Plagiarism

Plagiarism occurs when the student does not reference properly, quotes without quotation marks or without indicating sources, paraphrases improperly or without indicating sources, submits work as their own when it is not, or when there is a combination of these omissions or commissions in any academic exercise. All such behavior constitutes a theft of someone else’s ideas or words. All students will have a classroom discussion and an exercise on proper research, referencing sources, and paraphrasing techniques during the early part of their academic career at Centre. Students who do not understand proper research techniques or proper citation of sources should ask their instructors.

When a student submits a take-home exam, a paper, or homework, the assumption is that the work represents the student’s own effort unless other sources are directly acknowledged. Furthermore, it is expected that this work has been produced exclusively for the course in which it is submitted. Students should not use the same or substantially the same material in different courses without the prior approval of both instructors. Recent cases that have caused a great deal of concern have involved the persistent omission of quotation marks around quoted material, the persistent omission of references, improper paraphrasing using material too similar to the original, and handing in another student’s work as their own. Of particular concern is inappropriate use of electronic resources and disallowed collaborations among students taking the same course. In the case of a student who has handed in another student's work as his or her
own, it is crucial to find out who copied from whom. This can be challenging and calls for some cautious investigation. Prior to such an investigation, the faculty member should contact the Associate Dean.

The College subscribes to Turnitin.com, an on-line resource that checks student papers against a database of the Internet publications and (for duplication) previously submitted student papers and other available source material. Faculty members are encouraged to use this service to guard against plagiarism or in the event they suspect plagiarism.