Universities get tough after rise in cheating students

Published on Tuesday 28 July 2009 22:01

UNIVERSITIES are stepping up efforts to tackle the growing problem of cheating students.

Several have installed software which scans the internet for passages that students have copied into their essays.

New figures show Edinburgh University had to discipline 121 students for cheating last year, compared with just 54 the previous year.

At Aberdeen 118 students were tackled for plagiarism, cheating or colluding, compared with 48 the previous year.

And at Glasgow there was also a slight increase in those disciplined overall, from 50 to 53.

An Edinburgh University spokesman said the rise reflected a tougher approach to detecting and punishing plagiarism.

She said: "It's important to remember that the University of Edinburgh has in excess of 25,000 students, so the number of students disciplined is relatively small."

She stressed the university was committed to taking a tough stance on cheating, and guidelines on plagiarism were available to all staff and students.

Aberdeen University attributed its high rise to one incident which involved a number of students last year.

A spokeswoman said: "The university views any breaches of academic discipline very seriously."

The worldwide web has become a valuable resource of information to students. However, it has also become a source of temptation to cheat for those on tight essay deadlines, and of confusion to a generation used to cutting and pasting from the internet.

Edinburgh University has been using an internet-based plagiarism detection service called Turnitin since 2004.

But, because of the vast number of students at the university, it only examines a sample of students' work.

Edinburgh's Napier University also uses Turnitin and asks its students to use the system as a means to teach students how to correctly attribute sources and avoid plagiarism.

Strathclyde uses similar technology to spot whether students have copied part of an essay or thesis from the internet.

A spokeswoman for Strathclyde University said: "It is important for all students to be aware of what constitutes plagiarism. Copying or using someone else's work without attributing it is not only unethical, but impairs the student's ability to learn and carry out research."

Currently, more than 85 per cent of all UK universities use the Turnitin system.

Liz Smith, Conservative education spokeswoman, said: "This behaviour is not acceptable and it's up to the universities to take appropriate action to stamp it out."

However, students said they were not given enough support from universities.

Many were critical of how the Turnitin system was being applied, accusing some institutions of using it as a disciplinary weapon rather than an educational tool.

Liam Burns, NUS Scotland president, said: "It's a confused minefield for students because there is no cohesive policy on plagiarism in the sector.

"In fact, different departments in the same university can often have different policies on how to reference."

He said he would not be surprised if the majority of the rise in students caught plagiarising was among overseas students, because of the difference in international cultures.

He said: "In the Far East, for example, it is expected for students to repeat verbatim what they have been taught by lecturers.

"There is too little information given to students, particularly those from overseas on what plagiarism is and how to avoid it."