Plagiarism Overview
A Simple Plagiarism Definition
Plagiarism: An act of academic dishonesty which involves acquiring the work of another (from sentences to fully written papers) and passing it off as one's own academic work.
Recommendations
In order to protect yourself as faculty, to teach your students, and to make enforcement possible, we* recommend the following:
- Faculty should define plagiarism for their own course in writing.
- Faculty should delineate consequences of plagiarism.
- Faculty should use low stakes assignments requiring students to demonstrate understanding of the type(s) of referencing of sources needed in a course.
For further assistance, handouts, and sample activities, please use the links above to visit our materials page.
* 2006/2007 Ad-Hoc Plagiarism Committee
Context
Plagiarism White Paper
This "white paper" on plagiarism, developed by Denise Stephenson, provides context for faculty to redifine plagiarism and how it manifests, and lists several points on which faculty might consider revising their own practices.
PDF
WPA's Statement on Defining and Avoiding Plagiarism
The Council of Writing Program Administrators has developed this statement on Best Practices for Defining and Avoiding Plagiarism. It provides an extensive list of tips for educators to implement assignments and practices that help students learn citation and avoid plagiarism.
PDF
Preventing Academic Dishonesty
In a chapter from her book Tools for Teaching, Barbara Gross Davis provides context for the plagiarism issue, and provides several strategies for instructors to promote academic integrity in the classroom, particularly on essays and exams.
Link
College Policy
MiraCosta has no policy on plagiarism per se. Rather, the policy is about academic dishonesty generally. It reads:
Academic Dishonesty
If a faculty member believes a student has plagiarized (misrepresented someone else’s work as his/her own) or, in some other way been dishonest, he/she may take any or all of the following actions:
- Issue a verbal warning
- Lower the grade for an assignment
- Lower the grade for the course
- Recommend to the Vice President of Student Services or designee dismissal from the class
The student may appeal within 10 days the faculty member’s action by contacting the department chairperson who must respond in writing within 10 days of receiving the appeal. If the student wishes to appeal the department chairperson’s decision, he/she may make a final written appeal to the Vice President of Instruction within 10 days of receiving the chairperson’s decision. The final decision will be mailed within 10 days.
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