Issue date: 5/13/08 Section: News

It's that time of the semester when term papers are due and final exams are just around the corner.

But if you've got a research paper due the next day and you haven't started it? Or what if you haven't read the textbook for the final exam?

A relatively new website, Coursehero.com, claims to have lecture notes, outlines, study guides, essays and exams for students to use. Sacramento State is one of the many universities in its database, with a listed 9,671 users.

While plagiarism and cheating isn't new, sites like Coursehero.com represent a new way for students to violate the campus' academic honesty policy.

Though Felix Barba, senior government major, said he is not familiar with the website, he said that in theory, it could be useful.

"It's really good when students are collaborating in their work and what they're doing," said Barba, who is also vice president-elect of University Affairs.

Barba said he could imagine the site as an aide to complement in-class learning. Barba said many times he will share study guides and notes with his fellow classmates to see what parts they have missed.

However, Barba said the site could just as easily be abused. If a student takes a test that a professor did not want released and posts it on the website, then the student should be punished for it.

He said students will plagiarize when they're under deadline and they will look to those websites or other resources.

According to Sac State's academic honesty policy, "Submitting work previously graded in another course unless doing so has been approved by the course instructor or by department policy" is considered cheating.

The academic honesty policy also states that it's expected that faculty and students will honor these principles and protect the integrity of academic work and student grades.

The policy further explains that it's the student's responsibility to understand and abide by the rules of academic honesty when completing course assignments and exams.

Mike Lee, associate vice president and dean of academic programs, makes it clear to the students: "Don't (plagiarize or cheat)."

It defeats the purpose of an education at Sac State and is absolutely a violation of the academic honesty policy, Lee said.

The penalty can be severe, Lee said. Students caught cheating can fail their course and it will leave a record on their academic career.

Lee noted that though the Internet can be a source for plagiarism, there are also ways the Internet has helped curb cheating. Some professors urge their classes to turn in essays to sites like Turnitin.com, a website used to identify plagiarism in student papers.

Some students have no problem with this and, in fact, feel very strongly that students should avoid the temptation of cheating.

"Plagiarism should not be tolerated at all," said Blanca Cervantes, a senior criminal justice and Spanish major.

"There are a lot of students who work very hard to write all their papers without plagiarizing. So, everybody else should be held to the same standards," Cervantes said.

For more information about the academic honesty policy and procedures, visit click here or to learn about appropriate student conduct, visit click here.

Leonard Low can be reached at llow@statehornet.com.

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