Saint Leo Dishonesty Policy

The most common forms of academic dishonesty are cheating on tests and plagiarism. The ease of access that the Internet provides has also made it easier for students to plagiarize other people’s works. At the same time, online services such as Turnitin and SafeAssign have made it easier to catch the students who plagiarize other people’s works.

Despite all the warnings and admonishments, some students will inevitably try to get away with it. Regrettably, sometimes they do, but sooner or later they get caught. These students risk getting an F on the assignment that they plagiarized and an F for the entire course. They can also be expelled from the university. For this discussion question, first read the section in the Syllabus regarding Academic Dishonesty.

In your analysis, consider the pros and cons of the Saint Leo policy whereby students are required to submit their written assignments to the Turnitin.com web site. Consider that some other universities do not require students to submit their works to Turnitin or a comparable plagiarism check web site. These other universities leave it up to the student to check their own work on an optional basis. The course instructors are also given the latitude whether to check the work for plagiarism or not.

Now consider another Saint Leo University procedure as it pertains to plagiarism. Unlike some other universities, Saint Leo does not afford its instructors the discretion to make determinations and take disciplinary actions against students who have been caught plagiarizing. Instead, the Saint Leo procedure is to have the professors forward all the information regarding the plagiarism incident to the Graduate Academic Standards Committee, which in turn makes the final determination as to how the student will be disciplined. By contrast, some other universities allow the individual professor to make the determination as to whether there has been plagiarism and the professors are given the authority to deal with the matter in any way they deem appropriate.

Explain the advantages and disadvantages of these two very different policies. Which one do you think is better and why? At least 500 words

Academic Honor Code

As members of an academic community that places a high value on truth and the pursuit of knowledge, Saint Leo University students are expected to be honest in every phase of their academic life and to present as their own work only that which is genuinely theirs. Unless otherwise specified by the professor, students must complete homework assignments by themselves (or if on a team assignment, with only their team members). If they receive outside assistance of any kind, they are expected to cite the source and indicate the extent of the assistance. Each student has the responsibility to maintain the highest standards of academic integrity and to refrain from cheating, plagiarism, or any other form of academic dishonesty as well as reporting any observed instance of academic dishonesty to a faculty member.