The problem of plagiarism is of ongoing concern within the tertiary education sector. In recent years the increasing use of internet by students has further fuelled the longstanding problem of students passing off the work of others as their own.
Plagiarism occurs in a variety of forms, including;
- The use of an idea or direct quotation from another author, without acknowledgement through appropriate referencing
- Allowing one’s own work for an assignment to be copied by another student for their own purposes
- Using information from another source (textbook, periodical, internet site, etc.), and using this either in its original form, or in a disguised form (through minor word changes or format alterations), without either acknowledgement or appropriate referencing
- Purchasing, or otherwise obtaining, the text of an assignment written by someone else, and then submitting it as one’s own work.
Any individual student assignment submitted for marking must represent the student’s own thoughts and conclusions; and where students use the work and ideas of others, then this shall be acknowledged and/or referenced appropriately.
In cases where plagiarism has occurred, faculty staff shall take remedial action. Subject to the severity of the offence, this may range from a reduction in marks allocated for an assignment, to removal of an offending student from their programme of study. (SIT QM4.3 4-1)