Plagiarism Workshop: Plagiarism School

What is Plagiarism School? 

Plagiarism School serves as a means to address less severe cases of plagiarism, or cases that may be deemed unintentional. The instructor may request that the student attend a remedial, private session administered by University Libraries regarding acceptable ways to document research. 

Plagiarism School is only offered to students not previously penalized for plagiarism. It will only be offered if the instructor, student, and representative from University Libraries agree. The instructor will determine how the penalty will be modified in favor of the student upon the completion of plagiarism school by the student. The instructor will be notified by University Libraries upon completion of Plagiarism School by the student. 

Plagiarism School Information 

In an effort to make a difficult academic situation into a valuable educational experience, Kent State University developed Plagiarism School. When an instructor determines that an act of plagiarism was more the result of poor preparation for college writing skills and less the result of intentional academic dishonesty, they can ask the student accused of plagiarism to attend Plagiarism School. 

Plagiarism School is a one-on-one session lasting about 45 minutes and serves as a means to reeducate and rehabilitate students who plagiarize. Upon completion, students can mitigate the penalty applied by the instructor. For example, the student may be given the opportunity to resubmit the corrected assignment instead of failing it. Plagiarism School also affords students the opportunity to learn from their mistakes and feel better equipped to understand and avoid plagiarism in the future. 

Plagiarism School sessions are tailored to the student's individual circumstances and needs. Some common content that is included:

• Review of the plagiarized assignment 
• Review of the university policy on student cheating and plagiarism 
• Review of specific citation/reference styles
• Review of case studies 
• Discussion on how to improve the original assignment 

Students

If you are accused of plagiarism, do not ignore the issue. Ignoring the penalty will not make it go away. Also, dropping the class will not make it go away. If there is an Academic Hearing Panel, you must attend. 

On the day of your Plagiarism School appointment, make sure to show up on time. Any student who is more than 15 minutes late to their appointment will have it canceled. It is then at the librarian's discretion whether to reschedule the session. 

Instructors

It is the instructor's responsibility to initiate Plagiarism School. There are certain steps instructors need to take when they suspect a student of plagiarism and want them to attend Plagiarism School.

1. The instructor must discuss the issue and their concerns with the student. This provides the student a chance to defend their work. 

2. If the instructor still believes that the student has plagiarized, they may decide to sanction the student for the plagiarism and start the process of reporting it and referring them to Plagiarism School. Below are the steps to do this:

• Log into your Flashline account. Go to Faculty & Advisor Tools, then click on the Cheating and Plagiarism Sanction Form. 
• You will fill out the form and recommend sending the student to Plagiarism School. You will also be asked to include information on how you will modify the sanction, please be specific. For example, if you want the student to revise/fix the original paper, include that information. If you are going to assign partial credit, consider including the specific amount. For example, after the student revises the paper, I will grade it for 80% credit. 
• You will have to select a sanction even if you select the option for Plagiarism School. The chosen sanction will go into effect if the student does not complete Plagiarism School. 
• You will need to upload copies of the plagiarized assignment(s) and Turnitin reports if available. 
• Plagiarism School is only to be used for valid offenses. A student cannot be referred for "cheating" e.g. copying on a test.

3. Once the student has been officially sanctioned, the Office of Student Conduct will notify the library. If the librarian has questions about the assignment or how you will modify the original sanction, they will contact you. The library will also reach out to the student asking them to sign the digital Plagiarism School form. 

4. The student will receive an email indicating that their instructor is referring them to Plagiarism School. 

5. The library will contact the student to schedule their appointment. The student will be given the option of various dates/times for the appointment to select from. 

6. Once the student has completed Plagiarism School, the instructor will be notified. This process can take up to 3 weeks to fully complete given the time in the semester, librarian availability, and the availability of the student. If the student is being referred at the end of the semester, it is possible that their plagiarism school session may be scheduled until after final grades are due. If that happens, please assign the grade the student has with the plagiarized assignment. Once the student has completed Plagiarism School, you can submit a grade change form. 

Melissa BauerInterim Library Coordinator and Regional Campus Library Liaison
Professor, University Libraries
330-244-3320 | Campus 53320
mbauer10@kent.edu

Theodore Guedel
Reference and Instruction Librarian & Veterans Support Facilitator
Associate Professor, University Libraries
330-244-3322 | Campus 53322
tguedel@kent.edu

Information about Kent State University's plagiarism policy can be accessed here: 3-01.8 Administrative Policy on Student Cheating and Plagiarism.