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Overview & Objectives
An overview of the policies and procedures that schools and colleges are developing K-20 to address social responsibility and the ethical use of information. The purpose of a plagiarism policy is to explain the school’s program within the context of its educational goals, principles and procedures. By stating the rules and identifying the norms as lived in daily practices, the policy offers explicit guidance about an individual's behavior and clarifies the rights and responsibilities of the institution and all stakeholders. A comprehensive plagiarism policy is a living document developed by the entire community or institution in collaboration with members of key groups including local and district administration, the school board, faculty, library and technology teachers, parents and students.

Outline
I will provide a template (which will be online with links to specific examples) to discuss how to build a sustainable policy based on common values, principles and practices by addressing the following elements/questions: (time evenly divided)
1.Inspire and anchor: On what principles does this policy rest?
2.Build consensus and leadership: Who owns the problem?
3.Clarify and resolve differences: What concepts and strategies are taught?
4.Convert concepts into behaviors: What responsibilities and rights are identified?
5.Develop a response plan: What disciplinary process is to be followed?
6.Develop an ongoing prevention program: What proactive teaching supports the policy?
7.Interrelate policies, programs and practices: How does this fit with other work?
8.Plan for change: What is the policy review process?

Supporting Research
"In New CAI Research Conducted By Don McCabe (Released In June, 2005) Levels Of Cheating And Plagiarism Remain High. Honor Codes And Modified Codes Are Shown To Be Effective In Reducing Academic Misconduct....almost 50,000 undergraduates on more than 60 campuses have participated in a nationwide survey of academic integrity since the fall of 2002. The most recent results (released in June 2005) are disturbing, provocative, and challenging.

"On most campuses, 70% of students admit to some cheating. Close to one-quarter of the participating students admitted to serious test cheating in the past year and half admitted to one or more instances of serious cheating on written assignments.

"Academic honor codes effectively reduce cheating. Surveys conducted in 1990, 1995, and 1999, involving over 12,000 students on 48 different campuses, demonstrate the impact of honor codes and student involvement in the control of academic dishonesty. Serious test cheating on campuses with honor codes is typically 1/3 to 1/2 lower than the level on campuses that do not have honor codes. The level of serious cheating on written assignments is 1/4 to 1/3 lower.

"Internet plagiarism is a growing concern on all campuses as students struggle to understand what constitutes acceptable use of the Internet. In the absence of clear direction from faculty, most students have concluded that 'cut & paste' plagiarism - using a sentence or two (or more) from different sources on the Internet and weaving this information together into a paper without appropriate citation - is not a serious issue. While 10% of students admitted to engaging in such behavior in 1999, almost 40% admit to doing so in the Assessment Project surveys. A majority of students (77%) believe such cheating is not a very serious issue.

"Faculty are reluctant to take action against suspected cheaters. In Assessment Project surveys involving almost 10,000 faculty in the last three years, 44% of those who were aware of student cheating in their course in the last three years, have never reported a student for cheating to the appropriate campus authority. Students suggest that cheating is higher in courses where it is well known that faculty members are likely to ignore cheating.

"Longitudinal comparisons show significant increases in serious test/examination cheating and unpermitted student collaboration. For example, the number of students self-reporting instances of unpermitted collaboration at nine medium to large state universities increased from 11% in a 1963 survey to 49% in 1993. This trend seems to be continuing: between 1990 and 1995, instances of unpermitted collaboration at 31 small to medium schools increased from 30% to 38%.

"Studies of 18,000 students at 61 schools, conducted in the last four years, suggest cheating is also a significant problem in high school – over 70% of respondents at public and parochial schools admitted to one or more instances of serious test cheating and over 60% admitted to some form of plagiarism. Slightly less than half of the respondents from private schools admitted similar behaviors. About half of all students admitted they had engaged in some level of plagiarism using the Internet." http://www.academicintegrity.org/cai_research.asp

V-NECC-Virtually Extending NECC Over Time and Place
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Presenter Background & Qualifications
I have over 25 years experience in education as a teacher-librarian, director of a unified Library, Technology and Curriculum Department, curriculum coordinator and school administrator. I am a frequent speaker at library and technology conferences including keynotes in New Jersey and in Connecticut this year. I write a column called "Homepage" which you can read here: http://www.ala.org/ala/aasl/aaslpubsandjournals/kqweb/edpage/edpage.htm
I am known for innovative curriculum design and Web projects that teach habits of mind and critical thinking and now provide resources and services to educators who are developing and implementing inquiry-based curricula, integrating new technologies and teaching of 21st century literacies.

Prerequisites
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