By Adrian Morrow
Associate News Editor
Ryerson professors are charging students with academic misconduct in increasing numbers — and students aren’t taking it any more.
Student complaints to the ombudsperson regarding academic misconduct rose 54 per cent in the last academic year, according to the 2006-07 ombudsperson’s report.
Academic misconduct deals with students who are accused of plagiarizing or misrepresenting their work. If a student is charged by a professor for plagiarizing and feels the charge is unwarranted or the school is making a mistake, they can take the complaint to the ombudsperson, who conducts an investigation.
In a report to be tabled at next week’s Senate meeting, the office of the ombudsperson blames the rise in academic misconduct complaints on a rise in the numbers of people getting charged with academic misconduct.
Many of these charges, however, stem from procedural errors on the part of the school.
“It is troubling that 30 per cent of the complaints … were solely because of a procedural error with respect to how the charge was laid or the matter was adjudicated,” the report said.
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