We had an assignment in the beginning of the semester. It was an essay and after class a student went up and ask the professor if we should cite outside sources. Since it was after class not everyone was there but there was still a considerable amount of students still in the classroom. The professor said we don’t have to cite outside sources because he already knows the facts and he cares more about our opinions. Myself, who was there, heard it and did not cite my sources. After a few days we got our essays back and all the students including myself that did not cite sources were reported for plagiarism and were told that we would get an F in the class.
The professor later said that he never said such a thing about citing sources(???). A bunch of students went to Conduct and had individual meetings but since it is mentioned in the syllabus that we have to cite sources, it seems as there is a low chance of us being found not responsible. I completely understand that citing sources is always important and it is mentioned in the syllabus, but many students heard the professor tell us not to cite sources and that’s why we didn’t. In addition this happened in the beginning of the semester and we still haven’t heard the result and it’s almost the end of the semester. I have been stressed out the whole semester about this. Do we really deserve an F for this?
My first step would be gathering up the students who are reported for plagiarism for the same cause and visit your professor as a group. If the professor still denies about his claim, then have a visit to the student advisory or service center and file a complaint as a group.
There were cases in the past that students had to submit a complaint about having grossly low grade distributions and other ‘gray’ matters, but I wouldn’t give up just yet if you have several students who are in the same situation.
Is the class webcast by any chance? Perhaps there’s video of the Prof’s announcement.
@UpMagic @ProfessorPlum168 so Conduct is where they make decisions whether we are responsible or not, and they said that it seems as no matter what the professor said, the problem is that the syllabus says that we have to cite sources, so it is still ‘plagiarism’…so we will be found responsible…
Life lesson. Sometimes life isn’t fair.
Citing sources is time-consuming and a pain, but it is a CYA move that is probably always wise to follow. Try the other things people suggest - go en masse to him, see if the the lecture was video’d. Unfortunately, you will find teachers who say things that contradict their syllabi - when in doubt, ALWAYS confirm. It’s easier to defend something when it’s in writing, so unless you have his comment about “source don’t need to be cited” recorded, you all may be out of luck. Just make sure your course eval includes this specific incident - it may not change anything for you other than make you feel better, but it may, MAY make a change in this teacher’s methods so that they don’t do something like this again.