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Speech Language Pathology - Dallas

Speech Pathology research for TWU students, faculty, and staff.

Copyright Basics

Welcome to the Copyright Subject Guide 

The sections in this Guide are designed to inform the TWU community on Copyright, Fair Use and related topics. It is not intended as legal advice nor is it meant to replace the advice of legal counsel.

Copyright protection exists from the moment a work is created in a fixed, tangible form of expression. The copyright immediately becomes the property of the author who created the work. Only the author, or those deriving their rights through the author, can rightfully claim copyright. In the case of works made for hire, the employer—not the writer—is considered the author. 

Background: The University has approved the purchase of a license for a web-based antiplagiarism software service, Turnitin, which may be used by students or their instructors to compare the text of writing assignments to an extensive electronic database.

Plagiarism defined at TWU: Plagiarism occurs when a student obtains portions or elements of someone else's work, including materials prepared by another person or agency, and presents those ideas or words as her or his own academic work. The intentional or unintentional use by paraphrase or direct quotation of the published work of another person without full and clear acknowledgement shall constitute plagiarism.

Students are responsible for following guidelines of the appropriate course or discipline (i.e.; MLA, APA):

  • Academic integrity : Academic Integrity
  • Conduct guidelines : TWU Student Code of Conduct
  • Judicial process : TWU Judicial Process
  • Policies for Use: The primary purpose for any antiplagiarism prevention software at TWU is educational.

Antiplagiarism technology should be used as a teaching tool. Antiplagiarism technology is merely a tool. The tool alone does not determine whether a paper has been plagiarized. Conversely, students cannot use antiplagiarism tools to prove they have not plagiarized. Instead, that judgment must be made by the individual faculty member.

Use of antiplagiarism tools is optional, but if they are used, they must be used according to the policies and guidelines set forth in this document. Instructors must discuss plagiarism and academic integrity with students at the beginning of each course.

If students do not consent to having their original work archived in the antiplagiarism tool databases,individual faculty members may use alternative assignments or use other, more traditional, methods for detecting plagiarism.

Student work submitted to Turnitin by an instructor will use an alias for the student name, and delete any personally-identifiable information.

If faculty members suspect that a paper has been plagiarized, the procedures outlined in Chapter 4 of the Student Handbook must be followed.

The following statement must appear on a course syllabus if an antiplagiarism tool is used in the course:

In an effort to ensure the integrity of the academic process, Texas Woman’s University vigorously affirms the importance of academic honesty as defined by the Student Handbook. Therefore, in an effort to detect and prevent plagiarism, faculty members at Texas Woman’s University may now use a tool called Turnitin to compare a student’s work with multiple sources. It then reports a percentage of similarity and provides links to those specific sources. The tool itself does not determine whether or not a paper has been plagiarized. Instead, that judgment must be made by the individual faculty member.

[Optional statements: All required assignments in this course may be checked for plagiarism using Turnitin.com or Some of the required assignments in this course or Assignments will be randomly checked...]

APPROVED: 5/09

Copyright: About

Avoiding Plagiarism Tutorial

Turnitin and Canvas

Turnitin is an electronic text matching system that compares text in a student assignment against a database of sources. Turnitin is frequently used as a plagiarism detection application. Best practices from instructors suggest that Turnitin OriginalityCheck can be used as a teaching tool to address citation and academic honesty. 

The following statement must appear on a course syllabus if Turnitin or other antiplagiarism tool is used in the course:

In an effort to ensure the integrity of the academic process, Texas Woman’s University vigorously affirms the importance of academic honesty as defined by the Student Handbook. Therefore, in an effort to detect and prevent plagiarism, faculty members at Texas Woman’s University may now use a tool called Turnitin to compare a student’s work with multiple sources. It then reports a percentage of similarity and provides links to those specific sources. The tool itself does not determine whether or not a paper has been plagiarized. Instead, that judgment must be made by the individual faculty member.

Optional statements:

  1. All required assignments in this course may be checked for plagiarism using Turnitin.
  2. Some of the required assignments in this course or may be checked for plagiarism using Turnitin.
  3. Assignments will be randomly checked for plagiarism using Turnitin.

Turnitin resources available include:

  1. Canvas LTI Instructor
  2. Turnitin Canvas Integration Instructor Usage Guide
  3. Canvas LTI Student
  4. Turnitin Canvas Integration Student Usage Guide

TWU resources available include:

  1. Step-by-Step instructions for students Submitting a Turnitin Assignment [Google Slides]
  2. To get started or for personalized assistance using Turnitin, please contact Instructional Designers in Teaching and Learning with Technology.
  3. For additional support, please contact the Technology Service Desk

 

Academic Integrity and Intellectual Property Rights

Academic integrity is the foundation of the academic community.  Because each student has the primary responsibility for being academically honest, students are responsible for reading and understanding all sections in the Student Handbook relating to standards of conduct and academic life. Students who violate University rules on academic dishonesty are subject to disciplinary penalties, including the possibility of failure or removal from a course, disciplinary probation, and/ or dismissal from the University.  Academic dishonesty includes but is not limited to cheating, plagiarism, collusion, fabrication, falsification, and falsifying academic records, other acts intentionally designed to provide unfair advantage to the student, and/or the attempt to commit such acts. Detailed definitions of these acts are provided in the Student Handbook.

Texas Woman’s University makes every effort to preserve the faculty/student relationship. The following procedure has been developed with this relationship in mind. Faculty members should clearly identify course specific standards which interpret University, college, and/or departmental policies related to academic integrity. These explanations should appear in the course syllabus.

In the event of alleged academic dishonesty, the faculty member who discovers evidence or receives reports of academic dishonesty should:

  1. Check with the Office of Civility and Community Standards to determine if there has been a previous violation of academic dishonesty. If there has been a previous violation, the matter is referred to the Conduct Review Officer in the Office of Civility and Community Standards. If this is an alleged first violation, then the faculty member will arrange to meet with the student(s) accused of the alleged infraction. At this meeting, the faculty member will complete the Academic Dishonesty Report Form which the student will sign with an acknowledgment of acceptance of responsibility.
  2. If the student(s) acknowledges the act of academic dishonesty, and the faculty member is satisfied that the incident can be effectively resolved with a grade sanction, the faculty member will assign a reasonable penalty such as:
    • Written reprimand
    • Assignment of a 0 on an assignment
    • Assignment of a lower grade on the test/paper/project in question, with an explanation from the instructor
    • Assignment of a grade of F in the course
  3. If the faculty member determines that the violation is a severe case, referral may be made to the Conduct Review Committee for action by reporting to the Conduct Review Officer using the Academic Dishonesty Report Form.
  4. If the student denies the allegation of academic dishonesty, if the case is a second violation or if the faculty member believes the severity of the incident may warrant a sanction more severe than is available to faculty, the faculty member will forward a written summary (Academic Dishonesty Report Form) of the incident to the Office of Civility and Community Standards. The summary must include relevant evidence. The Conduct Review Officer will institute disciplinary proceedings listed in the Student Code of Conduct in  the Student Handbook. In all cases, the disciplinary proceedings will begin with a pre-hearing conference between the Conduct Review Officer and the accused student. During the pre-hearing conference, the accused student(s) will have the opportunity to discuss and review all evidence as well as ask questions about the charges and the options available for resolution. During the pre-hearing conference the student will be presented with the following options:
    • To plead responsible for the charge of academic dishonesty, which indicates that the student does not contest the charge of academic dishonesty, waives all rights to a formal hearing, and accepts a sanction imposed by the Conduct Review Officer; or
    • To request a formal hearing with the Code of Conduct Review Committee.

The formal hearing process is outlined in the Student Handbook. Pending the outcome of an investigation that is not resolved at the end of a semester or summer session, the faculty member must assign a grade of NG (no grade) to the student.

The following sanctions may be imposed by the Codes of Conduct Review Committee for academic dishonesty:

  • Written reprimand
  • Assignment of a 0 on an assignment
  • Assignment of a lower grade on the test/paper/project in question, with an explanation from the instructor.
  • Assignment of a grade of F in the course.
  • Removal from the course with the assignment of a failing grade (WF)
  • Disciplinary Probation
  • Suspension from the University
  • Expulsion from the University
  • Other appropriate sanctions as determined by the Conduct Review Committee

The faculty member may recommend a sanction to the Committee during the hearing process. If the assigned sanction involves an action involving a grade, the sanction will be communicated to the faculty member who will assign the sanction accordingly. Whether the matter is resolved administratively or through a formal hearing, the student may appeal by delivering a written notice of appeal to the Vice President for Student Life within 72 hours following the receipt of the decision. The decision of the Vice President for Student Life is final.

Record of Scholastic Dishonesty

Records of scholastic dishonesty are retained in the Office of Civility & Community Standards Office and are kept separate from the student’s academic record or transcript. Student conduct records including academic dishonesty may be released to persons outside of the university only with consent of the student, or by exceptions described in the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act including:

  1. other school officials who have been determined to have a legitimate educational interest;
  2. federal, state and/or local officials to whom such information is specifically allowed; and/or
  3. a court order or subpoena.

Intellectual Property

Texas Woman’s University’s Board of Regents Policy 4.02, “Intellectual Property,” covers the ownership, distribution, and commercial development of intellectual property developed by TWU faculty, staff, students, and others participating in TWU programs.