Does plagiarism-detection service violate student privacy?
By MARY COCHRANE Contributing Editor The chair of the Faculty Senate Computer Services Committee yesterday presented several “issues of concern” to the senate’s executive committee regarding UB faculty members’ use of Turnitin, a plagiarism-detection service that can help determine whether a student paper has been copied from uncited sources. John Ringland, associate professor and director of undergraduate studies in the Department of Mathematics, spoke about recent developments, including a Canadian student suing McMaster University in Hamilton to prevent his papers from being submitted to Turnitin, that “make it timely to think a little a harder about our participation in this service.” “There’s a question whether this procedure actually violates rights the students have in their own work,” Ringland said, noting that as a result of the successful lawsuit by the student, “The policy at McMaster is that participation in Turnitin is entirely voluntary. Students can opt out of it. I don’
