Some students at Palo Alto College break the school’s policy on scholastic dishonesty by committing plagiarism.
Plagiarism, defined by the Palo Alto College Student Handbook, is the appropriation of another’s work and the unacknowledged incorporation of that work in one’s own coursework or assignment.
Today’s electronic way of doing things has made plagiarizing much easier to do and harder to detect. Many students seem to have forgotten or don’t know about the consequences of plagiarism.
All Alamo Community College District campuses have their own polices and regulations, but for the most part they all agree on one thing: plagiarism will not be tolerated. Palo Alto policy states that the maximum penalty that a faculty member may impose is an “F” for the course.
If the student does not admit to the charge, the instructor will inform the student that he/she will refer the matter to the Department Chair. The Department Chair in turn will forward the matter to the appropriate Dean who, in turn, will forward the matter to the President, each providing his or her recommendation for action.
Failing the course might be the least of the student’s problems if he or she is caught plagiarizing. Many schools will have a hearing to determine if the student is guilty, and if so, he or she may be expelled from school. In other cases, a college board can delay or even revoke a student’s degree.
Many of the instructors at Palo Alto failed their students when they caught them plagiarizing.
“The cheating students will reap what they sow,” said Jennifer Andermatt, an English instructor at Palo Alto. “In the end, they are the ones who will pay the price.
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In one case, Andermatt was checking the sources of a student’s research paper and found that the student plagiarized much of his paper. Andermatt printed the web sites that were used and confronted the student. The student still denied having plagiarized his paper. Seeing how the student used many sentences word for word, Andermatt failed the student for the assignment.
“It’s cheating,” said Mariana Ornelas, Humanities instructor at Palo Alto. “I had to really search to find the student’s source, but I finally did.” When Ornelas caught one of her Internet students plagiarizing, she also failed the student.
In other cases, instructors have chosen not to fail the student. Instead, they give the student a zero for the assignment and let him or her know that plagiarism is not acceptable.
“I don’t accuse students of plagiarism,” said Robert Hines, History instructor at Palo Alto, “because the burden of proof would be on me.”
The World Wide Web has an abundance of information, which makes it hard for instructors to pinpoint a student’s source. Dr. Ronald B. Standler, an attorney in higher-education law, suggests that instructors take an active stand against plagiarism by checking for it whenever possible. Web sites such as www.plagiarism.org are a good start for instructors interested in the fight against plagiarism.
Dr. Standler also mentioned on his web site, www.rbs2.com/plag.htm, suggestions by Margaret Fain and Peggy Bates at Coastal Carolina University for detecting plagiarism. Red flags include changes in a student’s writing style, language, vocabulary and grammar; essays that are printed out from the student’s web browser; references to graphs and charts that are not there; and web addresses left at the top or bottom of the page.
When several Palo Alto students were asked if their instructors were clear about what they expected from the students, nearly all of the students said yes. Very few students admitted to ever having plagiarized any of their work.
“I wouldn’t want someone stealing my ideas,” said Tommy Dufresne, 21-year-old Palo Alto student. “Especially if it was something I worked hard on.”
Mary McKough, a Modern American Literature instructor at Palo Alto, suggested that faculty teach students how to avoid plagiarism and clearly state the grave consequences of plagiarism.
It may not be a car or a VCR, but plagiarism is stealing. Committing plagiarism reflects negatively on the student. “It shows that you have poor character,” said Audrya Flores, 19-year-old Palo Alto student. “It shows you’re lazy.”