Dear Tipsters, Paul asks:
"Would we consider either or both of these examples cheating? Do you explicitly (in your syllabus) disallow such reuse of papers in your classes? Why?" At Bishop's, we specifically outlaw this practice. This is what we say in our academic honesty document: "Guideline 6 DO NOT HAND IN FOR CREDIT A PAPER WHICH IS THE SAME OR SIMILAR TO ONE YOU OR SOMEONE ELSE HAVE HANDED IN ELSEWHERE. It is dishonest to claim course credit more than once for essentially the same work. In addition, it deprives you of the opportunity of researching and gaining knowledge on different topics, one of the aims of a university education. Note, however, on some occasions, it may be appropriate to follow up or extend previous work when writing a paper. Consult with your instructor here. You may be permitted to continue your work on the same issue and you will probably be asked to hand in the original paper to ensure that overlap is minimal. Of course, you must never submit (wholly, or in part) the work of another student as your own, or purchase papers for submission." Now, if a student tells me that they are interested in pursuing a topic that they have covered elsewhere, we can discuss that. In fact, I think it is a good idea for a student to take a topic further or treat it from a different point of view. When this happens, we may ask the student to submit both papers so that everyone is clear about what is taking place. Sincerely, Stuart --- To make changes to your subscription contact: Bill Southerly (bsouthe...@frostburg.edu)
