Plagiarism has become one of the most common academic offenses. In fact, according to Voanews.com, the cases of plagiarism increased by 85% in 2018 at the University of Minnesota. And this statistic only represents the beginning of plagiarism’s effects in universities because the situation has worsened in 2022. So, if you want to know the impacts of plagiarism in universities, this blog post is for you.

Here, we will share some cases of plagiarism from various universities around the globe. But besides the real-life cases, we will also share the consequences of plagiarism in universities. So, let’s delve in.

What Is Plagiarism?

Different people define plagiarism differently, as plagiarism has taken many forms, courtesy of instant internet availability. However, the basic concept of plagiarism is still the same.

The word ‘plagiarism’ refers to taking someone else’s work and passing it off as your own. The work can be in the form of one or multiple sentences, paragraphs, or ideas. Thus, plagiarism generally involves taking credit for work you didn’t actually do.

Some Cases of Plagiarism in Universities:

Every university treats plagiarism differently. But plagiarism can impact the academic as well as professional careers of university students. So, let’s discuss a few real-life examples of how over the years, plagiarism has affected several university students around the globe. This way, the importance of avoiding plagiarism will become more apparent to you.

• Kaavya Viswanathan at Harvard:

In 2006, Kaavya Viswanathan (a sophomore student at Harvard) started her writing career by writing her first novel, “How Opal Mehta Got Kissed, Got Wild and Got a Life.” In the beginning, experts appreciated the novel. But when officials thoroughly analyzed the novel, they found that the novel contained some short pieces of text from the following novels:

• Sloppy First (2001) by Megan F. McCafferty.
• Second Helpings (2003) by Megan F. McCafferty.

Thus, due to plagiarism, the writer failed. Although Ms. Kaavya Viswanathan tried to explain her case, saying that it wasn’t plagiarism, it was internalization. But there was no success. As a result, her publisher refused to release the novel’s sequel.

• Amanda Serpico at Rutgers University, New Jersey:

In 2010, Amanda Serpico (a senior at Rutgers University, New Jersey) submitted an opinion paper for the course related to gay marriage laws. When she submitted the final paper, everything was fine. However, two weeks after the submission, she got an email from the university that contained the accusation of plagiarism.

(Kelly Heyboer | NJ Advance Media for NJ.com, 2011) According to NJ Advance Media, after a thorough examination of her final paper, the officials found a few copied fragments in her paper and she didn’t cite their sources. So, officials sent the report to the dean of the university.

(Jonathan Bailey | Plagiarism Today, 2011) According to Plagiarism Today, the university didn’t allow Ms. Serpico to discuss her case. However, she submitted her appeal to the university’s admission board in written form, which got rejected. As a result, the university rewarded Ms. Serpico with an ‘F’ grade and she failed the course.

• Allison Routman at Ohio University:

In 2014, Allison Routman (a senior at Ohio University) made it in the top 10% of her Arts and Sciences class. So, she got an opportunity to apply for higher studies. As she was generally interested in shipboard life, she decided to take the Sea program sponsored by the University of Virginia (UVA).

But during the research phase of her paper, she took a few instances from Wikipedia and paraphrased the synonyms of a movie based on shipboard life. According to the honor committee of UVA, the university provides guilty students with an opportunity for conscientious retraction, which is an act that offers students the opportunity to come forward before being suspected of committing an Honor Offense. (Alison Go | U.S. News & World Report L.P., 2008) However, according to the U.S. News & World Report L.P., Ms. Routman (in an interview) said that she didn’t know she was committing an honor offense and, therefore, didn’t come forward.

Thus, when the university examined her paper, the officials found some duplicated terms, which led to the accusation of plagiarism. Ms. Routman tried to prove her innocence, but the UVA refused her appeal. In fact, due to the plagiarism policy of UVA, the university expelled Ms. Allison Routman.

• Marks Chabedi at the University of Witwatersrand:

Marks Chabedi was a professor at the University of Witwatersrand. However, due to the discovery of plagiarism in his dissertation, the University of Witwatersrand fired him. That’s because the University of Witwatersrand strongly emphasizes research and academic integrity.

(Academic Honesty in Society) In fact, according to some sources, Marks Chabedi was also found guilty of academic misconduct in 1987 when he didn’t cite the references properly in his books:

• A History of Inorganic Chemistry.
• Organometallic Chemistry.

• An Anonymous Student at RMIT University:

While preparing an assignment at RMIT University for Business Models, a student copied some slides from the lecture slides. In fact, the student admitted that she also copied some text directly from the slides, as it was difficult to paraphrase.

So, during the thorough examination of the assignment, the lecturer noticed and said that she (the student) should at least reference the copied slides. The lecturer also said she took other parts of her assignment from an existing journal article. So, because of this, she lost 20% marks and got a warning from the course coordinator.

In fact, according to the student conduct policy of RMIT University, the warning stayed on the guilty student’s academic record. The student conduct policy of RMIT University also states that if anything like this ever happens again, the student can face more severe consequences.

Consequences of Plagiarism in Universities:

As you’ve seen in the above-discussed examples, different institutes deal with plagiarism differently. However, the consequences of plagiarism for students in various universities are pretty much the same. So, here are the most common plagiarism consequences in universities:

• Failing the Assessment Task:

Failing the assessment task is the least level of punishment for plagiarism in universities. So, students who have committed plagiarism for the first time in their academic careers or those with minor cases usually fall into this category of plagiarism consequence.

• Failing the Subject:

Some universities fail the guilty students in the respective courses and ask them to retake the course upon finding guilty of plagiarism. However, like the first consequence, this one also depends on the severity of the plagiarism case and the university’s plagiarism policy.

• Expulsion From the University:

Plagiarism not only ruins the reputation of the candidates but also impacts their institute’s reputation. Therefore, when it comes to plagiarism, some universities have strict policies. That is why when a student falls prey to plagiarism in such an institute, that institute straightaway expels the guilty student.

How to Avoid Plagiarism?

By now, you may have understood how plagiarism can impact your academic and professional life. Therefore, now, let’s discuss how you can avoid it. This way, you will never have to worry about the causes and effects of plagiarism in universities.

• Research Your Topic Extensively:

When it comes to avoiding plagiarism, the first technique is to research your topic extensively. The research phase will help you find quality and original material for your topic.

However, you can only perform extensive research on your topic if you start working on your task early. So, start working on your topic early. This way, you can give proper time to the research, writing, and proofreading phases.

• Use Paraphrasing or Double Quotes:

Undoubtedly, you can find original material for your topic through the research phase. But sometimes, it becomes essential to include information from the existing material. In that case, you can only do two things:

• Include the same information in your work by enclosing it in double quotes.
• Explain the same idea in your words without changing its context (paraphrasing).

Thus, whichever technique you pick for including some content from an existing work, you must cite the reference of included information. Otherwise, you can fall prey to plagiarism. Citation is known as the reference to the source whereas the source information should be mentioned at the end of every content. Thus, to avoid plagiarism, always cite the source of the original content at the end of the work.

Always check the plagiarism of your work

Once you’ve completed the research, writing, and proofreading phases of your task, you must check the plagiarism of your content. For that, you can take assistance from different online plagiarism-detection tools. This will help you to ensure the uniqueness and originality of your academic work before its submission.

An online plagiarism checker works on deep search algorithms to compare the entered content against all resources available online to find plagiarism. So, such tools can quickly highlight the plagiarized traces in your content.  Universities/colleges students might use any of the following tools to scan documents:

• Turnitin - Paid (students plan available )
• Check-plagiarism - Free and paid (weekly and students plain available) 

Grammarly - Paid (only standard plans available)

If a plagiarism checker finds plagiarism in your content, you can paraphrase or cite the plagiarized portions before submitting your work. This way, you will reduce the likelihood of falling prey to plagiarism.

Conclusion:

The historical cases and consequences of plagiarism in universities are complex and varied. In fact, several different effects can result from committing plagiarism in universities. However, the severity of the plagiarism consequence depends on the plagiarism policy of the university first and then the seriousness of the plagiarism case.

Generally, plagiarism can harm a student’s academic and professional career. For instance, committing plagiarism can result in losing academic points, failing the respective course, or getting expelled from the institute. Therefore, avoiding plagiarism should be your priority.

Thus, if you want to learn the different techniques for avoiding plagiarism, you can read the above discussion, as we have discussed everything in detail here.

References

'Opal Mehta' vs. 'Sloppy Firsts' - The Boston Globe. https://www.boston.com/news/local/articles/2006/04/24/opal_mehta_vs_sloppy_firsts/

Academic Honesty in Society. (n.d.). Retrieved from Course Hero, Inc.: https://www.coursehero.com/file/160756827/Academic-Honesty-in-societydocx/

Alison Go | U.S. News & World Report L.P. (2008, August 14). Two Students Kicked off Semester at Sea for Plagiarism. Retrieved from U.S. News & World Report: https://www.usnews.com/education/blogs/paper-trail/2008/08/14/two-students-kicked-off-semester-at-sea-for-plagiarism

Jonathan Bailey | Plagiarism Today. (2011, December 5). Lessons from the Amanda Serpico Plagiarism Case. Retrieved from Plagiarism Today: https://www.plagiarismtoday.com/2011/12/05/lessons-from-the-amanda-serpico-plagiarism-case/

Kelly Heyboer | NJ Advance Media for NJ.com. (2011, December 4). Former Rutgers student says software detecting plagiarism was wrong when it flagged her work, causing her to fail. Retrieved from NJ Advance Media: https://www.nj.com/news/2011/12/former_rutgers_student_says_so.html