5 Plagiarism-Related Questions to Discuss Over Summer

All over the nation, schools are hosting their graduation ceremonies as they bring a wrap to the 2023 school year.

As with every year, as one group of students exits, another group queues up to start. In between is a few months of relative calm over summer break. It’s a time to reflect on the previous year and prepare for the next.

To that end, the 2023 school year was a banner year for plagiarism and other academic integrity issues. We saw rapid growth in the use of AI, challenges in detecting AI-generated writing and general concerns over student authorship.

However, classic issues such as contract cheating and copy/paste plagiarism didn’t go away and remained remarkably relevant. New forms of cheating didn’t outright replace old ones but rather expanded upon them.

Even worse, it wasn’t just students who were targets of integrity investigations. University officials, particularly those connected with diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) programs, found themselves repeatedly the target of plagiarism investigations. That attack, spearheaded by DEI opponents, continues today.

Universities exited the pandemic, which brought its own academic integrity challenges, and faced new challenges from AI, weaponized plagiarism investigations and more.

As such, spending some time over the summer addressing these issues makes sense. To that end, here are seven questions all schools should be asking themselves about plagiarism over the next few months.

1: How Are We Going to Detect AI Writing?

The efficacy of AI writing detectors is hotly debated right now. However, one thing is clear. Even the best AI writing detectors can’t make the decision alone.

The “black box” nature of AI writing detectors makes it impossible to tell how or why the system reached the conclusion. Even if an AI detector correctly determines something is AI-written 90% of the time, that still means one out of every ten of its allegations will be false.

Supplementary ways need to be found to determine if writing was generated by an AI. This can include looking at student notes, examining the history of the submitted document, asking additional questions of the student or having an in-person component of the assignment.

There are many approaches here, but now is a good time to determine what methods you will use to validate or refute the findings of AI detectors.

2: If/How Are We Going to Teach the Use of AI?

This isn’t to say that AI has no place in the classroom. For many reasons, instructors may want to teach students how to use AI systems effectively and ethically.

The question becomes, what are those uses?

Should we assign students tasks that require them to use AI? What skills related to AI should universities teach? Is using AI ethical, given how current AI systems are trained?

These are difficult questions. Ignoring AI completely risks denying students the chance to learn potentially important skills. However, embracing it too much can deny students the fundamentals of authorship and creativity.

It is a difficult balance and one that should be considered carefully.

3: Does Assessment Need to Change?

School assessment is under increased attack. Contract cheating is a problem with exams, particularly remote ones. AI, contract cheating and classic copy/paste plagiarism challenge essays. AI can even be used to “assist” in multimedia projects.

The question is simple: How can we make assessments more resilient to these threats? What types of topics or assignments do AI systems struggle with? How can we ensure that we are measuring the student’s actual understanding of the topic?

This is a very serious challenge. While technology will play a role in detecting those who cheat, small shifts in assessment techniques may yield bigger results.

Now is a great time to determine if and how assessment needs to change in the face of these relatively new threats.

4: How Do We Ensure Faculty/Staff Are Free of Plagiarism Issues

The recent plagiarism scandals have highlighted a serious blind spot for universities: Their own faculty and staff.

Higher education has become a target of political attacks, so the faculty and staff have become a major focus. This is particularly true for faculty and staff in politically divisive roles or are higher at the university.

As I’ve noted, the issue isn’t DEI but academia as a whole. However, that doesn’t mean universities can ignore the problem.

What protocols are we implementing to ensure new hires don’t have plagiarism issues? How are we checking existing faculty? What actions should we take if we find plagiarism? These are difficult questions, but ones that need answers.

If academia doesn’t police itself, outside forces, often with political motivations, will.

5: How Do We Talk About Plagiarism Effectively?

Plagiarism is a nuanced topic. However, that nuance makes it difficult to talk about. Some have even called for a new word to describe accidental or incidental copying to separate it from the more serious misdeed of plagiarism.

However, the question remains: How do we discuss plagiarism more effectively? Plagiarism is a broad word that can describe anything from an inadequately paraphrased passage to contract cheating. While intent may not determine whether something is plagiarism, it should matter when determining how to respond to the issue.

A more nuanced language is needed to discuss this. Now is a great time to standardize definitions for different kinds of plagiarism issues. This will help restore the nuance in the plagiarism dialog and ensure everyone works from the same definition.

Bottom Line

In the end, the “quiet time” for academia is usually anything but. Still, after what has been a long school year, it’s an opportunity to reflect and make adjustments.

To say that these are trying times for academia is an understatement. Between the growth of AI, the rise in remote learning and the attacks on university faculty, academic integrity is a fraught space right now.

So, any opportunity to discuss and adapt is worth taking. The 2024-25 academic year will likely be another intense year in this space. This break gives schools a few precious months to prepare.

Here’s hoping that it’s used wisely.