Project Description

A key target of the Bologna Process is to achieve consistency in standards and quality of higher education (HE) across the European Union (EU). The availability of textual ematerial and associated technologies has changed the way students study, learn and prepare for assessment. The ease of access to information, and ease of direct transfer into a student’s work, have necessitated that higher educational institutions (HEIs) take measures to combat plagiarism and improve the standards of education. However, there is little consistency in approaches used and there is evidence that there are obstacles to progress on plagiarism prevention at both national and institutional levels in the EU.

This project will identify gaps, best practices and case studies which could aid in combating plagiarism effectively while maintaining consistency in the standards and quality of higher education across the European Union (EU). The project will concentrate in collecting, comparing and assessing the profiles of: (a) the strategies (awareness, prevention, detection) used by HEIs in EU countries, (b) the policies set at institutional and national level to implement any such strategies, (c) the effectiveness of any e-tools used and/or to be developed in aiding towards the implementation of these strategies.

Teachers and students at HEIs from various EU member countries will be recruited to answer interviews/ questionnaires on awareness, on measures for detection and prevention. The team will evaluate the effectiveness of plagiarism detection/prevention tools available or developed during the project and document case studies.