If someone is caught plagiarizing, should they be failed on the spot or get a zero

Nursing Students General Students

Published

I won't go into much details but I've seen this happen twice ever since I've been in school. One time was in English class & in my nursing program. Both times, to my knowledge neither student was failed on the spot or expelled from the program, because I at least still still saw them coming to class everyday.

In my English class the student supposedly bought a paper from one of those websites & the teacher caught in on the spot & I stayed after class to ask a question & overheard the whole story & on top of that I heard I'm just going to give you a warning this time because we haven't really gone over plagiarism yet & I think to myself EVEN THOUGH IT'S IN THE #!(@ SYLLABUS & COMMON SENSE NOT TO DO IT!

This student in our nursing program decided to turn in an assignment not just word for word that another student used to help others to add things what they may have forgot & on top of that they turned in that actual document & forgot to remove the other persons name on the paper. I assume they received a zero on the assignment but I still see them in class, so I guess they're given another chance.

If I can't post this, you may remove it as you wish but what's everyone's thoughts on this? I always hold myself academically responsible & if I don't understand something or bomb a test I normally take it out on myself, so personally I think students like these should be expelled in my honest opinion in situations like I have explained, however if you forget to quote something I'd understand that.

I find it bothersome because someday if they cheat their way through school and somehow pass boards....I would have concerns about their safety as a nurse and caring for patients. If they put in half an effort and didn't learn the material....are the a safe nurse? Would you consider them safe enough to be you child/family caregiver?

I agree with this. Yes most cheaters will be caught. Eventually it will catch up with most of them. But what about the ones that slide by and get through anyways? I would hate to have them as my caregiver.

Up Vote Up Vote ×
I find it bothersome because someday if they cheat their way through school and somehow pass boards....I would have concerns about their safety as a nurse and caring for patients. If they put in half an effort and didn't learn the material....are the a safe nurse? Would you consider them safe enough to be you child/family caregiver?

Also ... If people are willing to cheat and lie in order to get through nursing school, why wouldn't they be willing to cheat, cut corners, fudge the truth in clinical settings to get themselves out of a tight spot? In nursing and other health care occupations, people's lives depend on our honesty and personal integrity.

Up Vote Up Vote ×

Its usually up the instructor from what I know. I do agree they should be dropped from the class.

Up Vote Up Vote ×
Its usually up the instructor from what I know. I do agree they should be dropped from the class.

In my experience, the school has a policy and the instructors are all bound by the school's policy, regardless of their personal opinions on the matter.

Up Vote Up Vote ×
Specializes in Neuro, Telemetry.
I find it bothersome because someday if they cheat their way through school and somehow pass boards....I would have concerns about their safety as a nurse and caring for patients. If they put in half an effort and didn't learn the material....are the a safe nurse? Would you consider them safe enough to be you child/family caregiver?

I get that. Then maybe it should be situational. I still don't think an otherwise good student should be dismissed from a school completely for one mistake if it is not their norm. But I can see how there are some cheaters, that they probably have just been lucky and this is the first time they were caught and may not be so remorseful and just do it again. I guess I'm glad I'm not an educator and that it is not my job to distinguish between the two or decide appropriate punishment for it.

Up Vote Up Vote ×

I think the instructor should follow the school policy on this matter and treat everyone the same. It should be printed on the syllabus. Every syllabus I have seen for several years now has had the plagiarism policy printed on it in black and white. There is no excuse.

Up Vote Up Vote ×
I get that. Then maybe it should be situational. I still don't think an otherwise good student should be dismissed from a school completely for one mistake if it is not their norm.

But that's the thing -- how often is plagiarism/cheating a "mistake" vs. an intentional act? Who doesn't know that it's not okay to cheat??

Up Vote Up Vote ×
Specializes in ER, ICU, Education.

So much of this depends on the course. Is this a new freshman in a remedial course? Is this a senior nursing student? I have found that many new students have weak writing skills and don't grasp the difference between throwing in a huge volume of quotes and actually synthesizing and paraphrasing information. Blatant plagiarism in our nursing courses = course failure. They have had two semesters of English comp, as well as a module on academic writing in their intro course. They are told up front about the policy. They are told that we flunk 100% of cases we catch. I see this as the equivalent of false documentation. Very serious, very dishonest. That said, there are exceptions. For example, we did not flunk a student who attempted to cite, but did so improperly. Faulty citations are simply docked APA points.

Up Vote Up Vote ×
Specializes in Nursing Professional Development.
But that's the thing -- how often is plagiarism/cheating a "mistake" vs. an intentional act? Who doesn't know that it's not okay to cheat??

There are many cases when student commit plagiarism without knowing it. For example, students may be trying to summarize the literature in their own words, but just not have the knowledge/skills to do so adequately. So while they change of few words and sentences around from the original, the train of thought is a "close copy" of the original -- plagiarism. The student did not intend to cheat, they just didn't know any better.

As another example, students may think it is OK to lift phrases, sentences, and even whole paragraphs from their own papers submitted for previous classes as if they were original writing. Again, that is technically plagiarism. I have had 2 students re-taking a class because they failed it the first time who re-submitted work that they had done the first go-around with only a few minor edits. After speaking with them, I don't believe they understood what they had done wrong until I told them.

And students may make mistakes in how they cite sources that either "cross the line" or "border the line" -- not intending to be dishonest, just not knowing the right way to do things.

Finally, I read some research 2 or 3 years ago about a survey of college students (non-nursing) that showed that so much of their schooling had involved "group work," that a high percentage of them did not realize that getting a "group opinion" and that having other people "contribute" to your take-home test or term paper was considered "cheating" by the faculty. They thought that such things were "using their resources" as they had been taught to do. They had been taught to work in teams since childhood and truly did not understand why people considered group input was not considered appropriate for some assignments.

Each case needs to be judged in its context. All aspects of plagiarism -- or other forms of cheating -- are not the same in each case.

Up Vote Up Vote ×

I was accused once. I'm still not sure why. I'd like to think my paper was just that good :p I had multiple meetings with the prof and she dropped it as there was no proof as it was my own work. It totally blindsided me though, so I would hope no punishment is handed out without the student being very obviously guilty.

Turnitin is handy. Overall, I just can't get that worked up about it. It's my understanding that it's not nearly as big of a deal in other countries but I could be wrong.

Up Vote Up Vote ×
Specializes in Neuro, Telemetry.
But that's the thing -- how often is plagiarism/cheating a "mistake" vs. an intentional act? Who doesn't know that it's not okay to cheat??

Intentional and mistake could be the same thing. Most people who plagiarize or cheat have to make the conscious effort to do so. What I meant my mistake is that choice. As in, they made the choice to cheat (as a mistake), and learn their lesson when getting caught. But what I also said is that I have come to the conclusion that it would be difficult to tell who is truly remorseful and will learn from that mistake, and who will pretend to be remorseful and just keep cheating. Slippery slope I guess.

Up Vote Up Vote ×

I understand the OP's response to this situation. If the cheating was done in a nursing class (I mean outright, intentional cheating, not a plausible mistake in citing or misunderstandings about working in groups) they should be removed from the program. First offense. May sound hard of me, but if someone's eventual job is going to have an impact on someones health, they need to be out of there. Anyone that would submit another's work for a nursing class, would lie in charting and taking care of a patient as a nurse. Period. Dishonesty is dishonesty.Who would want to have their parents, children, and grandchildren taken care of by someone that cheated in nursing school?

Up Vote Up Vote ×
+ Add a Comment