Some Bakersfield College teachers are using high technology to catch students who cheat.
The Web site is called turnitin.com. It is a free service offered to instructors at member colleges of the California Virtual Community College system, an organization with which BC is affiliated.
There are about 37 instructors who are registered to use the Web site, said Dr. Greg Chamberlain, dean of learning resources and information technology.
Chamberlain said he suggested two years ago that Bakersfield College should jump on board with turnitin.com, which is funded by grant money.
Janet Fulks teaches English 2 and said she registers all of her assignments online with turnitin.com. She said she requires her students to submit their writing assignments through the site by clicking on a link with the course title and the instructor’s name, and the assignment is evaluated for plagiarism. Fulks can then go online and read the results of each of her students’ assignments. The Web site informs her of papers that come back with signs of plagiarism, including a percentage of plagiarism that the documents contained.
Fulks said the site benefits students and teachers.
“For one, it encourages students to keep thinking and to continue to be original and creative, especially with the social and ethical problems in our society,” she said. “It is also institutional standards for CSU and UC systems, so when the students transfer from the community college level they are not shocked by the use of it. It also offers teachers a way to grade and review students’ work in less time.”
Because plagiarized papers could raise a grade curve, Fulks said she hopes the site will discourage instructors from grading on a curve.
“When you grade on a curve, you are telling your students that you don’t believe all of them are capable of earning a high grade in class.”
The Internet has many sites from which students can purchase or even download research papers. Turnitin.com can catch these plagiarized papers.
“It would take more time to beat the software than it would to simply be creative and do your own work,” said Fulks.
According to the BC student handbook, plagiarism is defined as the act of using the ideas or work of another person without giving credit to that source. Students who plagiarize can be referred to the dean of students.
Penalties can include verbal and/or written warnings from the dean, conduct probation and, in severe cases, suspension, which would affect a student’s financial aid and scholarship status. According to Beto Gonzales, dean of students, acts of plagiarism may often indicate a sign of other disciplinary problems.
Conduct probation prohibits students from participating in designated privileges of the college, he said.
Gonzales said that BC is a public institution and as such the education provided on campus is a privilege. By attending, students are required to follow a certain code of conduct.
Fulks said it is the responsibility of instructors to be consistent in their own citations of works to set an example for students. They also should outline the definition and consequences of plagiarism on the first day of class in the class syllabus, she said. If a student’s paper is flagged by turnitin.com, Fulks said that allows teachers to educate students on avoiding plagiarism.
“Teachers should discuss it with the student and show them how to properly cite work and the value of citing their work,” she said. “When a paper is cited it reveals the student as being well educated and well researched.”