Plagiarism : learning from our challenges

Plagiarism or academic dishonesty is not a simple issue. According to Piety (2002), plagiarism appears subjective and context sensitive. Plagiarism is almost always a symptom of other educational problems (Turnitin, 2003). There have been growing concerns in Australia that there is an increase in deliberate plagiarism among international students (Elliot, 2003). Staff at Central Queensland University (CQU) are greatly concerned about the academic integrity of the students and programs. The focus of this paper is on how tackling the issue of plagiarism or academic dishonesty involves a consideration of staff and student differences and pedagogy when establishing standards within the academic community. This is the challenge.