A Close Reading of The New School’s Plagiarism Policy
Last year, a student in Robert Buchanan’s Introduction to Non-Fiction class copied and pasted an essay he found online and proceeded to have his class workshop it. Once caught, he explained that he had mixed up his files and was too embarrassed to let the class know before they read and commented on it. Buchanan followed the process outlined in The New School’s Academic Integrity and Honesty Policy, then spoke to the chair of the department and the head of advising. The plagiarizing student was not failed or expelled, but had to apologize to the class at the behest of Buchanan.
The student also had to discuss the issue multiple times with his professor and administrators and acknowledge what had happened. Buchanan felt that, while the issue ended up resolved, he was not completely satisfied because the issue of fairness to the other students went unresolved.
“From the other studentís perspective, it does not seem quite fair,” Buchanan told the Free Press. “This student broke the rules in a profound way and we don’t quite see the consequences — they’re still here [in the class].”
Some students and faculty feel that The New School’s plagiarizing policy is neither adequate, nor properly enforced.
“It is totally unfair,” said Lang senior Jen Kaplan, who was in another class where a classmate plagiarized. “I work hard to write real papers.”
Her former classmate still attends The New School, despite, Kaplan alleged, copying and pasting a paper that he had found online.
According to the current plagiarism policy, students could simply be asked to turn in a new assignment, or attend a school-sanctioned class on plagiarism. The full extent of repercussions outlined in the policy — failing, academic probation or expulsion — are only fully enacted if it is a student’s second offense or a “major culminating work.”
After a teacher reports a student to their school designee, which is determined by division, meetings are set up to discuss the incident with the student and to reach an appropriate course of action. Students are also required to meet with their “third party” point person and sign a “statement of acknowledgment.”
Other schools, like New York University, also have a professor-focused way of dealing with plagiarism cases. Yet their policy allows for a stricter course of action. At NYU’s College of Arts and Sciences, a professor can fail a student for the semester with the approval of the director of undergraduate studies, even if it is their first offense. If the professor feels a more severe sanction is required, the student can be referred to the appropriate dean.
“The character of our school is that even if you break rules, as long as you are apologetic, it seems like everything will be ok,” said Lang senior Shane Galvin.
At the start of every semester, professors across the university distribute syllabi that include The New School’s Academic Integrity and Honesty Policy, which was finalized in 2012 after years of revisions. “Students are responsible for understanding the university’s policy on academic honesty and integrity,” the university-wide policy states.
“Of course these [plagiarized] things look different if you’re painting, doing a research paper, or composing,” said Adrienne Marcus, who helped design the policy and is also the plagiarism representative for all Lang university lecture courses. “Some of that is determined internally by the divisions, a lot by the faculty. The faculty have to make the first determination.”
Some faculty, at their own volition, choose to deal with disciplinary action internally rather than subject themselves to the bureaucratic ordeal that comes with formally reporting a student.
“I reviewed 15 cases in 2012 and 2013. It’s quite possible there were additional suspicions of plagiarism that were not formally reported to me and were dealt with informally between the faculty member and student,” said Riva Kadar, associate dean for academic planning at Lang.
Jonathon White, associate dean of student affairs at Lang, told the Free Press that he receives between four to seven reports of plagiarism per semester.
“At a divisional level we keep track of the cases specific to Lang because we have to know if there are prior incidents,”White said.
While the policy is applicable to the entire university, tracking and recording cases of plagiarism is still left up to the divisions, assuming that professors report every offense they encounter.
“The most typical outcome is receiving a zero on that assignment,” he said. “But having a student fail an entire course based on a single instance is usually more typical if it is the second infraction.”
Some professors and administrators say that instances of plagiarism can also be used as learning experiences for students.
“I teach through this problem. I don’t accuse anyone and instead help them know how to cite and create references,” Associate Professor of Math and Sciences Katayoun Chamany told the Free Press.
Students, like Jen Kaplan, agree that if the issue is mere errors of citation, the case should be used to teach the student proper citing methods. But, when it comes to outright copying, having a student stay in the class seems unfair.
“If you steal an essay from somewhere online, then you deserve to be expelled,” said Kaplan.
Some professors, like Buchanan, feel that there should be a more efficient way of handling plagiarism cases.
“There should be a better way of reporting incidents,” Buchanan said. “Not even for the purpose of enforcement but just for the University to have a sense of how big of an issue it is.”
The policy presently relies heavily on professors reporting cases of plagiarism in their classes to the administration. Marcus, from the provost’s office, for instance, told the Free Press that she has not received a report about plagiarism in a ULEC course since the policy was implemented in 2012.
While plagiarizing multiple times would result in expulsion or probation, determining whether a student has numerous infractions requires a system where professors report each case accordingly.
The fact that plagiarism goes unreported leads to a lax enforcement of repercussions. A student may have been guilty of plagiarizing multiple times but, if he or she was only reported to the administration once, their punishment would be close to nil.
On the other hand, Buchanan said that a policy that affords professors the freedom to choose whether or not they report cases may lead to a more compassionate way of handling plagiarism.
“I like the idea of firm policies that everybody follows,” he said. “But I also like the idea of compassion and learning from mistakes.”
With reporting by Hannah Rinehart
Tamar is a poet, writer, New York-lover and dweller. She studies jounalism+design at The New School.
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