation, and determine appropriate action.

                In the case of online education, contacting the learner will involve email as well as a follow up phone call. The professor should contact the student via email, attach a copy of the report from the plagiarism detection program (e.g. MyDropBox.com orTurnitin.com), as well as the articles from the various websites the professor believes thestudent used. However, accusing of student of wrongdoing is a very delicate situation. In the email, the professor should request to speak to the student over the phone, Skype, etc. and not simply rely on email. Before contacting the student, the professor should speak with the Registrar to determine if the student has ever been cited for an academic violation before. Whether or not the student has other violations on record should also help a professor determine appropriate action. For example, if the Registrar states that the student has never been reported for an academic violation before, the professor should ask the student about their knowledge regarding research papers, APA format, MLA format, etc., especially if the course is a freshman level course. Many students now enter college with no knowledge of what plagiarism is.

Step 3: If you deem it appropriate, decide on what sanction to impose, such as:

•authorizing a re-write of the assignment,

 •giving a failing grade on the assignment in question, or

 •giving a failing grade for the entire course.

                If the student admits to using the materials found on websites, but is emphatic that they did not realize this was plagiarism, and was never taught what plagiarism involved, the professor should consider this as a teachable moment, and provide the student with the benefit of the doubt, especially if the student has no record of previous academic violations. The student should be allowed to do a re-write of the assignment with other stipulations, including submitting their paper to a plagiarism site such as MyDropBox.com or Turnitin.com, submit a copy of the plagiarism site’s report with the revised paper, as well as signing a document that they understand what plagiarism now involved and would not make the same mistake in the future. A copy of the signed document should be added to the student’s file in the Registrar’s Office.

Step 4: Notify the learner in writing of the decision and its rationale.

                The information provided in step 3 should be shared with the student via phone call, Skype, or in another more personal way than an email. Notifying the student in writing is a follow up to the personal conversation. This is so both the student and professor will have the requirements agreed to in step 3 in writing, so they can both refer to the document for future reference. This will ensure that neither the professor nor the student can make any future claims arguing against the agreement. The written document protects both student and professor.

Step 5: Forward a copy of the notification and the evidence to the appropriate designee in the learner’s school.

                Once again, this is for the protection of the student and the professor. However, the student will realize the serious nature of the academic violation that the matter is now on record, and will hopefully, be reluctant to follow the same steps in another class with another professor. For example, if the professor does not provide documentation to the appropriate departments, including the Registrar’s Office, the student could continue committing plagiarism and feigning ignorance to the nature of plagiarism when confronted by a professor. Students should be allowed a certain level of grace for a first offense; however, all offenses should be documented in order to ensure the student knows the issue and will learn the benefit of integrity when conducting research.

Step 6: Provide the learner with the right to appeal any faculty-imposed sanction.

                Students should always be informed of their rights in plagiarism cases, and professors should not simply believe that it is the students’ responsibility to educated themselves on the academic policies and procedures of the university. In all cases, even those that involve complete student / professor agreement on the imposed sanctions, the professor should provide the student with a copy of the university’s appeal process, and also remind them that the policy is on the website, in the student handbook, etc.

Professors face many ethical challenges when a student commits plagiarism. However, tempering punishment with teachable moments is essential for educating students. Professors should not fall into the function of plagiarism police, which does not teach students what plagiarism is and how to avoid it on future assignments.

 

 

 

Reference

Steps for Addressing Alleged Plagiarism. (n.d.). Online Accredited College Degree Programs – Capella University. Retrieved January 19, 2013, from http://www.capella.edu/CourseMedia/ed7212/dragdrop/ed7212_unit2_dd_transcript.html