Written by Lan 2022 Cohort
Academic plagiarism is a severe issue affecting the educational system’s credibility and integrity. It refers to presenting someone else’s work or ideas as one’s own without proper acknowledgment or citation. In Canada, people take a strict stance on the issue.
Take Simon Fraser University (SFU) as an example. According to SFU, plagiarism can take many forms, including falsely presenting another’s work as one’s own and failing to reference copied text or paraphrased content appropriately. Having others, complete assignments for the student is considered plagiarism as well.
To provide an impartial forum to examine allegations of student academic dishonesty or academic misconduct, the University Board on Student Discipline (UBSD) was set up by SFU. Before facing penalties for such actions, students are entitled to fair treatment, being informed of the allegations and being allowed to respond.
The penalties for academic misconduct and academic dishonesty that may be imposed by the President of the University, based on recommendations from the UBSD, may include but are not limited to counselling, apology letter, changing of grades, denial of admission/readmission, suspension/permanent suspension, and revocation of degree.
Meanwhile, in China, people also have policies and procedures to address academic plagiarism. For instance, at my alma mater, Beijing University of Posts and Telecommunications (BUPT), you will receive a demerit if you cheat on an exam by copying, using outside materials, or communicating during the exam or higher punishment and a zero grade for the course. Asking the teacher to increase points or giving gifts in exchange for higher grades is also considered cheating and may result in a demerit or expulsion. Cheating will be recorded in your file and reported to the college within 3 hours of the exam. Substituting someone else to take the exam will result in expulsion. For some majors, a downgrade in degree level may also occur.
Plagiarism is taken very seriously in Canada and China and may bring severe consequences. SFU may be more impartial in its determination of plagiarism due to the existence of UBSD, while in BUPT, it’s primarily up to the invigilator.