Each term, instructors struggle with the academic and policy implications around these questions:

• What do I do if I suspect that a student has plagiarized?
• How do I handle a student who is repeating my course?
• What are my responsibilities in providing guidance to students who are using social networking applications (ie. Facebook) and other free web tools for studying, collaboration on assignments, etc?

Here are some resources that you may find helpful in preparing to address these questions in your own teaching practice:

Plagiarism:
Many students are simply unaware of the consequences of their actions when they “cut and paste” to prepare a paper or miss a citation for a direct quote, etc. Discussing the topic (or providing guidelines to students) at the start of the term may go a long way to preventing plagiarism by providing students with the information they need to make good decisions. Here is a collection of resources to help you develop a prevention plan or respond to plagiarism:

• OLT’s Instructor Resources: Plagiarism: offers links to a variety of resources and policy information for you and your students. You’ll find information about how to proceed when you suspect plagiarism, and about what resources are available to students who may need information and support.

Course Repeats
Some students may choose to repeat a course to improve their overall standing or because mastery of the subject matter is important to their overall goals. Individual faculties have different guidelines around course repeats and students should be advised to discuss this with their faculty advisor before repeating a course. You will need to decide whether or not you will accept re-submission of the same course work or whether you expect the student to undertake different assignments in order to complete the course. Here are some guidelines and links to policy documents regarding academic advancement:

• Course Repeats: OLT’s Instructors’ Guide: Policies

Online Identity
We are all learning everyday about the impact of our online identities on our offline lives. Consider the near suspension of a Ryerson student who reportedly ran on online study group on Facebook and was accused of cheating. And the potential forblurring of boundaries between student and prof on Facebook. Not to mention the daily stories of someone getting fired after posting something unpleasant about a boss, workplace or co-worker. A cross-campus team of students and professionals are addressing some of these issues in an interactive online tutorial:

• Digital Tattoo: What’s Yours?

As always, if you have an anecdote or resource to share with your colleagues about the topics included here, please leave a comment.

Posted: 11|28|08 at 9:25 am. Filed under: Teaching Resources.
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