Editorial : SU should punish academic integrity violations more harshly
The Academic Integrity Office held an open forum Wednesday to discuss possible changes to the Academic Integrity Policy. The proposed changes included updating the language and steps to make repeat offenders subject to stricter punishment.
Syracuse University should hold its students to the highest integrity standards, especially if peer institutions have noticeably stricter policies. SU devalues the work of honest students who consistently submit authentic work if their peers who do not follow the policies get by with little to no punitive action. The university should simultaneously strengthen the punishments against repeat offenders and better inform students about plagiarism and its consequences specific to SU.
The Academic Integrity Policy forces first-time offenders to attend a seminar on plagiarism. Having been through that program, and likely another workshop before that through their school or college, repeat offenders deserve harsher punishment. At an institution teaching people to act and work professionally, students should both adhere to and understand the gravity of faking their work.
Of course, as a place of learning, SU cannot expect every student to walk into college knowing how to distinguish citation styles, trustworthy websites and proper attribution. The university also should not expect every student reads — but more importantly understands — the Academic Integrity Policy.
SU must aggressively enforce mandatory, encompassing and relevant freshman workshops and seminars about plagiarism and authenticity. The current system makes skipping these — for the most part one-time — workshops far too easy. SU has a duty to teach students these skills so they can be academically and professionally competent. And thoroughly teaching students right from wrong will enable the university to crack down with more peace of mind.
As SU moves forward with possible changes, it should consult more students on the matter. These students must include more than the typical student leaders to get a more accurate and nuanced perspective.
