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<p>That, of course, is not proofreading–that’s cheating my any standard, and it doesn’t matter if it’s a mom or anyone else, or what level course it’s for. But having someone proofread a research paper at any level is still, I maintain, not cheating. </p>
<p>(Incidentally, writing center help can be spotty, too.)</p>
<p>I stand strictly by the plagiarism reporting rules at the schools I work at. In the past year I have seen one student expelled (started the semester with a charge on the books, and apparently in rapid fire sustained six more, including two from me) and have failed one for the class for plagiarism. The two schools I work at have different scales of punishment–one has a default of just a failed paper and a warning for the first offense with a session with a librarian to reinforce the rules, while is similarly flexible for instances deemed “inadvertent” but rigid if it’s felt to be deliberate and egregious–as in the case of the student of mine who failed the class for essentially handing in a cobbled together pastiche of quotes from one of the many “homework helper” sites.</p>