Plagiarism Resource Site

Matthew Thompson, the Sydney Morning Herald's higher education reporter, is covering the ICAC's investigation into the University of Newcastle. He's also "looking more broadly into academic standards and how universities handle plagiarism." Please contact him with any experiences or information you think pertinent: email -- mthompson@smh.com.au;

According to the Australian Broadcasting Corporation, the Deputy Vice-Chancellor at Newcastle has defended his handling of the university's recent plagiarism scandal: He spoke with the University's vice-chancellor and recommended the truth of the matter be investigated, with a quick and independent inquiry.

The inquiry into the Newcastle plagiarism scandal has highlighted a rarely discussed aspect of the plagiarism problem -- the tension between maintaining academic standards in the face of increased competition for recruiting students. According to a recent report in Sydney Morning Herald http://www.smh.com.au/articles/2004/09/08/1094530693563.html> A Malaysian education executive wrote to University of Newcastle officials after foreign students were failed for plagiarism, asking them to review the cases "more generously", an inquiry has been told. The email, produced at the Independent Commission Against Corruption yesterday, said the university could struggle for enrolments if a lot of fee-paying students were failing.

Lawrence Hinman, professor of philosophy and director of the Values Institute at the University of San Diego, has contributed a thoughtful piece on plagiarism to The Washington Post. He looks to instructors as the source and solution to the problem: Cheating and plagiarism often arise in a vacuum created by routine, lack of interest and overwork. Professors who give the same assignment every semester, fail to guide students in the development of their projects and have little interest in what the students have to say contribute to the academic environment in which much cheating and plagiarism occurs.

An opinion piece on plagiarism in journalism raises many points relevant to the academy.

The University of Newcastle (AU) has apparently overcome its recent plagiarism troubles by adopting the recommendations of the St James Ethics Centre. According to the uni's Chancellor: "'We went from being behind the ball to international leaders.

The Houston Chronicle reports on UT Austin's adoption of an honor code. Student leaders at UT say they've wanted an honor code for years. But school officials began pushing for one as well in 2001 after five students were caught cheating on exams and essays within a two-week period.

The Chronicle describes a dissertation's wholesale plagiarizing, and its detection and punishment.

South African universities consider the detection route to combat plagiarism but voice concern over privacy issues.

Plagiarism is widespread in India, but it chiefly consists of "cutting-and-pasting" and mainly occurs at the undergraduate level.