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 behavior. Disciplinary action will be taken against academic dishonesty” (Section 7.4)
After deliberating, the AJC concluded that the two students will receive a failing grade for the course.
Advice to the Ashesi Community:
The AJC encourages the community to remember that careless work and a lack of academic integrity will have serious repercussions. The AJC would like to further, remind the Ashesi community of the following:
- Students should not blindly refer to past drafts of others or papers submitted by their seniors that could influence the originality of their own ideas and which may result in a decision to tweak someone else's ideas for submission as one's own work.
- Students should not give drafts or completed version of their past work to their juniors as it puts them at risk of plagiarizing. In such cases, both parties may be culpable.
- Students should be responsible and plan to submit assignments/projects ahead of time and not rush to meet a deadline.
- Students should make use of Ashesi resources such as the Writing Centre & Faculty Interns when their work needs to be reviewed or for further clarification.
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, concerns for others, and courage it will take to transform a continent.