Plagiarism Policy

Ethics and honesty are the two most important components of the academic activities be it teaching or research. Teaching & research is a noble profession based on extremely high moral values. There can not be any room for claiming the credit for the work he/she has not undertaken. Many times it is observed that some of the “academician” knowingly or unknowingly publish or present other’s work as their own. Such acts will affect healthy academic atmosphere in the institute which will also harm the reputation of the institute as well as the individual. It is therefore important for an academic institute like Bhavna Trust Degree College to have in place a policy on plagiarism to avoid such type of acts

Definition of Plagiarism :

Plagiarism is defined as presenting another person’s work as one’s own work. Presentation includes copying or reproducing it without the acknowledgement of the source. Plagiarism involves copying of : phrases, clauses, sentences, paragraphs or longer extracts from published or unpublished work (including from the Internet) that exceeds the boundaries of the legitimate cooperation without acknowledgement of the source. Plagiarism could be intentional (dishonest plagiarism) or non-intentional (negligent plagiarism).

 Negligent Plagiarism : Negligent plagiarism means innocently or carelessly presenting another person’s work as one’s own without acknowledging the Source. It arises from one’s inadequate knowledge and competency in writing. It is also due to careless attitude resulting into non-compliance of standard verification procedures. In this type of plagiarism the degree of copying is not substantial. .

 Dishonest Plagiarism : Dishonest plagiarism means knowingly and deliberately presenting another person’s work as one’s own work without acknowledging the Source. It involves intentional copying of substantial proportions of the other’s work without written or unwritten permission and also without acknowledging the source.

How to detect Plagiarism :         

 It is the prime responsibility of an institute or individual to distinguish original content from plagiarized work. The detection of plagiarism is a judgment to be made by a person who understands the subject and who is also aware of the definition of plagiarism. Such person should also be aware of the tools available to detect the plagiarism. will use the best tools / software to detect plagiarism. It is an out-most important for an academic institute like Bhavna Trust Degree College to educate its student and teaching community about what constitutes plagiarism, how it is detected and off course the action that is going to follow if plagiarism is proved.

Compliance Statements :

 All students are required to submit a signed statement that they are aware of the plagiarism policy of the College and no part of their work be it assignment, term paper, project report, thesis or dissertation etc is not copied in any form and it is their own creation. Procedure for handling alleged Plagiarism Procedural Fairness : The College is committed to dealing with alleged plagiarism by any section of the teaching  community in accordance with the principles of procedural fairness, including the right to: (a) Be informed of the allegations against them in sufficient detail to enable them to understand the precise nature of the allegations and to properly consider and respond; (b) Have a reasonable period of time within which to respond to the allegations against them; (c) Have the matter resolved in a timely manner; (d) Impartiality in any investigation process; and (e) An absence of bias in any decision making.

Identification and Assessment of Alleged Plagiarism : Where an examiner detects or is made aware of alleged plagiarism by any person, the examiner must report the alleged plagiarism to an empowered body which confirms first if there is a plagiarism or not; if it is, then whether it is negligent or dishonest type and what is the degree of plagiarism. This empowered body will then submit its report along with its recommendation to a statutory bodies which are empowered to take disciplinary actions. Counseling: As the detection of plagiarism and steps to prevent it are important, equally important is to educate students about the dangers of plagiarism. We need to take steps to strengthen the moral of students so that they do not take support of the unfair-means.

Guidelines for action :

 The College will form a committee of about 5 experts who will establish whether there is a plagiarism or not, if it is then what is the level. This committee will have a Head of the Department or a Principal of  college as an ex-officer member. This committee will submit its report to the Academic Council and then to the Management Council for a final decision in this regard. The committee of experts will use the best possible software provided by UGC or National Knowledge Commission for detecting the plagiarism. Depending on the severity of crime the punishment could be : 1. Fine or warning 2. Rustication for limited period or permanent 3. Withdrawal of degree.