Online plagiarism crackdown catches thousands of students

THE number of Scottish students who are trying to cheat their way to a university degree has soared to unprecedented levels in the past five years, according to new figures.

A survey has shown that thousands of undergraduates have been caught plagiarising other people's work to pass their degree exams.

But last night the leader of Scotland's students insisted the record plagiarism numbers reported by many of Scotland's top universities was down to improved detection systems, rather than an increase in cheating by undergraduates.

The majority of Scotland's universities have installed the Turnitin system - a sophisticated software program that scans the internet for passages students have copied into their essays.

At some universities, the number of students caught has at least doubled since the software was introduced to detect cheats.

Liam Burns, the president of NUS Scotland, said: "These figures shouldn't be seen as a sign of increased cheating, but the inevitable effect of improvements to anti-plagiarism software.

"It's not as if there are hundreds more students actively trying to cheat."

He added: "The small number of students who do resort to plagiarism often do so out of a lack of support and because they are desperate.

"Lecturers must be mindful to this detection software as a way to prevent plagiarism and identify students who need further support, rather than an opportunity to punish people."

The figures reveal considerable differences in the number of students caught plagiarising at Scottish universities.

At Aberdeen's Robert Gordon University, 850 students have been found guilty of "academic misconduct" over the past five years, while the number of plagiarism cases at neighbouring Aberdeen University was 245.

At Stirling University, a total of 815 students have been caught plagiarising. There have been 50 cases at the University of Abertay, but at neighbouring Dundee University, a university spokesman said that, while an unspecified number of students might have been dealt with for plagiarism at departmental level, none of the cases had been serious enough to be referred to the Academic Dishonesty committee of the University's Senate.

A spokesman for Dundee University defended the institution's apparently low detection rate.

He said: "We do have anti-plagiarism software across the university. The University of Dundee takes the issue of plagiarism very seriously.

"Teaching staff have developed online materials which teach students how to make the most of new media sources, whilst upholding long-standing academic ethics and avoid their studies being tainted by an association with plagiarism."

A spokesman for Universities Scotland said: "Universities Scotland would urge students not to resort to plagiarism and risk jeopardising their future, and would reassure them that if they're clever enough to get into university, work hard and do their best they will succeed."