Schools' academic dishonesty policies vary
Dalhousie is the only local university to publish academic dishonesty statistics
(0)Dalhousie, Mount Saint Vincent and Saint Mary’s all track how many students they charge with plagiarism. But only Dalhousie publishes the statistics.
Dalhousie’s senate publishes an annual report with a breakdown of how many students were charged with offences and the penalties handed down.
“It’s in the interest of full disclosure and transparency to let the university community know what the work of the discipline committee has been,” said Lloyd Fraser, chair of the senate. “It’s been that way for a number of years.”
Dalhousie charged 99 students with plagiarism in 2007. Of those, 71 were found guilty.
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These are Dalhousie's four most common penalties for academic dishonesty. These four accounted for 132 total penalties in 2007.
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The most common penalty given to students was a notation on their transcript. The notation is generic and says the student was dishonest. It stays on the transcript for one or two years. Sixty students received this penalty in 2007.
“[A notation] can be, potentially, extremely serious,” said Fraser. “One of the difficulties the hearing committee deals with frequently is what kind of impact the penalty will have on the student.”
A notation for a year or two wouldn’t be serious for a first year student with no plans to transfer or apply to graduate schools. On the other hand, for a student nearing graduation, a notation will affect their chances of getting jobs or places in graduate schools.
Fraser said the university is weary of privacy concerns and takes care not to publish any information that would identify a student charged with an offence.
The only people who know the details of specific cases are the student involved, their advocate, the hearing panel and any staff that work on the file.
“There is a clear understanding that the written documentation and the computer files are well-protected so confidentiality is protected,” said Fraser.
The most serious penalty for an academic offense is expulsion. There was only one expulsion at Dal in 2007. The annual report says students should only be expelled in cases of, “egregious repeat offences.”
“Expulsion is used quite infrequently and we would want it to be that way,” said Fraser. “It is always there as a possibility.”
Saint Mary’s University tracks academic offences as well. However, SMU doesn’t publish any statistics related to academic offences.
“Information like that is highly prejudicial in that it might influence someone’s evaluation of a student,” said the senate secretary Barb Bell.
Though there are no published statistics, Bell says the numbers are low.
“A dozen would be an extraordinarily high number. It’s usually in the five to six person range,” she said. “Plagiarism is the easiest offence to commit since a student can forget to cite the appropriate source in a paper.”
SMU is so concerned with privacy that the university shreds records of academic offences after a year if there is no second offence.
Bell added that professors and students often settle issues informally and that the university does not track these offenses.
Marian Binkley, Dal’s Dean of Arts and Social Sciences, feels informal resolutions don’t do anyone any favours. Binkley is also the Academic Integrity Officer for her faculty.
“I think it undermines the seriousness of the offence,” said Binkley. “[the professors] think it’s best for the students and in the short run that may be true.”
Binkley said the informal arrangements lead students to believe they can get away with plagiarism. The problems arise when students get caught again and go before an investigative panel.
“The first thing they say at their informal hearing is, ‘I’ve done this before with professor XYZ and they never brought me here. Why are you making such a big deal?’” said Binkley. “It makes it seem like [plagiarism] is ok.”
Mount Saint Vincent University doesn’t publish a report on academic offenses either but for different reasons than SMU.
“We don’t encounter them that often,” said Robyn McIsaac, director of public affairs for the Mount.
In 2006 there were 22 students charged with plagiarism.
McIsaacattributes the lack of academic offences to The Mount’s small classes. The average class has 23 students.
“Students know professors, professors know students. I guess the opportunity to get away with it doesn’t exist in a small university with small classes,” said McIsaac.
McIsaac also says the faculty stresses to new students exactly what plagiarism is and how to avoid it.
While The Mount does not publish an annual report like Dalhousie, the senate minutes will show if a student was charged with an offence.
The Dalhousie Senate Discipline committee will release its report on academic offences for 2008 at its Nov. 24 meeting.
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