Why does plagiarism continue to run rampant in college courses? Professors may blame online paper mills and students’ unwillingness to cite material culled from the Internet, but a new study conducted by Napier University, in Edinburgh, argues that they need to take a look in the mirror.
The study found that only 27 percent of professors at Napier are “engaged in efforts to report plagiarism”—even though more than one in three students at the university claims to know someone who regularly copies information from the Web.
The study concludes that “the time it takes to deal with cases of academic misconduct is the main deterrent to reporting it.” But professors may not relish playing the role of watchdog, either: Few of them said they use anti-plagiarism software that the university purchased last year. (The Scotsman)
Are professors part of this problem? Do you spend time trying to spot and punish plagiarism in your classes? —Brock Read
