Plagarism is a very serious issue. Very.
You need to look at the college policy on dealing with this type of accusation. Do that now.
Should the parents help? I think a lot depends on what the school policy is…if it’s zero tolerance with dismissal if guilty…then there is a good reason to help.
However, having said that…if the student really did cheat…then this is a serious issue that needs to be dealt with anyway.
@mainelonghorn, I understand your point, but in my first response I referred to a mistake in judgment ( as in intentional cheating).
The type of support I give would be different, but I still would still see my role as helping the student learn something, rather than being the punisher.
Becoming the punitive agent in a situation like this, just builds resentment.
I really wouldn’t care if my kids were resentful if they made a deliberate decision to cheat.
Even if it’s “unintentional,” it should be addressed. Students who unintentionally plagiarize are usually struggling academically and haven’t mastered high-school level concepts. By the time they are in college, students have been taught the rules of citation multiple times.
This was OP’s 1st post and he/she hasn’t returned. Assume this is college (& not high school). We really need more info to offer advice.
Good grief … it hasn’t even been 48 hours since the first post (and the aforementioned comment came less than 24 hours after the first post). Let’s give the OP some reasonable time to return, especially considering that this was over the weekend. I don’t check in here on the weekends myself.
As a parent, yes I would get involved in some capacity. If the student unintentionally overquoted or such, I would work with her to recognize where she went wrong and how to approach the professor in the matter. If she purposely copied someone else’s work, I would be there to let her know I still loved her but that she must face the consequences of her actions. Then, help her plan what to do next. Would I solve the problem for her in either situation? Absolutely not. As with some of the above responses, the fact that she’s being vague concerns me. My kids would be furious and would be very forthcoming with some story, even if it were to be skewed toward their views.
My advice would be to bring her home and make her tell you exactly what is going on. I wouldn’t hand out punishments until the entire issue is resolved in one way or another. Then, you may feel as though the school handled it appropriately, or not.
Re Spring Break:
I would tell her that I want to help and I have to understand the whole story in order to help…both with the honor board but also with what led her to cheat (assuming she did)…was she panicking at finishing something? Didn’t under stand? Too busy with other stuff? Someone copied her stuff? Clueless as how to cite things?
"If you are unable to share what happened and what is going on, or don’t know what is going on, I am not sure if you have the judgment to go off to on your own. If after any academic hearing you are given an F in this class, suspended or expelled then we would need to use that money for the tuition we paid for but won’t be using.
Also read (have her read) what the Academic Integrity Policies/Procedures are at her college. e.g.,
https://academicintegrity.tcnj.edu/documents/
See if there is a “support person” allowed
e.g.
https://honorcouncil.georgetown.edu/system/practice/what-to-expect/support-person
College professor here, so my 2 cents…
Usually if a student is pulled up for plagiarism it’s for a fairly serious bit of plagiarism - not a few words, or 10%. Often, it kind of jumps out at you with text that is out of place.
Intentionality is almost impossible to determine. Our procedure is to have a meeting with the student and discuss the evidence and their response. We assume good will on the part of the student; sometimes they just don’t understand plagiarism. Other times, they know they’ve done something stupid and are embarrassed. These meeting can be a learning experience for the student.
If it’s a first offence, the student is given a warning and a penalty on the assignment. For repeat offences, the consequences can increase.
Professor was very sweet and helped her fix parts of the assignment. Thanks all!
@jasmom , if my child had deliberately plagiarized, my reaction would most certainly different. First, I’d examine my own communication of my values, and then I’d be expressing my disappointment to my child that she didn’t take them seriously. But I would not fund a spring break excursion, not as a punishment (it’s a little too late to use punishments on a child this age), but simply because I wouldn’t want to pay for an optional privilege for a child who had behaved this way.
Sorry @concernedmom2019 - this must be difficult for you.
I think you and your husband should be involved in the meeting as a support to your daughter. Also, the prof’s behavior sounds like it was pretty confusing to your daughter as to what is and what isn’t okay. That needs to be addressed, as well.
This is a horrible situation. There’s no question that the OP’s daughter could be kicked out of her program, or out of the college altogether, because of admitted plagiarism. On the other hand, it’s also entirely possible that she will get off with much less severe punishment. Having the parents intervene could make things better or worse for her – and there’s no way to tell which without knowing a lot about the specific institution and its recent history. Somewhere, there are people with that kind of knowledge, but it’s not easy to find them. The OP isn’t going to find them here without disclosing the specific institution (and maybe not even then). I also sense that the OP isn’t particularly sophisticated about this.
Meanwhile, there’s a meeting tomorrow morning. If I were advising the family, I would (a) tell the parents not to go to the meeting, and (b) tell the daughter to say as little as possible. She’s there to hear what the teacher has to say. Whatever that is, she should think about her response very carefully, and discuss it with her parents and maybe a knowledgeable adviser. It’s very unlikely anything she could say tomorrow will make things better for her, and very possible she could make things worse while trying to apologize or to explain herself. Actual punishment, and any chance to mitigate that punishment, will likely come from another level. The parents can (should) provide emotional support, but I don’t think they should be in the room unless one of them is a lawyer who knows a lot about university disciplinary procedures.
What the family really needs is to find one of the two or three (at most) local lawyers who have experience dealing with plagiarism cases at this college and are competent and not anxious to go into court so they can show off. And quickly. Even if it looks like things may not be too bad, because the professor will not be the official communicator here. I don’t have too many ideas how to find that person, though. Maybe @Hanna does?
I would want to know in advance who will be in attendance at this Wednesday a.m. meeting. Just your D and the prof? Others, too? Who else? There should be at least one neutral party there. Will there be a record of the meeting, recorded or otherwise? I wouldn’t want my D walking into a lion’s den, so to speak.
Does your daughters’ institution have a student advocacy organization? At my old university, there was a student-run advocacy organization that would help students navigate conduct matters. They would send a representative to be with the student at any disciplinary hearings/conferences.
While some may be uncomfortable sharing their problems with other students, it was a great resource because the organization had experience in handling conduct charges. I think you could hurt more than help as a parent but your daughter should look into if there any organizations like that at her institution that can help.
@concernedmom2019 - How did today’s meeting go?