Plagiarism, ethics and education: where to now?

Agreement within tertiary institutions about the most effective ways to deal with plagiarism continue to be fraught with tension. Institutions often opt for multiple means of deterrence, including electronic and human detection; revamped policies and procedures to increase deterrence and instigating an overall increased awareness of academic integrity issues within the academic community. One approach focuses on ethics as a vehicle in overcoming plagiarism. Universities add compulsory ‘ethical’ units or segments within existent subjects to ‘cover’ plagiarism and other issues of academic integrity in programs. However, how is this approach operating in practice? Are students sustaining notions of ethical practice throughout their courses of study and into the workplace? This session seeks to tease out some of the current ‘ethical approaches’ to plagiarism and collaboratively examine what appears to be working or not working and why. In particular, common academic practices will form a focal point for discussion, in terms of the notion of ethical engagement with students.