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Ensuring Effective Student Support in Higher Education Alleged Plagiarism Cases

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Abstract

Plagiarism and other forms of academic misconduct are matters of great concern at all levels of study worldwide. This is especially so for students in higher education institutions, where higher degrees and publications are key focus activities. Ready access to internet based resources assist academic writing practices. However, the unintentional, or sometimes deliberate, lack of acknowledgment of intellectual property ownership by some students results in plagiarism allegations. In this article we explain how the Business School at Curtin University, Western Australia, currently handles plagiarism accusations; and we propose a model for making the University’s approach more transparent, supportive, and educative for students. We recommend this model to others.

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Notes

  1. The term unit in Australia is the equivalent of a course in North America. It typically describes a unit of study that lasts the duration of a single academic term or teaching period. A course in Australia is regarded as a group of units needed to complete a university degree.

  2. Note that the Australian usage of the word “staff” is to be understood as including both faculty and staff members in North American parlance.

  3. “Graduate” student in North American parlance.

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Correspondence to Craig Baird.

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Baird, C., Dooey, P. Ensuring Effective Student Support in Higher Education Alleged Plagiarism Cases. Innov High Educ 39, 387–400 (2014). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10755-014-9285-4

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