On 26 April 2017, the Ashesi Judicial Committee (AJC) ruled on a case of plagiarism in a Leadership I course. The AJC concluded that the student, a member of the Class of 2020, was guilty of plagiarism in an assigned group work, after finding that a portion of the student’s contribution was from another source. While this infraction would have been dealt with as an informal resolution case, it was escalated to the AJC as a second offence, and ruled on accordingly.
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 perpetrators of academic dishonesty. – Section 7.4
After deliberating, the AJC arrived at the following sanctions: The student will receive a failing grade for the course.
Advice to the Ashesi Community
The AJC encourages the Community to remember that careless work, poor judgement and disregard for academic integrity will have serious consequences. The AJC would like to remind the Ashesi community of the following:
- Students should acknowledge all sources of their work appropriately.
- Students should make use of Ashesi resources such as the Writing Centre when their work needs to be reviewed.
- Students should be aware of previous informal resolutions; repeat offenders will come straight to the AJC.
- Students should recognize that when it comes to group work, all members of the group should be invested in the finished work. Group members owe it to each other to ensure that the finished work is an accurate reflection of their true capacities.
We cannot ignore academic integrity in our quest to be the next generation of leaders who will transform Africa. May we continue to grow and strengthen our appreciation for what is right.
