Policy, Preparation, and Prevention: Proactive minimization of student plagiarism

Abstract

Countless cases of plagiarism are detected across the Australian higher education sector each year. Generally speaking, policy and other responses to the issue focus on punitive, rather than on educative, measures. Recently, a subtle shift is discernable. As well as ensuring appropriate consequences for plagiarists, several universities are beginning to formalize the inclusion of learning and teaching strategies in anti‐plagiarism‐related policy and practice, as well as paying closer attention to the communication of unambiguous definitions of plagiarism. This article outlines one example of the emerging educative approach and details the ways in which this approach has been implemented across an entire university. The necessity of evidence‐based evaluation of approaches to reducing plagiarism in higher education is discussed.