The learning environment has been altered by technology. The temptation to cheat is more present for students, but they must understand the consequences that come with their choices. When a student plagiarizes material they are not learning it, instead they are just pasting someone else's thoughts. So the student does not develop thought or a deeper understanding for the topic, let's call it Topic 101. The students somehow passed class 101 and progressed to the next level of class in that sequence, class 102. Class 102 relies heavily on topic 101 that was supposedly understood by the student. The student cannot admit to plagiarizing topic 101 and the student does not understand topic 102, so they plagiarize topic 102 in addition. This cycle is dangerous, once it begins it keeps building on itself. The student is ultimately creating more work for him/her self by plagiarizing. Instead of initially learning the material the student is scrambling to keep up, yet continues to fall behind.
The red arrow represents the path that could have been taken if the student had learned about Topic 101. Because the student plagiarized and was un-knowledgable about Topic 101, they created much more work for their self in the long run (as seen by the black arrows.)
The students are hurting their own educations. They are building the foundation of their knowledge on unstable plagiarized pieces. These crumbling pieces of plagiarized work will eventually break and the education will be useless. The students are not only wasting their time while plagiarizing, but they are setting themselves up for academic consequences. Being caught for plagiarism can result in failing the assignment or the entire class. It becomes a blemish on your transcript and permanently is recorded. Depending on the severity of the situation, the educational institution has the right to expel you from the program or school! The University of Oregon encourages instructors to state the university's Academic Misconduct Policy in the class syllabus. The University of Oregon's policy states that students must give the proper credit to the original source. The policy also states that in addition to acknowledging the source, the sources used should be authorized by the instructor. Most, if not all, academic institutions have their own Academic Misconduct Policies. It is important for students to understand the severity of their actions and the possible consequences.
You may be asking yourself why students would risk so much just to plagiarize and there are three causes. The first being ignorance, the student does not understand the possible consequences. The second being laziness, the student does not care about the possible consequences. Lastly, the student might plagiarize because of academic pressure. According to surveys in U.S. News and World Reports, 80% of high-achieving high school students admit to cheating (Did You Know.) The term "high-achieving" refers to the students with the higher grade point averages, these students academically and mentally at their grade level, if not above. The amount of pressure for students to succeed and beat the average is tremendous. When I was in high school I remember the hours that would go into studying for the SAT, ACT, AP test and just my class test. In between those test the students have to do homework, which is often busy work in high school. In addition to these time intensive activities, students are now expected to participate in a plethora of extracurricular activities that will make them a well rounded applicant for colleges. Not that there is an excuse to dismiss this behavior, but the students might feel overwhelmed by the heavy burdens and expectations placed on their shoulders. Plagiarizing could be a way of escaping some of the pressure, while still receiving the credit. Whatever the situation is, plagiarism must stop. It is ruining the educations of individuals and hurting their academic future.
