Academic Integrity & Plagiarism: Plagiarism School Info

In an effort to try to make a difficult situation involving student behavior 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 or inadequate writing skills and less the result of out-right academic dishonesty, he or she can ask a student accused of plagiarism to attend Plagiarism School. Plagiarism School is a one-on-one session lasting about 45 minutes (a fuller description is included below). While serving as a means to reeducate and rehabilitate students who plagiarize, students can also mitigate the sanction applied by the instructor. For example, instead of failing the assignment the student may be offered the opportunity to resubmit the corrected assignment (perhaps for a reduced grade) in return for completing Plagiarism School. In addition to diminishing the negative results of being accused of plagiarism, attending plagiarism school leaves students feeling that they are better equipped to understand and avoid plagiarism in the future, turning a potentially devastating situation into a more positive one. During Plagiarism School the following will occur:

• Review of the plagiarized assignment
• Review of the university policy on cheating and plagiarism
• Review of specific plagiarism case studies
• A homework assignment will be given that will help address the particular issues of the plagiarized assignment

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

1. First the instructor must discuss the issue and their concerns with the student. This provides the student a chance to defend their work. If after the meeting the instructor still feels that the student has plagiarized there are different sanctions they can impose.

2. The instructor officially sanctions the student:

• Nothing will be reported on the student's transcripts, this information is confidential.
• Log into your flashline account, go to Faculty & Adviser Tools, then click on the Cheating & Plagiarism Sanction form.
• You will then fill out the form and recommend sending the student to plagiarism school.
• You will have to select a sanction, even if you select the option for plagiarism school. This sanction will go into effect if the student does not complete plagiarism school.  
• Please upload copies of the plagiarized assignment(s) and Turnitin reports if available. 
• Must be for a valid offense, a student cannot be referred to plagiarism school 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 may contact you. The library will reach out to the student asking them to sign the digital Plagiarism School form. 

4. The student will receive an email indicating that their professor is referring them to Plagiarism School. The student will login to the system with their Banner ID. If the instructor did not upload a copy of the assignment, the student will have the opportunity to do so.

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. Please note that this process can take up to 3 weeks to fully complete, given the time in the semester, librarian availability, and availability of the student.

ONLY STUDENTS OFFICIALLY SANCTIONED WILL BE ALLOWED TO ATTEND PLAGIARISM SCHOOL. IF YOU ARE NOT SANCTIONING YOUR STUDENT PLEASE SEE THE "EDUCATIONAL OPPORTUNITIES" MENU FOR OPTIONS.