Definition of Plagiarism |
The Proliferation of Plagiarism |
Plagiarism Policies
Preventing Plagiarism | Obtaining Proof | Sources for this Guide
Preventing Plagiarism | Obtaining Proof | Sources for this Guide
Policies
Most academic institutions have a policy on academic integrity that includes both a definition of plagiarism as well as the penalty for the offense.
At the present time the RVCC academic integrity policy is under review.
The current Student Academic Code of Conduct for RVCC can be found in the Student Handbook. It defines plagiarism and states the penalty.
Definition
- Presenting as one's own, for academic evaluation, the ideas, representations, or words of another person on persons, without customary and proper acknowledgment of sources.(Students should consult the couse syllabus and a recognized handbook of grammar, style and usage.)
- Submitting the work of another person in a manner that represents the work to be one's own.
Penalty
- In all cases, the faculty member shall ascertain whether the alleged breach of academic integrity is one that occurred inadvertently. If so, the faculty member may resolve the matter informally with no further action necessitated.
- In all other cases, the faculty member shall:
- Advise the student that he/she has allegedly breached academic integrity . . .
- Inform, orally or in writing, the Dean of Academic & Student Services of the alleged breach.
- In those cases where there is no record in the Dean's Office of a prior offense, the faculty member and the student may resolve the matter informally.
- After satisfactory resolution, the faculty member must file in the Office of the Dean of Academic & Student Services a written, signed report of the violation(s) and subsequent disciplinary action. This report is not made part of the student's permanent record and is a restricted access file under the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act. . .
- The Dean of Academic & Student Services will. . . inform the student in writing that the matter will be considered closed unless he/she chooses to appeal to the Senior Vice President for Academic Affairs. . .
- If the student has a record of a prior offense or if the informal resolution process fails, the faculty member shall submit. . .a written statement of charges to the Senior Vice President for Academic Affairs who will then transmit it to the Academic Integrity Hearing Board Chairperson
- Remainder of the policy deals with procedures of the Academic Intergrity Hearing Board and the Senior Vice President for Academic Affairs
A new Draft of Student Code of Conduct was recently proposed to the Forum.
Academic Dishonesty, Cheating and Plagiarism
Raritan Valley Community College requires independent, honest work on the part of its students, and students are expected to conduct themselves with scholarly integrity. Each confirmed incident of academic dishonesty, cheating or plagiarism will be reported by the faculty member, either orally, or in writing, to the Dean of Academic and Student Services.
Definition
Examples of plagiarism include, but are not limited to:
- Copying answers from a textbook to submit for a grade.
- Quoting text or other works without citation when requested by the faculty member to present one's own work.
- Submitting a paper purchased from a term paper service or taken from the internet.
- Submitting a paper or report written by another student, a spouse, or a colleague as one's own.
- Submitting another student's project, research paper, or computer program as one's own.
- Submitting a paper wholly or in substantial part using the exact phrasing of source material.
- Submitting a paper closely paraphrased from source material, where the original source material is simply edited with perhaps minor word changes occurring.
- Submitting a paper closely paraphrased from source material, splicing together sentences from scattered segments of the original.
Penalty
Penalties for confirmed cheating and plagiarism are as follows:
First Offense: The faculty member will have the authority to issue a failure on the paper, exam, assignment or course on which cheating or plagiarism was established. A record of the incident will be reorted to the Dean of Academic and Student Services.
Second Offense: Upon confirmation of the student's second offense by the Dean of Academic and Student Services, the student will be subject to suspension form the college for one semester.
Policies-- a collection of academic integrity policies
The Center for Intellectual Property at the University of Maryland's University College has a growing collection of plagiarism policies. You may view and compare their Collected Plagiarism Policies.