OPINION & EDITORIAL
Professors complicit in plagiarism
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Also by Estie Kruglak:
- Additional aid from students needed (September 19, 2005)
- Gender factor in child-rape sentencing (September 23, 2005)
- Ticketing system good for Bucky (October 6, 2005)
- Professors complicit in plagiarism (October 19, 2005)
- Tear down barriers to participation (October 24, 2005)
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by Estie Kruglak
Wednesday, October 19, 2005
The first few days of class are always the same. The professor introduces him or herself, reads through the syllabus (although most students are capable of reading on their own), and discusses the rules of cheating. An especially salient topic that arises in the cheating segment is that of plagiarism.
It goes without saying that those who are caught plagiarizing will be reprimanded accordingly. Those students who are not truthful with their work will pay the consequences, but what happens when it's not only the student at fault?
Can the professors actually be lending a hand to the growing problem?
At the University of Wisconsin, cases of plagiarism have tripled since 1999, from 15 cases to 46, as reported by the Wisconsin State Journal. With such a rise in cheating over the past few years, what seems to be effecting the process?
Well for one, it's technology. Sites offering to have papers, quizzes, and projects available for students are all over the Internet. By paying a fee that is decided by the creators of the Web sites, students can have their homework sent to them just in time for the due date.
Despite the fact that there are disclaimers on the Web sites saying they are for research use only, their credibility leaves room for questioning.
Imagine having three exams and two projects due over the span of one week and try to deny the temptation for a little "research" assistance from online sites. It's definitely there. Was this the original purpose for the World Wide Web? Maybe being able to connect with people across the world and having the ability to bring up any information with just the click of a button was glorified a little too much. Maybe technology is to blame for the growing cases of plagiarism.
But in addition to technology and the student, there is one more actor that is missing in this drama: the professor.
A national survey of almost 10,000 professors showed that 44 percent of them who had suspicions of cheating students did not report them to campus officials.
To be an educator is to teach wrong from right, to inspire, and to motivate hard work and determination, not dismiss misconduct.
If the professors come across cheating and do not report the student it becomes hard to distinguish who the cheater really is. Is it the student who cheated their way out of doing the work all in the name of a grade, or is it the professor who overlooks it and allows the student to continue on their deceitful path? The line between the two is a blurry one, and that is adding to the problem.
Jim Wollack, an associate professor at the university who studies academic cheating, agrees that the trouble of plagiarism is reaching new heights. With the advancement of technology it becomes that much harder to catch the problem. And with professors letting plagiarism slip by, it is slowly becoming an epidemic that will be sure to tarnish university reputations in the future.
Mr. Wollack provides a simple plan that can start to attack the problem, and that is to talk to students. Saying something in the beginning of the semester, Mr. Wollack says, really works.
So if this means a few extra minutes at the beginning of each semester discussing cheating, then so be it. By all means, the reputation of national universities as well as individual integrity is not worth it. After all, it is just a grade.
Estie Kruglak (erkruglak@wisc.edu) is a junior majoring in communication arts.
Anonymous (October 19, 2005 @ 7:06pm):
like the badger herald sports writer that plagerized an article from espn.com and expected nobody to notice? hmmmm.....
Anonymous (October 20, 2005 @ 8:03am):
Plagiarism detection services "detect and prosecute" after the fact. How about PowerResearcher software to "protect and serve", software that automates the research process, guides the student in academic integrity and makes it easier to properly cite sources proactively, rather than waste professors' productive time having to track unreferenced sources?
We hardly use typewriters anymore, but have automated word processing. We do not fly by rudimentary compass, but use GPS. Why perpetuate and frustrate writers with antiquated, tedious and time consuming manual citations and research processes? Time to upgrade!
