1. 1 Addressing Plagiarism : An Investigation into the Issue of Plagiarism amongst International Students and the Implications for Assessment Helen Stacey, Senior Lecturer / Programme Leader Glamorgan Business School

2. Background to the study Responsible for a module on final year of an undergraduate programme – in Glamorgan and Hong Kong Considerable numbers of International Students as well as home students 3 assessments – all essays – formative assessment International students struggled A high number of fails and academic offenses – leading to criticism and review of the module 2

3. International / National context Rising number of International Students – notably from China ( Reduction in funding from HEFCW / HEFCE Need to maximise other income streams and need to attract more international students Warning – should not be seen as cash-cows! Word spreads quickly (Morgan, 2010) 3

4. Research aims / objectives Investigate the issue of plagiarism amongst international students - particularly those of Chinese origin - and to identify how it might be addressed Objectives –To identify the extent to which plagiarism is an issue amongst Chinese students studying in Hong Kong –To establish whether the assessment methods on the module are appropriate and fit for purpose –To find useful strategies to deter plagiarism –To determine the implications for policy and practice in the future 4

5. Methodology / methods Decided to adopt a case study approach – discreet cohort in Hong Kong – 30 students Questionnaire before the module started – (to gather initial thoughts) Monitoring of student achievement data Questionnaire at end (to gain feedback) Focus groups (also to elicit feedback) 5

6. Interventions used Module induction – briefing on Harvard Referencing / academic writing Exemplar essays Quiz on plagiarism – true / false questions Turnitin submission of assignments Draft essays seen – once only Assessment and feedback via Grademark system 6

7. Literature review International students face a number of challenges Popular view of students - deficit model Assessment issues : –New content, new language, unfamiliar conventions –Essays often new to students (Chan, 1999) –Used to in-class tests / exams (Carroll, 2008) –Often drawn to subjects that require numerical skills (Huang, 2008) –Under immense pressure to perform – stakes are high (Brown and Joughlin, 2007) 7

8. Plagiarism issues International students often seen as worst culprits (Brown and Joughlin, 2007) Have often been rewarded in past for using words of others (Carroll, 2007; Ryan, 2000) Some cultures do not view plagiarism as a sin – present words...as a sort of pastiche (Cammish, 1997:153) They need to know expectations (Carroll, 2008) Telling them not to plagiarise is not enough (Ryan, 2000) 8

9. Potential solutions Put emphasis on prevention and education not detection (De Wit et al, 2010) Shared values / standards (Zhang, 2010) Rules of the game need to be made explicit (Ryan, 2005) Provide feedback (Schmitt, 2005) Initial assessments need to be... safe and recoverable (Carroll and Appleton, 2007:81) Design alternative assessment methods that reduce possibility of plagiarism (Carroll, 2007) Turnitin / Grademark systems (Chew, 2010) 9

10. Findings / outcomes Questionnaire 1: We know it all! Quiz: Clear evidence of lack of knowledge Student achievements: 29/30 passed – no plagiarism Questionnaire 2 / Focus groups: –We didnt know it all and didnt care before –Pre-sessional course / enhanced induction –Inconsistencies in treatment of plagiarism and use of Turnitin –Valuable skill – dont take away essays 10

11. Conclusions Designing out plagiarism will not solve the problem (Carroll, 2007) Need a shared understanding / holistic approach (Zhang et al, 2010) Sound induction or pre-sessional programmes (McLean and Ransom, 2005) International students are...the bearers of culture not the bearers of problems (Carroll and Ryan, 2005:9) Need to provide support and inclusive culture – improve things for international students – improve it for all! (Brown and Joughlin, 2007) No reason to believe international students are less able than Western students - given the support they can learn the rules (McLean and Ransom, 2005) Failure to address these issues – run the risk of alienating the students we very much depend on – we are merely delaying the problem. 11

12. References Brown, S. And Joughlin, G. (2007) Assessment and International Students: helping clarify puzzling processes, in E. Jones and S. Brown. (eds) Internationalising Higher Education. London: Routledge Cammish, N. (1997) Studying at Advanced Level through English, in D. McNamara and R. Harris. (eds) Overseas students in Higher Education: issues in teaching and learning. London: Routledge Carroll, J. (2008) Assessment Issues for International Students, in R. Atfield and P. Kemp (eds.) Enhancing the international learning experience. Newbury: Threshold Press Limited Carroll. J. (2007) A Handbook for Deterring Plagiarism in Higher Education, 2 nd edition. Oxford: The Oxford Centre for Staff and Learning Development Carroll, J. and Appleton, J. (2007) Support and Guidance for Learning from an International Perspective, in E. Jones and S. Brown. (eds) Internationalising Higher Education. London: Routledge Chan, S. (1999) The Chinese Learner – a question of style. Education and Training. Vol. 41. Number 6/7, pp 294-304 Chew, E. (2010) Turn it in or Turn it off? A Pilot Project for Turnitin and Grademark Experience. 4 th International Plagiarism Conference 21-23 June 2010 Newcastle upon Tyne De Wit, K., Hulpiau, V., De Baere, J., Geens, K and Coenen, B. (2010) The History and Implementation of a Policy on Plagiarism: a case study from K. U. Leuven (Belgium), 4 th International Plagiarism Conference 21-23 June 2010 Newcastle upon Tyne Huang, R. (2008) Critical Thinking: discussions between Chinese postgraduate international students and their lecturers, in R. Atfield and P. Kemp. (eds) Enhancing the International Learning Experience in Business and Management, Hospitality, Leisure, Sport, Tourism. Newbury: Threshold Press Limited McLean, P. And Ransom, L. (2005) Building Intercultural : implications for academic skills development, in J. Carroll and J. Ryan (eds) Teaching International Students: improving learning for all. London: Routledge Ryan, J. (2000) A Guide to Teaching International Students. Oxford: Oxford Centre for Staff and Learning Development Ryan, J. and Carroll, J. (2005) CanarieCompetenciess in the Coalmine: International Students in Western Universities in J. Carroll and J. Ryan. (eds) Teaching International Students: improving Learning for all. Abingdon: Routledge Ryan, J. (2005) Improving Teaching and Learning Practices for International Students: implications for curriculum, pedagogy and assessment, in J. Carroll and J. Ryan. (eds) Teaching International Students: improving Learning for all. Abingdon: Routledge Schmitt, D. (2005) Writing in the International Classroom in J. Carroll and J. Ryan (eds) Teaching International Students: improving Learning for all, Abingdon: Routledge Zhang, X., Sun, H. and Zhang, F. (2010) Preventing Plagiarism and Academic Misconduct: a Case Study of Chinese Universities. 4 th International Plagiarism Conference 21-23 June 2010 Newcastle upon Tyne 12