Mark Overstreet

In a cut-n-paste society, university campuses are dealing more than ever with term papers, which consist more of “search” than “research.”  The problem–plagiarism.

The article explains, “Plagiarism on campus grabbed the state’s attention in 2001 when a University of Virginia physics professor, acting on a tip, checked student papers using a homemade computer program. The school eventually charged 158 students with plagiarism. Nineteen months later, 20 students had been found guilty of honor violations and kicked out, another 28 admitted guilt and left the school on their own, and 90 students were exonerated. The rest received lesser punishments or treatment, such as counseling, the university reported.”

Plagiarism software packages like “Turnitin” are increasingly in popularity.  Turnitin is used “by thousands of colleges and high schools in more than 90 countries,” the article reports.

Read the article here.