Students rushing to get papers done as the school year comes to a close should remain cautious to avoid plagiarism.

According to Judicial Affairs, cases of plagiarism at NIU are highest toward the end of the year.

Various NIU faculty members confirmed that, each year, NIU students are found guilty of plagiarism. Jan Vander Meer, administrative secretary of the English department, said many students accused of the offense are not aware they are plagiarizing.

“[Students] will often alter someone else’s words a little bit and think they’re not plagiarizing,” she said. “As long as you use someone else’s ideas, then you have to cite the source. When you cite a source, you’re giving credit [to the author] for ideas that are not your own.”

Vander Meer said NIU’s required first-year composition class teaches students how to cite sources correctly, so those who have taken the course should know how to avoid plagiarism.

The penalties of being found guilty of plagiarism at NIU can be heavy.

According to NIU’s Undergraduate Catalog, “Students guilty of, or assisting others in, either cheating or plagiarism on an assignment, quiz, or examination may receive a grade of F for the course involved and may be suspended or dismissed from the university.”

Ferald Bryan, associate professor of communication, said he uses the standard NIU Judicial Affairs Academic Misconduct Incident Report to deal with instances of plagiarism.

“The form is very standard and straightforward,” he said. “The form describes what happens, action taken and if the student and instructor agree to the terms. Basically, the options available [to professors] are to either give the student an F on the paper or an F in the class.”

Vander Meer recalled one instance of a student who plagiarized in his Ph.D. dissertation and was immediately dropped from NIU.

“He was not able to complete his degree at NIU, but this incident occurred many years ago and I’m not sure if [policies] have changed since then,” she said.