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Volume 38 Issue 9
February 13, 2001

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Plagiarism on the rise with students

BY AMANDA AMBROZA
U-WIRE
Submitted February 13, 2001

BOWLING GREEN, Ohio – In this digital age, information is all around and easily accessible no matter what time of day.

And when papers are due and schedules are full, the Internet's offerings may become tempting.

Except for one minor detail: plagiarism is illegal.

The University Academic Honesty Policy in the Student Handbook defines plagiarism as "representing the words or ideas of another as one's own in any academic exercise."

According to Dr. Donna Nelson-Beene, director of General Studies Writing, incidents of plagiarism at Bowling Green State University have increased in the past year.

"My sense from talking with other teachers is that plagiarism is on the rise here," she said. "And a lot of teachers attribute it to the Internet and computers in general."

In addition to the basic pool of knowledge available online, several sites, such as "SchoolSucks.com" and "Evil House of Cheat," provide a supply of essays on various subjects either for free or a small fee.

"I do see that with the Internet, there is just so much information out there," noted Nelson-Beene. "I don't think students see the value of 'intellectual property,' the work we value as we become scholars."

Educators across campus are encouraged to become knowledgeable about such sites, and to educate their students about plagiarism and how to avoid it.

"I think it's the job of teachers across the University to stress the importance of respecting intellectual property," said Nelson-Beene. "It really needs to be reinforced across all disciplines."

Workers in the Writer's Lab are encouraged to recognize potential plagiarism while working with students, in order to stop problems before they are punishable by University law.

"I always make sure students are using outside sources to support their own thoughts, not replace them," said Jamie Mitchell, a tutor at the lab.

Kim Ellis, assistant dean of students and chairwoman of the Academic Honesty Committee, has noticed a change as well.

"I think there have been more appeals to the Academic Honesty Code," said Ellis, "but not really a rise in charges. I think more people are using the appeals system."

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