Plagiarism

Plagiarism occurs when the student does not footnote properly, quotes extensively without quotation marks, quotes without indicating sources, paraphrases incorrectly, hands in work that is not his or her own, or when there is a combination of these omissions or commissions in any assignment. In these cases the Faculty member is expected to check the source material and have documentary proof of the problem(s). It is best to photocopy the sources in question, indicating full bibliographical information, and then to number the places in the paper and place a corresponding number on the photocopied source in order to speed up the proceedings at a judiciary hearing.

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 problematic and calls for some cautious investigation. In the process of that investigation the Faculty member may call on the Vice President and Dean of Student Life or the Associate Dean to help question the students.

When a student hands in a take-home exam, a paper, or to-be-graded homework, the assumption is that the work represents the student’s own effort unless other sources are 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.

The College subscribes to the Turnitin.com service. Turnitin.com is 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 have the option of using this service to guard against plagiarism or in the event they suspect a case of plagiarism by a student.