Northeastern Policy
At Northeastern, many faculty members include statements concerning plagiarism in their syllabi. In some departments, such statements are required. When students do plagiarize, faculty may choose a variety of responses including confronting the student or giving a failing grade on the plagiarized assignment. Faculty can also choose to bring a charge of academic dishonesty against a student by filing a complaint with the Office of Student Conduct and Conflict Resolution (OSCCR). According to the Student Handbook, if a student is found responsible for a violation, a minimum sanction of deferred suspension will follow for the first violation, and expulsion from the university for a second.
The Academic Honesty and Integrity Policy is included in the Student Handbook and can be found at: http://www.northeastern.edu/osccr/academicintegrity/index.html
Common Sources
It is quick and convenient for students to locate articles on virtually any topic on the Internet. Common sources include search engines and online resources such as:
- AskJeeves
- Encyclopedia.com
- Online journals
- Usenet groups
- Listservs
Plagiarism Prevention
A number of suggestions have been proposed to discourage plagiarism. These include:
- Promoting academic integrity
- Educating students
- What is Plagiarism?
An interactive online quiz that gives students specific examples of plagiarism and makes them not only identify plagiarism, but understand what exactly constitutes plagiarism.
- What is Plagiarism?
- Publicizing “Preventing Plagiarism” page on Library website (http://www.lib.neu.edu/online_research/help/avoiding_plagiarism/)
- Redesigning assignments
(see: http://www.lib.neu.edu/online_research/help/avoiding_plagiarism/)
Information for Faculty - Use of software/online plagiarism detection systems, such as Turnitin.com
Further information about cyber-plagiarism is available at: http://www.web-miner.com/plagiarism
Blackboard and Turnitin
Northeastern’s Blackboard system integrates Turnitin’s plagiarism detection software to allow an instructor to add an assignment for which the students’ submissions will be automatically checked for plagiarism.
Northeastern’s “Blackboard Tips” website provides step-by-step instructions for creating a Turnitin assignment in your Blackboard course. A video tutorial is also available from the Turnitin website.
Additional Information
For additional information see the Northeastern University Libraries page on Avoiding Plagiarism.