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[normative_]

I know! The 3rd try is the last at my institution. We have a weak university leadership and a tradition that started in the 1970s.

I've had to resort to another weapon in my arsenal: my right to decide the form of their next class requirement to replace the plagiarised paper. There's a published list of things at the departmental level from which we can choose. I can then set a second paper with a completely different topic, an exam, an oral exam as I see fit. I play up the insecurity on their part of what will happen next. And make it clear they will have to work hard if they're caught.

We also have internet search software and require all papers electronically. And we really do run them all through the computer. Works a charm.

Deliberate failing is also a problem in exams, but that would hijack the thread into other territory.

[anthroid]

The issue is not mistrust of the faculty.  It is mistrust of the students.  My department has been plagued--seriously, plagued--with much plagiarism--by majors even more than gen ed (and we do a great deal of gen ed as well).  Part of this has had to do with a leadership vacuum in the department.  Faculty never could be sure that they would be vigorously and openly supported by the previous chair, so dealing with plagiarism has been more than a little lax (especially in our satellite campuses, where we have several programs running and for which I am responsible).  Now they know--having watched me in action over the last two years--that they will be completely backed up.  Our university's policy has university wide consequences, but there is language that seems to indicate the department can handle it too (there can be parallel processes, I guess--I wasn't here for the drafting of the university-wide policies).  The only problem is that there is no department language to deal with plagiarism (or specifics about grade appeals in general) in existence.

Our students seem to think that if consequences, sanctions, and so forth are not specifically spelled out, they get to wriggle out of things.  I want to give my faculty clear tools with which to work.    They want those tools too. 

As for counseling students, I intend for that to happen only if the instructor asks for it, or if there is a grade or even "accusation" appeal by the student.  Then I am mandated as a chair to meet with the student and attempt to resolve the dispute.

[normative_]

I totally agree, Anthroid, and I wish more heads backed up their faculty with a strict policy as you do. Good luck!

[philo]

Our schools just have really different procedures, then.  I've probably dealt with 40 plagiarism cases in the time I was here, and the question of whether the chair would support me or not (he would have) just never arose.  Neither I nor a student ever went to him about it.  Everything was handled by me and the student judicial office.

[anthroid]

Our schools just have really different procedures, then.  I've probably dealt with 40 plagiarism cases in the time I was here, and the question of whether the chair would support me or not (he would have) just never arose.  Neither I nor a student ever went to him about it.  Everything was handled by me and the student judicial office.

That's great!  I can't ever be sure about the university office here.  Plus, as I say, the language indicates more than one venue for plagiarism cases, and this IS a large university, so...

[georgia_guy]

My plagiarism policy is pretty straightforward.

Policy on Cheating and Plagiarism

Cheating of any sort will not be tolerated in this course. All of my exams are closed book, and no notes allowed. Any type of notes, crib sheets, or other unauthorized aids will be considered cheating.  Looking at another student’s test or quiz, or having someone else write your term paper would also constitute cheating. Any form of plagiarism is considered cheating. Plagiarism is any attempt to represent the work or ideas of someone else as your own. This includes purchasing, or obtaining by other means, papers from any person, and turning them in as yours. It also includes the use of paraphrases or quotes from a published source without properly citing the source. It also includes taking one cite, and cutting and pasting the work into a paper, even if most of it has been reworded, in which the original ideas of the source author are still intact, and the author is not given full credit. The above examples are meant to help clarify the underlined statement, and are not an exhaustive list. If you are unsure whether a specific practice constitutes plagiarism, please ask. Also, since the project in this class is intended to be an original work, using a paper, or part of a paper, turned in for any other class is also considered cheating.

Anyone caught cheating or plagiarizing in this class will receive an F in the course

I tell my students there are no second chances, no redos. Cheat or plagiarize, you fail.

My dean is very supportive of this policy. I am the dept. chair, so that's covered. One thing faculty in my department know, is that their chair will ALWAYS back them, when they have problems with a student plagiarizing, or cheating. :)

However, in the past, I have had a dean that had no spine. He actually tried to coerce me into giving a student "another chance" after the student turned in a paper that was 95% cut and pasted, in full paragraphs, from a published source. He even held a session involving me, him and the student, essentially a two on one gangup, to try to make me bend. I did not, the student received his F, and we moved on. Happily, a former VPAA saw fit to retire that dean, and things are much better now.

[normative_]

Since exams are also being discussed here, I make no restrictions on students getting up to go to the toilet, but they must hand in their examination papers to me and collect them when they return. I make a note of the names, and I initial the point on the examination where they stopped writing before they left. I then can check whether they got smarter after they returned or had similar answers to other room-leavers and reserve the right to check up again in an oral test.

I announce the policy before they write. Very few students leave the room.

[science_expat]

Normative, that's a brilliant idea!

We have a big problem with this issue and you may have suggested a solution.

Thanks,
SE

[normative_]

Glad to help. Hope it works.

[livinginthepast]

I've taught at a local CC as an evening adjunct for several years.  I was pretty naive about plagiarism until two particularly incompetent students turned in papers obviously copied and pasted from web pages.  After that incident I drafted the following:

Statement on Intellectual Honesty

I will not tolerate dishonesty in my class.  It hurts me because it is a form of disrespect.  It hurts you, apart from any punishment I choose to inflict, because it prevents you from improving your skills and knowledge.  It hurts society because students leave school without the skills or knowledge they pretend to have.

Dishonesty includes:

1.   Copying text or information from any author and presenting it as yours.  This behavior is usually called “plagiarism”.  It can involve:

a.   Using any text or information from a work and failing to cite it; or
b.   Copying text and failing to put quote marks around it, even if you have cited the author’s work.
c.   Using the text or information of a fellow student, even with proper quotes or citation.  If this behavior happens during a quiz or test it is usually called “cheating.”  [Next time I use this I'll include an exception for collaborative assignments.]

2.   Submitting a false excuse to obtain a makeup exam.

3.   Submitting any other false information to the instructor.

4.   Assisting another student in performing the acts described above.

I reserve the right to take any or all of the following actions in response to an incident of dishonesty as I see fit:

1.   Subtracting some or all of the points from the affected assignment.

2.   Awarding the offending student a grade of F in the course.

3.   Notifying the Dean of the student’s misbehavior.

Please see me if you have any questions about this policy. 

[normative_]

Normative, that's a brilliant idea!

We have a big problem with this issue and you may have suggested a solution.

Thanks,
SE

Another problem we've had during written examinations is pack cheating. One student asks you a question so that his friends can check their crib sheets quickly whilst you're looking at the paper, then they alternate. It only works if there's a single person overseeing the exam.

Option 1: on principle,no questions.
Option 2: walk over, listen, answer, but look at the room and not at the student. If you're feeling particularly sneaky, look down, then snap your head back up. I'm not sneaky though.