A lot of discussion around academic misconduct centers on what the student can do better. This ranges from education and awareness to providing training and practice. A less frequently talked about part of academic misconduct is the instructor side. Instructors are the first step in addressing misconduct, and one key part is not to ignore it. Ignoring misconduct has repercussions, not just for that student, or that class, but for the program as a whole.
Recently a student wrote to the PACE Administration frustrated with the seeming ignoring of misconduct. The student is repeating a course because of poor grades and found that students in the class had plagiarized a large portion of their course work, were called out, but were not brought forward. The student wondered … I do not know which is better, might be it be better to plagiarize than have a good integrity standing, because plagiarizing will make me pass a subject
PACE programs are very tightly knit. Students are with each other every day of every week for months. We’ve come to see that they know who in their program is doing their own work, who is cutting corners, and who is cheating.
While failing to find misconduct is bad enough, finding misconduct and not addressing it causes issues. It sets an expectation that this behaviour is acceptable, it causes students to question why they should bother following the rules, and lowers the reputation of our program and graduates.
When considering bringing misconduct forward, consider the size and significance of the material copied, where the students are in their program, and the attempt, or lack there of, to cite a source. These factors are a part of teaching students how to write ethically and appropriately.
The PACE program manager or academic manager are always available to provide help and a sounding board. Dealing with misconduct is not something that instructors have to handle alone.