Cheating

Coventry University has caught lots of their students cheating, by cutting and pasting stuff from the internet and claiming it as their own work. It is about time that more universities put a much higher percentage of student work through the software, and were more explicit in their instructions to students about plagiarism. Many students arrive at university unaware of the fact that, unlike at school, where they are spoonfed the information needed to pass their exams, and cutting and pasting is an OK practice, reading for a degree means that they have to go and find out the information for themselves, and then present it in a way which demonstrates their understanding of the subject. Perhaps, as part of freshers week, ALL new students should have the issue of plagiarism pointed out to them, and they should be required to undergo a short study skills course, to ensure they know HOW to study independently. Universities should also put a random 25% of scripts through the software, and if they catch cheats, they should be thrown off the course. The software is there, it works, and universities need to protect their reputation by being upfront and honest about cheating, not brushing it under the carpet and pretending it only happens at other institutions.

University catches 237 student cheats who trawl the internet