On Tuesday, January 10th 2023, the Ashesi Judicial Committee (AJC) adjudicated a case of plagiarism. The AJC concluded that the student involved was not guilty of plagiarism because as stated in the Student’s Handbook: “If the faculty member is able to establish with the Head of Department and the Dean of Student & Community Affairs that the act constitutes a serious offence - over 20% of paper is plagiarized, substantiated by information/evidence - then the case will be referred to the Dean of Student & Community Affairs for an AJC hearing.” (Section 12.8)
The student’s similarity index from the Turnitin report fell below 20%. However, the case was escalated to AJC due to an informal resolution already on the student’s record.
As stated in Ashesi’s student handbook:“Academic dishonesty includes plagiarism, unauthorized exchange of information or use of material during an examination, unauthorized transfer of information or completed work among students, use of the same paper in more than one course, unauthorized collaboration on assignments, and other unethical behaviour. Disciplinary action will be taken against academic dishonesty” (Section 7.4)
After deliberating, the AJC deferred the sanction to the faculty member. However, the President received an appeal for this hearing to be reviewed.
Following this, an appeal committee was constituted to review the case of plagiarism reported to the community on January 20th, 2023. This is because as stated in the Student’s Handbook:“A request for an appeal may be brought by any of the parties involved to the President of Ashesi … but only on the grounds of new evidence or procedural error” (Section 12.12)
This appeal was granted by the President of Ashesi and on Thursday, February 9th. The Appeal Committee determined that since this was the student's second offense (after a first informal resolution), they were guilty of plagiarism.
After deliberating, the Appeal Committee concluded that the student would receive a failing grade (E) for the course.
As stated in Ashesi Student’s Handbook: “Academic dishonesty includes plagiarism, … use of the same paper in more than one course, unauthorized collaboration on assignments, and other unethical behaviour…Disciplinary action will be taken against perpetrators of academic dishonesty…However, if the case is brought before the Ashesi Judicial Committee typically, in the case of a first offense, a student will be given a failing grade (F) for the course. A second offence can result in suspension or dismissal” (Section 7.4)
Advice to the Ashesi Community:
The AJC would like to remind students that plagiarised work and a lack of academic integrity will have serious repercussions. In addition to this, the Ashesi community should remember the following:
- When students are submitting their work, they are required to take the time to learn about proper and improper citation practices. This information has been made available to them in the Appendix of the Student’s Handbook (pgs. 83-84)
- In addition to the above, Ashesi’s Written and Oral communication course, the Writing Centre, Library and peer tutors are great resources for help in submitting their work. Students especially are to take advantage of these resources.
- Faculty should require all written assignments or papers to be submitted to Turnitin.
- Students must learn from past infractions regarding academic integrity, to understand the seriousness with which cases are treated.
We trust that this case will serve as a learning experience for our community. Academic honesty is very important at Ashesi and is central to our mission: To train a new generation of ethical and entrepreneurial leaders in Africa; to cultivate within our students the critical thinking skills, concern for others, and the courage it will take to transform a continent.